All is not well in the dairy sector. As communication breakdown between producers and milk buyers has led unhappy farmers to stage protests in the South-West against stagnating prices, public health watchdog the Consensus Action on Salt and Health (CASH) this week published a report on the "unnecessary [and] shockingly high" levels of salt contained in butter and margarine.

In a report published on Friday, CASH revealed that 60 percent of spreads tested failed to meet the Department of Health's 2012 Salt Targets and that low-fat spreads can be higher in salt than their full-fat equivalents.

CASH did acknowledge that only 3 percent of salt in the average diet comes from fatty spreads such as butter and margarine, but, having surveyed 300 products, the group said that the salt content of spreads is frequently overlooked and needlessly high. The group added that, "whilst people are aware of the high fat content of fats and spreads and the risks linked to obesity, they rarely think about its contribution to their daily salt intake and their blood pressure."

Reacting to the report, the Dairy Council, which promotes the dairy industry and its products in the UK, dismissed CASH's findings as "alarmist" and accused the group of "demonising" salted butters and spreads.  

Dr Judith Bryans, Director of The Dairy Council, said, "Reducing salt to recommended guidelines remains an important aspect of improving health in the UK diet but demonising foods is not the best way of doing so. Both unsalted and salted butters are available in the UK and readily available for the consumer to make their own choice."

"It is time that CASH pursued the worthy aims of general salt reduction by helping to educate consumers about establishing a good dietary pattern with plenty of fruit and vegetables, whole grains, lean protein sources and some dairy as is the current government guideline for good health. This can include foods like butter in appropriate amounts."