A third of breads contain more salt than recommended under guidelines being introduced next year, a survey found.

Most breads were within the current guidelines of 1.1g of salt per 100g—but this is being cut to 1g per 100g.

Campaign for Action on Salt and Health (CASH), which looked at 300 breads, said it was “outrageous”that bread contained even the current level. The Department of Health said “considerable” salt reductions had already been made. Manufacturers said many loaves with the lowest salt levels were supermarket brands, which were the most popular.

Eating too much salt is linked to high blood pressure, which in turn increases the risk of developing heart disease. Recommended dietary salt levels vary with age. Adults are meant to have no more than 6g of salt in their diet per day, while toddlers should have no more than 2g.

Salt levels in bread have fallen by about a third over the past decade, with some falling by up to 40%. But CASH says levels are still too high, and warns there is wide variation in the amount found in loaves. Most are within half a gram of the current target of 1.1g of salt per 100g of bread—about two thick slices. But Cash found some signifi cantly exceeded it.

CASH says consumers should look at nutrition labels, where possible, to see how much salt bread contains. But it warns fresh breads, from in-store or high-street bakeries have no nutritional labelling, meaning people cannot tell how much salt they contain. And it said bakery breads often had higher levels than their packaged products.

CASH chairman Prof. Graham MacGregor, of the Wolfson Institute of Preventative Medicine, said: “It is frankly outrageous that bread still contains so much salt. The Department of Health needs to ensure that all bread is clearly labelled and that all manufacturers reduce the salt of bread to less that the salt target of 1g per 100g. It is the very high levels of salt that is hidden in everyday food, such as bread, that puts up both adults’ and children’s blood pressure.”

Victoria Taylor, senior dietician at the British Heart Foundation, said: “We know too many people are eating too much salt each day. Some manufacturers are working towards targets for salt reduction, but we need more action to cut the salt content in bread and make sure they provide colour-coded food labels to help their customers.” But Federation of Bakers director Gordon Polson said: “The majority of wrapped, sliced bread available already meets the 2012 targets and our members are continuing to endeavour to reduce salt by contributing to ongoing research to establish which other means are available to reduce salt in bread. The vast majority of breads singled out in the CASH report as higher in salt are not the mainstream products produced by our members; which do produce around 80% of the nation’s bread in a £3bn industry.”

A Department of Health spokesman said the government welcomed the “considerable” salt reductions that bread makers had already made, and it was “very pleasing” that around 60% of the products met salt targets for 2012.

“This is an important step in helping to reduce salt intake, as well as lowering the risk of high blood pressure and resulting strokes and heart disease. We look forward to seeing further reductions as more companies meet the targets,” he added.

British Retail Consortium food director Andrew Opie said retailers and manufacturers are to fund independent research to look for ways of meeting the 2012 target—“while still making foods which consumers want to buy”.

1.  According to CASH, the current salt levels of bread are ______.

A. amazingly low     B. proper  C. too high  D. considerable

2.  According to the passage, which of the following statements is CORRECT?

A. Salt reductions are to be made.

B. The loaves in supermarkets are with the lowest salt levels.

C. Women can have more salt in their diet per day than men.

D. Recommended dietary salt levels are different with age.

3.  CASH suggests that ______.

A. salt levels in bread should be reduced by 40%

B. the amount found in loaves should vary with breads

C. consumers should fi gure out how much salt bread contains

D. only fresh breads should be labelled

4.  What’s Gordon Polson’s attitude toward the majority of wrapped, sliced bread available?

A. Positive.  B. Critical.      C. Skeptical.      D. Indifferent. 

1. C

本题为细节题。根据文章第三段得知 ,CASH认为 目前面包 中所含盐分的水平 outrageous ,如果不懂该词 的话 ,可 以参照第五段 的第二句 :But  CASH  says levels are still too high... ,因此选C。

2.D

本题为细节题。根据第三段第二句...salt reductions had already been made可以了解 ,面包中所含盐分已经减少了 ,而选项A表示将要 降低面包中所含的盐分,所以是错误的;第三段的最后一句话指出many loaves with the lowest salt levels were supermarket brands ,可以得知,并不是超市里的面包含盐量最低 ,所以选项B是错的;第四段的最后一句指出,成年人每天摄入的盐分最多不能超过6克 ,并没有提到男性和女性之间的区别,所以选项C是错误的 ;从第四段的倒数第二句可以得出选项D是正确的。

3.C

本题为细节题。根据第六 、七两段 ,我们可以清楚地知道 ,CASH认为顾客应该查看一下标 明营养成分 的标签 ,并警告说很多新鲜 的面包上面并没有这样的标签 ,这就意味着顾客无从得知所含的盐分 ,因此应选择C。

4.A

本题为细节题。根据文章第八段Gordon Polson的话The majority of wrapped, sliced bread available already meets the 2012 targets and our members are continuing to endeavour to reduce salt by contributing to ongoing research to establish which other means are available to reduce salt in bread. The vast maj ority of breads singled out in the CASH report as higher in  salt are not the mainstream products produced by our members; which do produce around 80% of the nations bread in a £3bn industry ,可以得知他的态度是积极 的,因此判断选项B (批判的 )、C (怀疑的 )、D (漠不关心的 )都不正确 ,应当选择A (积极的 )。

