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Dr Kamal Mahtani was interviewed for Channel 4 Dispatches on 29 July during an investigation set up at a shopping centre to find out whether the public have a taste preference for bread made with different levels of salt.

The general premise of the documentary 'Salt: are you eating too much?' (22min 15sec)was to highlight the importance of accurate labelling of salt content in food items, salt reduction strategies in specific populations such as children and the role of the food industry in assisting in salt lowering.

One of the barriers to salt reduction in general food items has been suggested to be taste. However a team of SPCR researchers, led by Dr Kamal R. Mahtani, carried out a study entitled 'Effects of salt reduction in bread' on over 300 members of the public. They examined whether salt levels could be reduced in bread, one of the largest contributors to salt in our diet, without impacting on taste.

What our larger study has shown us is that we can reduce salt levels in bread and a notable number of people could not even tell the difference ... such reductions in salt could have benefits on health at an individual level and population level”.
- Dr Kamal Mahtani, CEBM, Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, University of Oxford.

The full details of the study will be available shortly.