Instant Noodles ‘Contain More Salt Than 12 Packets Of Crisps’

Instant noodles can contain more salt than 12 packets of crips, according to a survey.

Researchers found that one helping of Ko-Lee Instant Noodles Chicken Flavour contained 5.8g of salt - 97% of the maximum recommended daily salt intake in the UK.

This works out as more salt than that found in 12 packets of salted crisps.

The findings were part of a survey of 131 products by the Consensus Action on Salt & Health (CASH) campaign group.

It found that a 100g portion of Nissin Demae Ramen Chicken Flavour noodles contained 5.5g of salt per serving, and that 90g of Ko-Lee Instant Noodles Mixed Vegetable came with 5.1g of salt - the equivalent of more than eight portions of McDonald’s fries.

The maximum recommended daily salt intake is 6g per day.

The least salty products tested were Morrisons BBQ Beef Flavour Noodles and Morrisons Chicken Flavour, each with 0.4g of salt per serving.

Chicken was the flavour with the highest salt content.

There were 48 products which could have got a red flag warning for salt content under the Department of Health’s front of pack nutrition labelling guidance and another 76 products which could have got an amber warning, according to the survey.

Nutritionist and campaigner for World Action on Salt and Health (WASH), Saadia Noorani, said: “The results of our research found that the highest salt content products were from international brands whereas some of the lowest salt content products were from retailers’ own brands.

“With the majority of salt in our diet coming from processed foods, global food manufactures need to do much more to reduce the huge amounts of unnecessary salt in their products.”

Professor Graham MacGregor, professor of cardiovascular medicine at Queen Mary University of London and chairman of CASH, said: “This is a perfect example of the scandal of parts of the food industry of adding large and unnecessary amounts of salt and sugar to a simple product.

“It is clear that voluntary targets are not working in the UK.”

(Picture: Rex)