Fast food joints tapped on salt

Some of Pizza Hut's offerings are extremely salty - and they are not too happy about it.

The salty findings come from the Consensus on Salt and Health's latest report, which tested the foods from Pizza Hut, KFC, McDonalds and Burger King.

The research called attention to particular concerns with children's salt intake. Cash researched 21 menu items and 48 meal combinations aimed specifically at children and found that many outweighed the government's daily salt intake recommendations.

An adult should consume no more than 6g a day. Children from 7-10 should not eat more than 5g, and younger children should keep to 3g.

Children's meals ranged from 4.3 g of salt in a Pizza Hut kids meal to 0.6 g in a McDonald's happy meal with fruit bag.

Pizza Hut was particularly singled out, as was KFC, for other high-salt meals. Although the two restaurants display nutritional information on the website, they do not have them readily available in the restaurant itself. McDonalds puts the information on the packaging, and Burger King displays leaflets. Cash is particularly worried that consumers will not be able to make informed choices.

“If you are taking your children out for a ‘treat’ this half term I would say it is better to go to McDonald’s or Burger King rather than Pizza Hut which serves food outrageously high in unnecessary salt,” Jo Butten, Cash Nutritionist advises.

Pizza Hut claims there are inaccuracies in Cash's report, which Cash disputes.

But will the majority of consumers pay attention to the nutritional advice? Is this helpful? Will consumers believe they are making a 'healthy' choice by going to McDonalds?