Store-cupboard staples - including hot chocolate, pesto and sweet chilli sauce - 'packed' with hidden salt, Which? analysis reveals

Household staples such as hot chocolate, sweet chilli sauce and even cottage cheese are packed with worryingly high levels of salt, an analysis has found.Experts say around three quarters of the salt we eat is already in the foods we buy before you’ve even reached for the salt shaker. Consuming too much salt is a leading driver in high blood pressure, a problem that blights more than 14 million UK adults. The NHS recommends an adult's daily salt intake is 6g a day, but figures show that most adults in England consume around 8.4g.And consumer website Which? has found shockingly high levels of the mineral in not only your expected products – such as crisps, ready meals and cured meats – but also in dozens of products marketed as 'healthy'. This included protein bars sold by nutrition firm Chia Charge packed with the same salt as three handfuls of salted peanuts. The popular condiment Blue Dragon chilli sauce was found to contain more salt than two rashers of bacon in a typical serving.Options Hot Chocolate, meanwhile, has around as much as a bag of Walkers Ready Salted crisps. Barilla Genovese Basil Pesto also performed badly, containing around 1.63g of salt per portion – the equivalent of three packs of Walkers crisps. The popular condiment Blue Dragon chilli sauce was found to contain more salt than two rashers of bacon in a traditional servingElsewhere, lentil chips – low-calorie snacks seen as the healthier choice than traditional, fried potato alternatives – were found to have twice as much as most regular crisps, and about the same as a pack of bacon Frazzles.Overall, more than half of the 47 products analysed were found to contain high levels of salt.Under the UK's traffic light system, under 0.3g per 100g is low, between 0.3g and 1.5g per 100g is medium, and above 1.5g per 100g is high. The findings come as more than a third of Britons have high blood pressure.Also known as hypertension, high blood pressure narrows the arteries and, in many cases, can lead to heart attack and stroke – leading causes of death in Britain.Salt is a major risk factor for the condition as it causes the body to retain water, increasing the total volume of blood and putting extra pressure on the blood vessel walls.The new Which? investigation looked at eight different types of popular foods: sweet chilli sauce, lentil crisps, protein bars, hot chocolate, hummus, cottage cheese, nut butters and pesto. It examined how much salt was actually in them against the typical daily requirement.Surprisingly high salt products included Sabra Classic Houmous, which topped the hummus category at 1.3g per 100g, and the Estate Dairy Cottage Cheese, with 0.9g per 100g.The table below details all the salty products identified by the Which? analysts across all eight categories. Speaking of the findings, Shefalee Loth, Which? nutritionist, said: 'Salt can be surprisingly easy to overlook, particularly in foods we might think of as being healthy, such as protein bars, lentil crisps, cottage cheese and pesto.'She stressed that there is no reason to avoid these foods altogether, but added: 'Checking the salt per 100g and keeping an eye on portion sizes can help you make a more informed choice.' Which? analysis of saltiest foods Category Product Name Salt per 100g Salt per Real-World Portion Sweet Chilli Sauce Blue Dragon Original Sweet Chilli Sauce 4.3g 1.29g - 1.94g (30-45g portion) Sweet Chilli Sauce Blue Dragon Original Sweet Chilli Dipping Sauce 3.1g 0.93g - 1.4g (30-45g portion) Sweet Chilli Sauce Encona Thai Sweet Chilli Sauce 2.8g 0.84g - 1.26g (30-45g portion) Sweet Chilli Sauce Thai Dragon Sweet Chilli Sauce 2.7g 0.81g - 1.22g (30-45g portion) Sweet Chilli Sauce Blue Dragon Reduced Sugar Sweet Chilli Sauce 2.6g 0.78g - 1.17g (30-45g portion) Sweet Chilli Sauce Waitrose Cooks' Ingredients Sweet Chilli Sauce 2.37g 0.71g - 1.07g (30-45g portion) Pesto Barilla Genovese Basil Pesto 3.25g 1.63g (50g serving) Pesto Sacla Classic Basil Pesto 2.9g 1.45g (50g serving) Pesto Belazu Vegan Basil Pesto 2.9g 1.45g (50g serving) Pesto Sacla Pesto Pots 2.7g 1.35g (50g serving) Pesto Filippo Berio Classic Basil Pesto 2.7g 1.35g (50g serving) Pesto Ottolenghi Pesto 2.4g 1.2g (50g serving) Hot Chocolate