As many as 14,000 premature deaths a year could be prevented in the UK if adults reduced their salt consumption to 6 grams a day, the Food Standards Agency said yesterday.

A survey for the watchdog has found that consumers are reducing their salt intake but the average person is still overdosing on salt by more than half the recommended daily amount.

Urine tests on 692 adults showed that the average daily salt intake this year is down to 8.6g compared to 9.5g when the first sampling was done in 2001. The reduced consumption has already saved 6,000 lives.

With one in six meals now eaten outside the home in the UK the agency is seeking more action from food outlets including cafés, fast food chains, sandwich bars, pubs and restaurants.

Before the end of the year low-salt options are to be flagged up on many menus or promoted on noticeboards inside the premises.

Fast food chains such as McDonalds are already serving French fries without added salt, and kitchen staff from a range of food firms are devising new recipes to avoid salt.

Companies such as Brakes, 3663, Compass and Sodexho, which provide 85 per cent of workplace canteens throughout the country, are cutting salt or dropping it altogether.

The watchdog has still to tackle fish and chips shops where salt is often routinely sprinkled on food.

In a move that threatens new conflict with manufacturers the agency has decided to toughen up targets to cut salt content from scores of everyday products.

The agency has served notice to meat processors in particular that there is still too much salt in bacon, ham, meat pies, pasties and sausages.

Mozzarella has also been identified for urgent action. It is a prime ingredient in pizzas and many pasta meals. Manufacturers have already agreed to cut salt from mozzarella to 1.8g per 100g by 2010 but the agency is now demanding 1.5g per 100g within two years.

Further action is also required to cut salt in pre-packed white sliced bread, which is 80 per cent of all loaves sold in the UK. Manufacturers have already reduced salt by more than 30 per cent but the agency believes it can be cut further without compromising taste.

Leading brands in the spotlight also include Kellogg's Cornflakes which has 1.8g salt per 100g compared to Asda's own-label cornflakes with 0.8g per 100g, while Heinz Tomato Ketchup has 3.1g salt per 100g compared with Tesco Organic Tomato Ketchup at 1.0g per 100g.

The agency says that the new targets are achievable because some companies are already producing similar products with reduced salt without comprising taste, food quality or consumer satisfaction.

In baked beans the Co-operative everyday baked beans in tomato sauce has 1.25g per 100g salt, while Sainsbury's basics baked beans contains 0.5g per 100g salt. Tesco cooked ham slices contains 2.5g per 100g salt whereas Asda cooked ham slices has 1.6g salt per 100g.

Cheddar cheese poses a particular problem because salt is fundamental to its texture and safety. But the FSA believes that there is scope for further reduction in other hard cheeses such as Cheshire, Lancashire, Wensleydale and Double Gloucester.

Even makers of Stilton cheese, which had previously fought off attempts to impose salt reduction targets, have agreed to cut salt by 20 per cent.

The campaign group Consensus Action on Salt and Health(CASH) welcomed the 10 per cent reduction in salt intake and said that it accounted for 19,700 tonnes of salt a year removed from the national diet - the equivalent of 3,000 male elephants or the capacity of more than 50 community swimming pools.

Graham MacGregor, professor of cardiovascular medicine and chairman of CASH, said: “This is the most important news that we have heard about health and eating for a long time. As salt intakes continue to fall over the next few years, the effect of this salt reduction policy on strokes and heart attacks, the commonest cause of death in the UK, will become even larger.”

The Food and Drink Federation, which represents manufacturers, said that companies had been working hard to reduce salt from products and consumer choice was being informed by labels on packs showing salt content in foods.

The Association of Cereal Food Manufacturers had reduced salt in breakfast brands by 43 per cent since 1998. In cakes, buns and biscuits salt reduction was between 16 and 50 per cent; in cooking sauces salt is down by 28.8 per cent; in soups 24.5 per cent.

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