参考译文

一个调查发现 ,三分之一面包的含盐量超过了国家明年将发布的食品健康指标的推荐含量。

大部分面包都在当前的每100克含盐1.1克的指标范围内——但是这个指标将被降到每100克含1克。

低盐与健康运动  (Campaign for Action on Salt and Health ,简称  “CASH” )检测了300种面包 ,发现含盐量仍然保持当前水平 ,并对此表示  “很意外”。卫生部  (The Department of Health )说含盐量已经降低 “很多”了。生产商说,很多含盐量最低的面包都是超市自有品牌 ,它们也是最受欢迎的。

吃太多的盐会导致高血压 ,继而提高心脏病 的发病率 。对于不 同的年龄段 ,推荐 的食盐量也不同。成人每天不超过6克,儿童不超过2克。

面包的含盐量在过去的十年 中下降了大约三分之一 ,有些下降了40% 。但是低盐与健康运动认为含盐量仍然太高 ,而且警告说不同品牌面包的含盐量各不相同。大多数都与当前 的指标上下相差不到半克 。当前的指标是每100克 ,即两厚片面包含1.1克盐 。但是,低盐与健康运动发现有些品牌的面包远远超过了这个指标 。

低盐与健康运动建议消费者应该尽可能看一看营养标签上 的含盐量说 明。但是该组织警告说,商场里及沿街 的面包坊里加工 的鲜面包不带营养标签 ,这意味着人们不知道它们含有多少盐 。该组织还说,面包坊加工的面包的含盐量比带包装的面包通常更高。

低盐与健康运动主席 ,沃尔夫森预防医学学院 (Wolfson Institute of Preventative Medicine )教授格雷厄姆·麦格雷戈(Graham MacGregor )说:“面包仍然含有这么多盐 ,这是很不寻常的。卫生部应当确保所有面包都清晰地标有营养标签 ,所有生产商都把含盐量降低到每100克含盐1克 的指标以下 。成人和儿童血压升高的原因正是日常生活中如面包这样 的食物中含过多的盐”。

英国心脏基金会  (British Heart Foundation )高级营养学家维多利亚·泰勒  (Victoria Taylor )说:“我们知道有太多人每天吃太多盐 。有些生产商正努力按照指标要求降低含盐量,但是我们需要更多实际行动来减少含盐量 ,确保生产商提供彩色营养标签 ,帮助顾客选择 。”但是英国烘焙协会(Federation of Bakers )董事长戈登·波尔森  (Gordon Polson )说:“市场上大多数包装切片面包已经符合2012年指标 ,我们的成员厂家正在努力研究寻找其他可以降低含盐量的途径。绝大多数在低盐与健康运动报告中被指含盐量较高的面包都不是我们的主流产品,在全国30亿英镑的面包产业中,我们生产了其中的80%的面包”。

一位卫生部发言人说 ,面包生产商已经 “大幅度”降低 了含盐量 ,政府对此表示赞同,而且大约60%的产品达到了2012年指标 ,这一成果也是 “非常喜人的”。

 “这是帮助降低摄盐量 、降低高血压风险以及因此导致的中风和心脏病风险的重要一步。我们希望看到更多公司达到这一指标,进一步降低含盐量 。”他补充说 。

英国零售协会  (British Retail Consortium )食品董事长安德鲁·奥佩  (Andrew Opie )说,零售商和生产商应当资助独立的科研行为,寻找达2012年指标的途径——“同时还应该生产消费者想要买的食品”。

选自BBC

重点、难点词汇

recommend vt. 推荐

nutrition n. 营养

outrageous adj .令人吃惊的;不同寻常的

high-street n.(城镇的)主要街道

dietary adj . 饮食的

colour-coded adj . 有色标的

toddler n. 学步小孩儿

endeavour vi. 尽力;竭力

variation n. 变化;差异i

ntake n. 摄取量

slice n. 薄片                                                

stroke n. 中风

exceed vt. 超过 ;胜过                                          

etailer n. 零售商

长句疑难句分析

1. CASH says consumers should look at nutrition labels, where possible, to see how much salt bread contains.

该句中的短语where possible意思是  “尽可能地”,如 :Where possible, it is quicker and cheaper to buy commercial off-the-shelf items.尽可能地购买现成的商业产品,这样更快 ,也更便宜。

2. The majority of wrapped, sliced bread available already meets the 2012 targets and our members are continuing to endeavour to reduce salt by contributing to ongoing research to establish which other means are available to reduce salt in bread.

该句话是英国烘焙协会 (Federation of Bakers )负责人Gordon Polson 的观点。理解这句话的关键是要了解句子的成分。句子  “and our members are continuing to endeavour to reduce salt by contributing to ongoing research to establish which other means are available to

reduce salt in bread”中,主语是our members ,谓语是are continuing to,而by contributing to ...是方式状语 ,在该方式状语 中又包含了由which引导的宾语从句做establish的宾语。