PAM FRAMPTON: Cafeteria food, with a big dose of salt

Advertisement 1 This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Breadcrumb Trail Links HomeAtlantic CanadaCape BretonCape Breton OpinionNewfoundland & LabradorNewfoundland And Labrador OpinionNova ScotiaHalifax OpinionOpinionPrince Edward Island PAM FRAMPTON: Cafeteria food, with a big dose of salt NL's own Healthy Food Policy says it will help make eating healthy an easy choice - but that wasn't the experience at hospital cafeteria Author of the article: By Pam Frampton Published Sep 16, 2026 4 minute read The packaging for a grilled chicken Madras sandwich shows it contains a whopping 1,460 milligrams of sodium. PHOTO BY PAM FRAMPTON Article content When a family member had a medical emergency recently, it was inevitable that at some point during our 10-hour visit, my husband and I would find our way to the hospital cafeteria. Article content It was a Saturday, mid-afternoon, and the food choices were somewhat limited at that hour. The day’s entrée — salmon and “fluffy” rice — was looking a little tired, so we opted for a couple of sandwiches and some bottled water. Article content Article content Article content I had a Buffalo chicken wrap, hoping for a bit of zing — but it was a sad, soggy, non-descript wrap with chunks of chicken and lettuce that was brown at the edges. Article content My husband had a grilled chicken Madras sandwich, which he declared devoid of flavour. Article content Now, it’s not like we’d been expecting Michelin-star culinary offerings — it was a hospital cafeteria after all. Still, we were both surprised at how food that supposedly contained hot sauce and hot peppers could be so blah. Article content After the first couple of bites, I was curious about the ingredients, and decided to check out the nutrition labels, which is something we do religiously at the grocery store. Article content I was gobsmacked to see that my wrap contained 1,160 milligrams of sodium — 50 per cent of the daily recommended intake for an adult (15 per cent is considered high, according to Health Canada.) My husband’s sandwich had a whopping 1,460 mg of sodium, or 63 per cent of the recommended daily amount. Article content In fact, Health Canada says the daily recommended intake of 2,300 mg of sodium for adults is at the upper end of the scale, and that 1,200 mg a day is a more sensible goal — which puts our sandwiches beyond the bounds of what is healthy. Article content Article content Read More Eastern…