01.Sneaky salt in kids' foods
While the body requires salt in small doses for
good health, the amount of salt creeping
into foods, especially children’s food, is concerning.
Whether salt is added
for its flavour or preservative qualities,
it’s now seasoning much more than
just chips, including cereals and
even chocolate biscuits.
In conjunction with The George Institute for Global Health, CHOICE
reviewed the nutritional content of more
than 240 products aimed at, or likely to
be consumed by, children.
We found:
- 49 products we classify as
high in salt (at least 600mg sodium
per 100g)
- 140 with moderate salt levels
(121-599mg per 100g)
- only 48 that were low
in salt (120mg or less per 100g).
Alarmingly, 72 products, including cereal, sweet
and savoury snacks, cheese and
pre-packaged dinner products, have more sodium per 100g
than Smith’s Original Flavour
Crisps. Seventy one per cent
of products high in
sodium were also high
in saturated fat or sugars.
How we chose the products
Our survey looked at products that stand out on the
supermarket shelf as products suitable for children.
We included products advertised through movies, music and cartoon
characters, snacks packaged for the
lunchbox and a selection of products commonly consumed by children.
1 May 2009
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A good breakfast cereal can be the perfect start to the day, but children's cereals among the worst for excessive sugar and salt.
22 Jun 2011
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CHOICE compares the nutritional panels of various products to help consumers make more informed choices about foods for their children.
1 Jan 2005
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It’s important for children to eat healthily, and variety and balance are key. Build a tasty, nutritious school lunch by including starchy food, protein food, some dairy food, fruit and veg and a drink.
22 Sep 2006
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Children need better protection from unhealthy food marketing, and a large proportion of people we surveyed think the government should help.