Galaxy Light Instant Hot Chocolate 2.8g 0.36g (12.8g portion) Hot Chocolate Options Instant Belgian Mint Chocolate 2.8g 0.39g (14.1g portion) Hot Chocolate Options Instant White Chocolate 2.7g 0.38g (14.1g portion) Hot Chocolate Options Instant Belgian Hot Chocolate 2.6g 0.37g (14.1g portion) Hot Chocolate Ovaltine Original Light 1.6g 0.51g (32g portion) Hot Chocolate Ovaltine Chocolate Light 1.5g 0.38g (25.6g portion) Lentil and Healthy Snacks Proper Chips Barbecue Lentil Chips 2.55g 0.77g (30g serving) Lentil and Healthy Snacks Eat Real Lentil Chips Salted 2.4g 0.72g (30g serving) Lentil and Healthy Snacks Eat Real Quinoa Chips Sour Cream & Chive 2.08g 0.62g (30g serving) Lentil and Healthy Snacks Eat Real Quinoa Chips Sundried Tomato & Roasted Garlic 1.95g 0.59g (30g serving) Lentil and Healthy Snacks Eat Real Veggie Straws (Tomato Kale & Spinach) 1.89g 0.57g (30g serving) Lentil and Healthy Snacks Proper Chips Lentil Chips Sea Salt 1.84g 0.55g (30g serving) Nut Butters Marmite Crunchy Peanut Butter 2.1g 0.63g (30g portion) Nut Butters Sun-Pat Smooth Peanut Butter 1.2g 0.36g (30g portion) Nut Butters Aldi Grandessa Smooth Peanut Butter 1.19g 0.36g (30g portion) Nut Butters ManiLife Deep Roast Smooth Peanut Butter 1.1g 0.33g (30g portion) Nut Butters Skippy Smooth Peanut Butter 1g 0.3g (30g portion) Houmous Sabra Classic Houmous 1.3g 0.72g (55g portion) Houmous Daylesford Organic Houmous 1.2g 0.66g (55g portion) Houmous Ramona's Jalapeno Houmous 1.1g 0.61g (55g portion) Houmous Ramona's Heavenly Original Houmous 1g 0.55g (55g portion) Houmous Yarden Houmous Prestige 1g 0.55g (55g portion) Houmous Moorish Smooth & Creamy Houmous 1g 0.55g (55g portion) Protein Bars Pip & Nut Caramel Almond Protein Bar 1.24g 0.56g (46g bar) Protein Bars Chia Charge Salted Caramel Chia Seed Protein Crispy Bar 1.23g 0.7g (60g bar) Protein Bars Trek High Protein Biscoff 1.2g 0.67g (55g bar) Protein Bars Pip & Nut Peanut Butter Protein Bar 0.97g 0.45g (46g bar) Protein Bars Nature Valley Protein Peanut & Chocolate Bar 0.94g 0.37g (40g bar) Protein Bars Nature Valley Protein Salted Caramel Nut Bar 0.89g 0.35g (40g bar) Cottage Cheese The Estate Dairy Cottage Cheese 0.9g 1.35g - 2.25g (150-250g tub) Cottage Cheese Longley Farm Cottage Cheese 0.8g 1.2g - 2g (150-250g tub) Cottage Cheese Lindahls Protein Cottage Cheese 0.77g 1.16g - 1.93g (150-250g tub) Cottage Cheese All Things Cottage Cheese 0.7g 1.05g - 1.75g (150-250g tub) Cottage Cheese Alter Ego Cottage Cheese 0.7g 1.05g - 1.75g (150-250g tub) Cottage Cheese Biotiful Gut Health Kefir Cottage Cheese 0.7g 1.05g - 1.75g (150-250g tub) The products you SHOULD choose The good news is that there are many, lower-salt alternatives to each product. Which's analysis found these to be the lowest-salt items: Sweet chilli sauceSainsbury's Sweet Chilli Sauce - 1.03g salt per 100gHeinz Sweet Chilli Sauce - 1.3g salt per 100gTesco Sweet Chilli Sauce - 1.34g salt per 100gNando's Sweet Chilli Jam - 1.4g salt per 100gPestoTesco Red Pesto - 1.03g salt per 100g Asda Red Pesto - 1.1g salt per 100g Tesco Green Pesto - 1.20g salt per 100gAsda Green Pesto - 1.3g salt per 100gSainsbury's Classic Green Pesto - 1.4g salt per 100gHot chocolatePure cocoa powder or 70% dark chocolate melted into warm milkHorlicks Original (non-instant malt powder) - around 0.13g salt per 25g portionLentil chips and 'healthy' snacksHolland & Barrett Carrot and Beetroot Chips - 0.24g salt per 100gWalkers Sensations Thai Sweet Chilli - 0.64g salt per 100gPopchips Barbecue - 0.64g salt per 100gWalkers Lightly Salted & Vinegar - 0.67g salt per 100g Kettle Chips Lightly Salted - 0.70g salt per 100gNut buttersWhole Earth 100% Nuts - 0g saltWaitrose 100% Peanuts - 0g saltNuts About Nature Smooth Almond Butter - 0g saltMeridian Smooth Almond Butter - 0g salt HoumousMorrisons 30% Reduced Fat Red Pepper Houmous - 0.50g salt per 100g Sainsbury's Reduced Fat Houmous - 0.52g salt per 100gProtein barsNakd Cherry - less than 0.01g salt per 45g barNakd Cocoa Hazelnut - 0.01g salt per 45g barEat Natural Peanuts and Dark Chocolate - 0.1g salt per 40g barM&S Protein Ball - 0.11g salt per 40g ballCottage cheeseCreamfields Low Fat Cottage Cheese - 0.38g salt per 100gEssential Waitrose Cottage Cheese - 0.39g salt per 100gArla Natural Cottage Cheese - 0.39g salt per 100gTesco Fat Free Cottage Cheese - 0.41g salt per 100g