asked Her Majesty’s Government:

What steps they will take to ensure further progress in the reduction of the salt content of supermarket economy food ranges.

My Lords, the Food Standards Agency is working with all sectors of the food industry to reduce levels of salt in food. The FSA believes that salt reduction should apply to all products in a company’s portfolio, whether they are standard, premium or value lines.

My Lords, does my noble friend recognise that to maximise the public health benefits associated with the reduction of salt in manufactured foods and products, especially in the economy range of those items, food manufacturers as a group and the supermarkets must act in a co-ordinated way? Does he agree that building on the successes of the recent campaigns sponsored by the NCC, the FSA and the Government would bring enormous benefit to the most vulnerable in society—children, the elderly and those in low-income households?

Yes, my Lords, I pay tribute to the industry—the manufacturers and retailers—for the work that it has done with the FSA and the development of voluntary targets. The NCC survey showed that 35 per cent of economy products surveyed met the FSA salt targets compared with 44 per cent of non-economy products. There is some way to go. We would like to see the gap closed between economy and other products, and those targets are due to be met by 2010. We are encouraging the industry to go faster, but we acknowledge the work that it has carried out so far.

My Lords, the products that have been referred to are obviously important because they apply to the most deprived in society, but do the Government have plans to introduce a compulsory salt limit if voluntary action fails to meet the necessary target? Will the same approach be applied to processed foods, which remain too high in saturated fats and sugar? When will such a statutory limit be imposed in the future?

My Lords, these are clearly matters for the Food Standards Agency to consider, but, so far as salt is concerned, it prefers a voluntary approach at the moment. That must make sense, as the industry has met with the FSA, has agreed to voluntary targets and is clearly making progress. It surely makes sense to work with the grain there.

My Lords, given that everyone in this House will know that bread is the biggest source of salt in the UK diet, will the Minister tell us whether anything is going to be done about bread that is not pre-packed, such as that which is sold in supermarkets or independent bakeries, or indeed that is provided in your Lordships’ House? Such bread is not required to display any kind of nutritional information labelling. What do the Government intend to do about labelling in that respect, particularly with regard to salt, but also in respect of the other issues that the noble Baroness, Lady Howe, mentioned, such as fat?

My Lords, as the noble Baroness will know, there is currently no legal requirement to declare the quantity of salt, although the amount of sodium must be given if a low-sodium or low-salt claim is made. Much of the legislation around the labelling of food is controlled by European legislation, and we are in constant discussion with Europe. In the mean time, though, one must pay tribute to the work of the FSA in generally encouraging companies to introduce labelling. There are signs of considerable success in this area. We should simply continue the efforts to encourage more labelling and to make it more transparent and easily understandable.

My Lords, I hope that the Minister will take this unnecessary and vitriolic assault on salt with a pinch of salt.

My Lords, it is very difficult to follow that. Let us be clear: salt has many attributes. The approach of the FSA with the industry is gradually to reduce the level of salt so that the daily intake comes down but essentially consumers do not know the difference. None the less, salt is still being used to give flavour—bread without salt is not a great thing to eat—as a preservative and in other good ways.

My Lords, following my noble friend’s earlier reply, it is a great concern that at the moment there seems to be a stand-off between the Food Standards Agency and the supermarkets on labelling. Will the Minister ensure that the simplest and most easily understood method of labelling for all products in our food, whether salt or other ingredients, will be the final outcome of the deliberations that I know the Government are embarked on?

My Lords, this is a question of the food traffic light system that the FSA has developed, which some supermarkets are not using, although many are. I draw noble Lords’ attention to a survey published by the BBC this morning that shows that the public overwhelmingly support traffic light food labelling because it is much more straightforward and easy to understand.

My Lords, the traffic light system may be easier for the consumer to understand, but is it satisfactory? Is not the more informative system developed by the food industry and supermarkets, which shows the consumer the salt content, the fat content, the sugar content and so on of each product, a much better way for the consumer to see what they are buying?

My Lords, I am not at all sure about that. All I would say to the noble Earl is that a number of companies are using the FSA approach or will be applying it shortly, including Sainsbury’s, Waitrose, the Co-op, Marks & Spencer, Asda, Budgens, McCain, New Covent Garden Food, Avondale, Moy Park, Britannia and Bombay Halwa. I would have thought that, while some companies disagree with it, that is a pretty comprehensive list of blue-chip companies that think that the FSA approach is the right one.