Britons are eating less salt, which is seen as a major contributor to strokes and heart disease, Britain's biggest killer, research data from the government's food safety watchdog showed on Monday.
Tests by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) show a drop in average per capita salt intake to 9 grams from 9.5 in 2001, with males down to 10.2 grams from 11 and women at 7.6 grams from 8.1.
The FSA said the higher male salt numbers reflected the fact that men ate more than women.
The British government has set a national target of no more than 6 grams of salt per person per day by 2010.
Six grams of salt roughly corresponds to one teaspoonful.
Excessive salt consumption can raise blood pressure, which in turn triples the risk of strokes and heart disease, the cause of nearly 238,000 deaths a year in Britain, the FSA said on its salt campaign website (www.salt.gov.uk).