This Week's Righteous Sunday Sermon *UPDATED a tad*

As is customary, those reliant on over-weening health scares for their living have taken the relaxation of a weekend and sprayed their intefering, selective mind-piss all over it.

High salt levels in ready made Sunday lunch warning

I love these articles as the more shrill public health boondogglers become, the more people are going to realise they are quite barking.

However, as this article illustrates, they are very careful not to condemn the Sunday roast itself, nor those who home-cook it. That is too much of a step right now, even for miserable authoritarians such as these. Oh no, it's only 'ready-made' items they are digging at (emphases mine).

Including too many ready-made items in a Sunday roast could lead to excessive salt intake, says research from a health charity.

[...] it found that choosing all ready-made products for a typical Sunday lunch - meat, vegetables and condiments - could result in nearly 10 grams of salt being consumed.

I've mentioned before that one of the prime motivators for the righteous is a deep-seated hatred of big business. This, again, fits perfectly into that agenda.

But if people read the labels and buy fresh meat and veg, it is also possible to cook a roast dinner with less than 2g of salt, CASH says.

This salt content is almost six times less than the total for the saltiest products.

It's only evil companies who add salt for flavour, you see, and it's 'possible' to use almost none at all if you cook at home.

But is that what actually happens if we want a scrumptious Sunday roast? Let's ask Delia, shall we?

To make the fat extra crusty during cooking, dust the fat surface of the beef with 1 level dessertspoon each of English mustard powder and plain flour – just rub them in gently – then season with salt and pepper.

And pork? Well, on the BBC website, ironically, Delia gives us the lowdown.

Now take about 1 tbsp of crushed salt crystals and sprinkle it evenly over the skin, pressing it in as much as you can.

How about roast potatoes, Delia?

Thinly peel the potatoes using a potato peeler, then cut them into fairly even-sized pieces, leaving the small ones whole. Then place them in a saucepan, pour over boiling water from a kettle, just to cover, then add salt and simmer for about 10 minutes.

And yorkshire puddings?

Make up the batter by sifting the flour into a bowl and making a well in the centre. Break the egg into it and beat, gradually incorporating the flour, and then beat in the milk, 2 fl oz (50 ml) water and seasoning (salt and freshly milled black pepper).

And I don't know about you, but Mrs P Snr always taught me to boil or steam vegetables in salted water. What says the nation's cooking treasure?

Pour in some boiling water from the kettle, add some freshly grated nutmeg and salt, then cover and steam the cauliflower till tender – about 12 minutes.

Wowser! It would appear that ready-made products are going to have to go some, then, to match the salt content of a typical Sunday lunch as advocated by the country's head cookery teacher.

Despite this, though, one of the hectoring fucknuggets at the root of this hysterical scaremongery ploughs on regardless.

However Professor Graham MacGregor from the Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine, and chairman of CASH, said they should do more.

"Unnecessary amounts of salt are still being hidden in our food," he said.

I think he means 'hidden' in a 'forced-by-government-to-display-the-precise-salt-content' kind of way.

"This puts both adults and children at risk of developing high blood pressure which causes strokes, heart attacks and heart failure, the commonest cause of death and disability in the UK."

Fuck me! Really? Call the cops and throw Delia in the slammer for reckless endangerment!

Look, Graham, we're talking a once a week meal here. The clue is in the 'Sunday' part of Sunday roast. Just because you irrelevantly bung death and misery into your sentence, it doesn't make your rent-seeking agenda any less obvious, you know.

"It is the food industry's responsibility to take the salt out."

I would comment on this, but I reckon Steve Shark has already done so in an accurate and succinct manner.

Sorry, Graham, but it’s people’s responsibility to monitor their own salt intake, you controlling cunt.

Quite.

UPDATE: Note to self - be more thorough.

I looked into CASH a while ago and vaguely remembered that they received paltry income while paradoxically enjoying huge media interest. It also struck me that they were working out of someone's office in Tooting.

That someone didn't concern me at the time ...

Prof Graham MacGregor, of St George's Hospital, in Tooting, South-West London, welcomed the move but added: "Why do they need to put salt on the chips at all? Why not leave them as they are and let customers sprinkle on what they want?"

Hmm, interesting.

But the BBC article says he is from the "Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine".

Funny enough, so now is the HQ of CASH.

Principal address:
Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine,
Charterhouse Square,
London ECIM 6BQ

So it would seem that this entire organisation consists of Graham MacGregor and, err, a couple of mates.

Voluntary income is from tin-rattling sources such as the Food Standards Agency, Nissan, the Co-Op and OMC Investments. They did raise £717 themselves from selling old stuff, though, it has to be said.

CASH, and dictating the lives of others, is just Graham's little hobby.

Bless.