Australia's Sausage Sizzle Obsession Is Officially a Health Concern

What’s more Australian than a lightly charred sausage encased in a slice of thin white bread, topped by a drizzle of carcinogenic-looking neon red tomato sauce and perhaps—if you're at a very fancy Bunnings—a few burnt onions?

Nothing.

The sausage-in-bread is a delicacy. You might even label it Australia’s national culinary emblem. But our enthusiastic sausage eating may be our undoing, according to a new report released today by the George Institute of Global Health.

Analysing the levels of salt contained within Australia’s favourite processed meat, the research reveals the average barbecued sausage contains dangerously high levels of salt—more than half of a person's average daily intake—especially when accompanied by bread and sauce.

The George Institute finds that Australians are consuming 1.1 billion ultra salty sausages per year, and warns the health impacts are dire. Researchers encourage us to moderate our intake, and shop for leaner and less salty meats in general.

"We know that everybody enjoys a sausage occasionally and we're not by any means telling people not to eat sausages—we are encouraging people to check the label and try and choose the lower-salt option," the report’s lead author, Clare Farrand, said in a press statement.

Sure, it’s possible to check the labelling of sausages in supermarkets and pick out the ones with lower levels of sodium. And sure, excessive salt consumption is directly linked to a host of health issues, including high blood pressure, heart attacks and strokes, and kidney disease. Unfortunately, I predict those low salt sausages taste way less good.

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