A new salt shaker designed by Gateshead Council and distributed to take-aways in Gateshead has been short-listed by the government’s Food Standards Agency for a “Food Champion Award”.

The shaker – which features five holes instead of the usual 17 – was designed after research carried out by Gateshead Council in 2005 discovered that customers were often receiving huge quantities of salt with their fish and chips – up to half their entire recommended daily allowance of salt in a single serving.

It was discovered that many take-aways were using flour shakers instead of salt cellars, which greatly increased the amount of salt being served.

Gateshead Council was so disturbed by its findings that it decided to commission a manufacturer to produce a salt shaker with fewer holes, which it then distributed free of charge to every fish and chip shop and hot food take-away in Gateshead. The reaction by the catering trade to the new lower-salt shaker has been very favourable with no reports of adverse reaction from customers, and most outlets have now adopted it.

Other local authorities in the UK are now conducting trials with the Gateshead-designed shaker.

Now, as national Salt Awareness Week gets underway, Gateshead Council has discovered that their work has been shortlisted by the Food Standards Agency for a national award. Representatives from Gateshead Council have been asked to visit London in February to share their research, and the new salt shaker, with the Food Standards Agency with the possibility that it may be selected for a national “Food Champion Award”.

Councillor Malcolm Graham, Cabinet member responsible for health, says: “There has always been a debate on what constitutes the right amount of salt on a bag of chips. Although it is a mostly a matter of personal preference and taste, the harmful health effects of high levels of salt are very well known, so anything we can do to protect the public from ingesting too much should be considered.

“Our research is especially worrying because it has shown that it’s quite possible to get most of a whole day’s allowance of salt in a single serving of chips. However, our five-hole salt shaker helps to reduce the amount of salt you automatically receive when you ask for salt on their chips, helping to protect your health.

He added: “We are certainly not trying to stop people from enjoying their fish and chips – all we are doing is offering them a choice. If you want more salt, you can always ask for it but we think people will quickly get used to, and enjoy, taking less. And that will have major health benefits.”

Most people don’t realise that many everyday foods such as ready-meals, breakfast cereals and pastry products can contain high levels of salt. Adding salt to our food can boost the amount we consume daily to levels well above those recommended by the medical profession.

Doctors have shown that the amount of salt we eat has a direct effect on blood pressure - and the more salt we eat, the higher our blood pressure. High salt intake also causes other health problems, such as greater retention of water, thinning of the bones (osteoporosis), asthma and kidney disease and is closely related to cancer of the stomach.

The Department of Health and Food Standards Agency recommend that adults should cut their salt intake from the current average of 10 to 12 grams of salt a day to 6 grams a day, or less.