Massive salt increase in Patak’s Curry Pastes

ChrisJD

[FONT=&quot]On the shelf at my local Sainsbury's, where I usually buy Tikka Masala Paste, I found only Tikka Masala Spice Paste, a product I can't find on their web site.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]When I got home I compared the labels to see if they were indeed the same, with just a name tweak, and to investigate what changes might have been made to the "New Recipe". The most significant difference seems to be that the salt content has risen from 1.29g/ 100g to 4.75g/ 100g; in other words there is practically 3.7 times as much salt in the new product.[/FONT] :eek:

[FONT=&quot]Looking further at the old jar, I see it proudly proclaims "now with 50% less salt (compared with August 2009)", which I calculate would put the older product at 2.58g/ 100g, still much less than is now declared.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]They don't announce the much more significant increase with quite the same clarity.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]On my next visit to the supermarket I looked at Patak’s whole range of curry pastes, only to discover that all the ones with “Spice” in the name are now high in salt, whilst any older stock still proudly proclaim that they have less salt than in 2009.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]At a time when most authorities advise moderation in salt consumption, this change seems at best perverse.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]I raised the issue with Patak’s a fortnight ago, and am still waiting for an explanation.[/FONT]

Gigervamp

I wonder why they've increased the salt content, especially as government guidance to the food industry is to reduce the amount of salt in their products.
Just goes to show that leaving the industry unregulated means that they'll ignore the guidance.

As Pataks haven't got back to you, I wonder what Sainsbury's would have to say if you complained to them.

ChrisJD

I've contacted Sainsbury's today, so I'll see what they have to say. They have just introduced their own brand version, so I will investigate how that works.

browneyedbazzi

Is the new paste a more concentrated version? Do you use the same amount of each type of paste to make a curry?

Some of the paste I've recently bought (under a different brand name) calls for much less to be used compared to ones I have had previously (I use a large spoonful now, compared to half a jar before). The amount of salt per 100g will be much higher in the new one, but because I use less than half as much, my finished curry will be lower in salt.

gik

This is a non issue unless you are necking this daily rather than a once week/fortnight/month convenience treat.

browneyedbazzi

gik wrote: »

This is a non issue unless you are necking this daily rather than a once week/fortnight/month convenience treat.

A lot of people are conscious of their salt intake - some because they generally want to eat a healthy diet, and some because they have medical conditions that mean high salt foods are particularly bad for them.

You might not have the same concerns about salt intake and it may be a non-issue to you, but others will disagree.

geordie_joe

ChrisJD wrote: »

[FONT=&quot]The most significant difference seems to be that the salt content has risen from 1.29g/ 100g to 4.75g/ 100g; in other words there is practically 3.7 times as much salt in the new product.[/FONT] :eek:

I think you are getting mixed up with salt, sodium and salt equivelent. It's the sodium that the faceless boffin think might have a connection with ill health years later if you eat too much.

1g of sodium is equivelent to 2.5g salt.

The original paste lists 1.29g of sodium, equivelent to 3.23g of salt.

The spice paste lists 4.7g of salt which is about 1.88g of sodium.

Not such a huge rise.

Nada666

[STRIKE]Are you sure you're not confusing 'sodium' and 'salt'? The factor there is about 2.5.
[/STRIKE]
Doh! Going blind. Didn't see GeordieJoe's post. Too much sodium messing with my eyesight, probably.

VfM4meplse

browneyedbazzi wrote: »

A lot of people are conscious of their salt intake - some because they generally want to eat a healthy diet, and some because they have medical conditions that mean high salt foods are particularly bad for them.

You might not have the same concerns about salt intake and it may be a non-issue to you, but others will disagree.

Then these same people would do well to be aware that processed foods in general contain a high level of salt. How hard is it to make a curry? Blaming the jar is a poor excuse, if salt is your concern, vote with your feet and learn to cook from scratch. Hundreds of millions of Indians do every day, after all.

ChrisJD

geordie_joe wrote: »

I think you are getting mixed up with salt, sodium and salt equivelent. It's the sodium that the faceless boffin think might have a connection with ill health years later if you eat too much.

1g of sodium is equivelent to 2.5g salt.

The original paste lists 1.29g of sodium, equivelent to 3.23g of salt.

The spice paste lists 4.7g of salt which is about 1.88g of sodium.

Not such a huge rise.

Thanks for that, I was clearly confused by the change in the way they presented the information.

browneyedbazzi

VfM4meplse wrote: »

Then these same people would do well to be aware that processed foods in general contain a high level of salt. How hard is it to make a curry? Blaming the jar is a poor excuse, if salt is your concern, vote with your feet and learn to cook from scratch. Hundreds of millions of Indians do every day, after all.

Who's blaming a jar for anything? It's about using the information provided on the jar/packet to make an informed choice about what to buy and consume.

Yes lots of people make their own curry every day but not everyone has the skill or desire to cook from scratch. A lot of home made curries are also extremely high in salt and fat (those being things that make it tasty). Just because something is made from scratch doesn't make it miraculously healthy.

I cook virtually everything from scratch btw - curry is the exception.