Children's meals at some of the leading pub and fast food chains contain more salt than they should consume in an entire day, a study found.

It's currently recommended that children should not eat more than 4g of salt a day.



But a survey by campaign group Consensus Action on Salt and Health (CASH) revealed "shockingly high" levels of salt in some children's meals served up by popular pub and restaurant chains.

A Nando's veggie burger with creamy mash contained 5.3g of salt, while a Weatherspoons wiltshire cured ham and cheese sandwich with chips had 4.8g. Weatherspoons chicken nuggets with chips and baked beans contained 4g of salt.

Meanwhile, a Harvester gammon and chicken combo with mashed potato and beans contained 4.3g of salt, while a Sizzling Pub's 4oz gammon with mash and beans had 4.1g.

[Related feature: A guide to healthy portion sizes]

"Huge variations" in salt levels was even found in children's meals served up at the same restaurants. However, as the menus did not have any nutritional information on them, parents would find it impossible to choose healthier options, CASH said.

For example, a Weatherspoons Annabel Karmel spaghetti bolognese contained just 0.1g of salt, while a Hungry Horse four cod fish fingers and jacket potato with peas, corn or salad had 0.73g.

Other low salt meals included a McDonald's four piece chicken nuggets and fruit bag (0.4g), a Wimpy fish bites with salad (0.5g) and a KFC kids popcorn chicken with corn cobette (0.78g).

CASH campaign director, Katharine Jenner said: "Children's meals should provide tasty and healthy alternatives to more adult dishes.

"It is an outrage that when families go out for a pub lunch, they may be unknowingly putting their children’s health at risk."

Professor Graham MacGregor of the Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine said: "Salt addiction starts in childhood and can lead to serious health issues in later life including high blood pressure, increased risk of stroke, heart disease, osteoporosis and kidney disease.

"Parents are doing their best, but with the food industry continuing to put huge levels of salt in our food without any information on the menu, our children remain at risk."

Weatherspoons and the Sizzling Pub Co are reportedly reviewing the salt levels of some of its children's meals, while Nando's will be launching a new range of meals at the end of the month.