PizzaExpress came in top with its Napoletana Pizza containing 9.6g of salt. This was followed by Barburrito’s Beef burrito wrap at 8 grams while pub chain Wetherspoons Gammon and Eggs came in at 8.8 grams of salt.
Chains including Ask, Beefeater and Harvester also featured on the top 10 restaurant chains with the highest salt dish.
However, the operators with the least saltiest dishes were also from some of the same restaurant chains.
Yo Sushi came in lowest for its Tuna sashimi at 0.1 grams followed by Ask Spaghetti Bolognese at 0.3 grams and Wagamama Sirloin and Shitake Mushroom Salad at 0.6 grams. Wetherspoons, which scored highly for its Gammon and Eggs, also offers a low salt Salmon salad at 0.6 grams.
Many fast-food operators, which have had a lot of criticism about health of their foods fared better. Burger King Whopper and fries came in the highest salt at 3.7 g per serving. This was followed by KFC fully loaded box meal at 3.44 grams and Domino’s Personal Pepperoni Passion at 3.35 grams.
However, the report was critical as it could only find information for a limited selection of the high street chains. It praised the chains in its research for being transparent with their nutritional information.
NHS guidelines recommend adults eat no more than 6g of salt a day, equivalent to around one teaspoon.
Amount of salt in chain restaurant dishes:
Fast food outlets:
Read the full set of results on Dr Wayne's medical blog here.