British adults are cutting their salt consumption to try to combat blood pressure risk, new figures show.
But national salt consumption is still well over the recommended healthy level, the figures show.
Women have cut down most drastically the figures show – and average female consumption stands at 6.8g a day, close to the recommended level of 6g.
At the turn of the century, adults aged 19 to 64 consumed an average of 9.5g a day – and now the average stands at 8.1g, according to the Department of Health figures.
Campaigners say it is hard for people to cut their salt consumption because most of it is in process foods.
Victoria Taylor, of the British Heart Foundation, said the food industry had made some progress in cutting salt levels.
She said: "It’s vital this work continues across the food industry so we can make further progress towards the national target of no more than 6g of salt a day.
"What is also interesting is that men are lagging behind when it comes to salt intake. We know women take advantage of food labels which could be helping them avoid salty foods, but it looks like men might need more help in the supermarket.
"Clear and consistent front-of-pack labels, with traffic light colours, will help us all to make healthier choices."
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