Takeaway pizzas may be piling on the taste by piling on the salt, researchers warned today.
People who eat a whole pizza delivered to the door may also eat their daily quota of salt in the one helping, researchers found.
The conclusions came from Consensus Action on Salt and Health.
The organisation said the takeaway can have more than twice the salt found in the average supermarket pizza.
Researchers found that 75 per cent of supermarket pizzas meet current Department of Health salt reduction targets – but fewer than 20 per cent of takeaways achieve this.
Victoria Taylor, of the British Heart Foundation, said: “Nobody would choose to eat an entire teaspoon of salt in one go, yet by eating some of these pizzas, that’s what we’re doing.
“We need clear traffic light labelling, in takeaway restaurants as well as on supermarket shelves, to help us all understand what’s really in the food we are buying.
“The take-away message from this takeaway survey is that eating healthily isn’t about cutting out our favourite foods, but balancing these with healthier options and making the best choices we can.
"In order to help us make these choices for ourselves and our families we need clear, easy to understand information on all food packaging.”
* The UK Department of Health says it is making progress in persuading food retailers and manufacturers to tackle unhealthy eating.
It released a list at the weekend of low-calorie initiatives being undertaken by major companies.
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