BACON is now the second biggest contributor of salt to our diet after bread, according to a study.
Two rashers of bacon can contain more than half of the recommended daily amount (RDA) of 6g of salt, while some brands contain three times more salt than others from the same supermarket, the research by Consensus Action on Salt and Health (Cash) found.
The group said bacon contained "huge and unnecessarily high" amounts of salt, with consumers turning to it as a cheaper cut of meat as the recession squeezed family budgets.
Among the brands found to contain the highest amounts of salt were
Tesco thick cut smoked back bacon containing 3.8g of salt per two grilled rashers,
Morrisons Saver streaky bacon with 3g per two grilled rashers and Tesco Everyday Value unsmoked rind-on middle bacon with 5.3g per two grilled rashers.
Large variations were found between bacon packs within the same supermarkets, with Morrisons Savers smoked rindless back bacon containing three times more salt than its The Best Applewood smoked dry cured back bacon, at 6.8g per 100g compared with 2g per 100g.
Sainsbury's reduced salt bacon contained just over half the salt of their Taste the Difference unsmoked
Wiltshire outdoor bred brand, at 2.95g per 100g compared with 5.58g per 100g, but even the lower salt version was saltier than sea water.
Reports from the industry indicated that only two of the seven major supermarkets, Tesco and Marks & Spencer, were on track to meet the 2012 bacon target of 2.88g per 100g by the end of the year, Cash said...
