Sourdough bread and spelt bread made by several Dutch bakery chains contain much more salt than is allowed by law, consumer organisation Consumentenbond has found.

The worst offenders are bakeries Vlaams Broodhuys and Vanmenno. All of the artisanal bread from these bakeries tested by the Consumentenbond contained excess salt.

The Consumentenbond looked at the salt content of three types of bread bread baked by 10 bakery chains. Of the thirty loaves, thirteen contained too much salt and five contained the maximum allowed.

The saltiest loaves (Grand-mère made by Vlaams Broodhuys and Oberlander white sourdough baked by Meesterbakker Roodenrijs) contained a whopping 0.8 of a gram of salt per slice. The only bakery to remain under the legal limit for all three loaves is Bakkerij Bart.

Supermarket bakeries are also respecting the salt limit . ‘We looked at the salt content of super market bread in 2012, 2013 and 2014 and they were well within the norm,’ broadcaster NOS quotes Consumentenbond spokesperson Babs van der Staak as saying.

Mistake

When confronted with the results of the tests the bakeries involved said they would conduct their own investigations. ‘Bakeries say that the high salt content is down to a mistake in new recipes,’ says Van der Staak.

According to the Consumentenbond bakeries have been announcing salt reductions for years but so far only small steps have been taken.

The recommended maximum daily salt intake is 6 grams but for most people the average salt consumption is closer to 9 grams. 80 % of salt consumed comes from added salt in products such as bread, ready meals, soups and sauces. Too much salt can damage the heart and kidneys.