The sodium content of convenience and traditionally prepared school meals

In two primary schools, menus were planned to achieve similar protein and energy targets, but one kitchen used mainly convenience menu items while the other used mainly traditional meal preparation methods. Menu items were the same, as far as possible. Sample meals were analysed for sodium content. The convenience meals contained 590 mg of sodium per MJ, 55 per cent higher than the traditional meals which contained 380 mg of sodium per MJ.