Children's hospital meals found to contain extremely high levels of fat and salt

The study, carried out by Consensus Action on Salt and Health (CASH) and Sustain, found that 85 out of 189 meals analysed exceeded the maximum school standards for saturated fat and salt.

One of the meals considered was chicken tikka masala with rice. This had 14 times more salt and eight and a half times more saturated fat than a comparable chicken and vegetable balti with rice meal served in schools. Lasagne served to children in one hospital had six times more salt than the same dish served in schools.

CASH chairman Professor Graham MacGregor said: "With everything we know about the risk of children developing high blood pressure and diet-related diseases such as obesity, it is vital to keep their consumption of salt and saturated fat as low as possible, while keeping food appetising.

"When such great progress has been made on what pupils are eating in school it is shocking that children in hospitals are being ignored."

Researchers are backing a private member's bill introduced to parliament by Joan Walley, the Labour MP for Stoke on Trent North, calling for all food served in public sector settings, including hospitals, to be subject to mandatory nutritional standards.

Walley said: "It is really important that children are served food in hospital that they like, but we must also make sure that it is nourishing and healthy for them to eat.

"The bill I have introduced would set nutritional standards for all food served in public sector institutions so that we can be sure our family and friends are being served food which is good for their health."