In recent years the number of low or no-salt products on supermarket shelves has rocketed.

Baked beans, tomato sauce, stock cubes, soup, bread and crisps are among the many low salt foods available for people who are looking to cut down.

Many people now know that eating too much salt is bad for their health - in stark contrast to the situation a few years ago when the dangers of salt on health were virtually unknown to the general public.

Despite this, however, there has been a ‘shocking’ rise in the salt content of people’s shopping baskets, with major brands at fault, according to a new study.

Bradford Good Food Project runs an award scheme encouraging businesses to offer healthier options to consumers. It provides information, fact sheets, hints and tips to reduce salt intake and dispel myths surrounding the use of salt and rewards businesses .

They are raising the profile of the awards during Salt Awareness Week, which runs until Sunday.

“Many people do not realise how much salt foods contain, and then they sprinkle on more salt before they eat their meals,” says project officer Amy Lamond, “You may find that tinned vegetables, for instance, are in salt water.

“There are a lot of myths surrounding salt enhancing flavour, but you can enhance flavour in other ways such as by using herbs and spices.”

The project - a partnership initiative between Bradford Council and west Yorkshire Trading Standards Service - encourages businesses such as restaurants and take-aways to offer more healthy options on their menus. It also provides salt shakers with multiple holes to reduce the amount spread on food.

“We will be spreading the word on Facebook and Twitter,” adds Amy, “With links to guides on how to reduce your intake.”

The salt consumption target set by the Government is a maximum 6g, or one teaspoonful, a day for adults. Current eating habits exceed that, with adults across the UK consuming an average of 8.1g of salt per day. For children the target is 3g each day.

The possible consequences of excessive salt consumption include high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, stomach cancer, kidney disease and obesity.

If everyone in the UK cut their salt intake by 1g salt per day it could save 4,147 deaths from strokes and heart attacks per year, saving the NHS around £288 million a year, according to the World Action on Salt & Health (WASH).

Jamie’s Ministry of Food in Bradford spreads the word through its many cookery classes. “We talk about it in our lessons,” says project manager Soraya Overend, “People are often confused by ingredients which mention both salt and sodium - which is contained within salt - and often the amount of salt on the label refers to only half or even a quarter of a pack, which people need to be aware of”

She adds: “We run an eight week course and address it on a number of occasions, especially in week three when we look at soup, which is among tinned foods in which salt content can be high. People get used to eating larger amount of salt and may then think that food tastes bland without it, but if you are cooking from scratch there are so many ways you can enhance the flavour such as herbs and spices or by frying onions for longer and caramelised onions.”

Despite dozens of firms signing a voluntary deal to cut salt levels, health campaigners say that too many everyday foods still contain too much. Research from the Campaign for Action on Salt and Health (Cash) found that products such as tinned tomato soup, Cheddar cheese and chilled ready meals are among the worst offenders for increasing salt in recent years.

A review of tinned tomato soup from 2007 and 2016 found that 55 per cent of the products contained the same amount of salt or more than in 2010. Some cheese products have also seen an increase.

We do need some salt, say Amy Lamond. “It helps us to absorb nutrients, aids the digestion process, enables the transmission of nerve pulses and regulates the electrical charge in and out of cells. But we need to regulate it and be aware of how much we are eating. People need to look at labels and compare products.”

Sonia Pombo, nutritionist and campaign manager for Cash, says: “While many food manufacturers initially made an effort to reduce salt, others are now failing to do so and in turn are putting the nation’s health at risk.”

*For more information visit facebook.com/goodfoodbradfordaward; Twitter page @goodfoodbradfd (CORRECT) bradford.gov.uk/ministryoffood; worldactionsalt.com/awarenessweek