Takeaways contain more salt, Indian food a better choice

A survey by Liverpool John Moores University found pizzas had the highest salt content with an average of 9.45 grams. Chinese had an average of 8.1 grams, followed by kebabs with 6.2 grams, Indian food with 4.7 grams and English with 2.2 grams.

According to the study, the average pepperoni pizza meal had 12.94 grams of salt, followed by seafood pizza with an average 11 grams, and Margherita at 8.8 grams. Ham and pineapple had the lowest, 7.7 grams of salt, the 'Daily Mail' reported.

The study is one of the first designed to evaluate the salt content in hot takeaway meals and it's results show that salt concentration in these kinds of food is alarmingly high,' the researchers told the journal Appetite.

."Some Chinese meals contained more than three times the UK salt target," the report said.

"A single portion of beef and black bean with fried rice contained 27 g of salt and a single portion of prawn chow mein contained 21 g of salt per portion," the study said.

In Indian food, an average portion of chicken tikka masala with keema rice had a salt concentration of nearly seven grams, which was 50 per cent higher than most other Indian dishes.

An average doner kebab and chips had 6.5 grams, while a typical Shish kebab had not much more than four.

English food came out with the lowest amounts - chicken and chips contain two grams, and fish and chips had three grams of salt. However, the figures do not take into account that many people like to sprinkle salt on their chips.

"The fact that salt is a cheap ingredient which can make food palatable at a very small cost may be one of reasons why the private catering sector are reluctant to cooperate," the report said.

There were wide variations in the Chinese meals. The average beef green peppers and black bean sauce with fried rice had nearly 11 grams of salt, while sweet and sour chicken with boiled rice had little more than three.