Many other food products also had high levels of salt, the George Institute found in research announced to coincide with World Salt Awareness Week (1-7 February).

The Australian Division of World Action on Salt and Health (AWASH) is calling on governments to take action by setting salt target levels for processed and take-away foods.

AWASH chair Bruce Neal said salt reduction efforts in Australia were piecemeal and progressing too slowly.

Professor Neal said target levels for salt in processed and take-away foods were urgently needed.

"They’ve shown this works in the UK, and New York City has just set targets that will be applied across the US," he said.

"We are passing up one of the greatest public health opportunities in Australia – a recent report on the US strategy showed that reducing population salt intakes by 3 grams could prevent up to 92,000 deaths each year."

In the UK and the US, negotiations between government, industry and scientists have established maximum acceptable salt levels for more than 85 categories of processed and fast foods. Industry then works towards achieving these targets over an agreed time-frame, typically a couple of years.

There is overwhelming evidence that the current high levels of salt consumed in Australia causes high blood pressure, the leading cause of stroke and a major factor in heart disease.

Most Australians eat 8 to 10g of salt a day but could live healthily on just 1 to 2g a day.

The new research, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, highlights the wide range of salt levels in Australian processed foods and shows how they stack up against UK targets.

The study found that Australia had achieved important reductions in some food categories but others were still very salty.

Research author Jacqui Webster said many Australians recognised salt was bad for health and had stopped adding it during cooking or at the table.

However, with three quarters of the salt people eat hidden in everyday foods such as bread, processed meat, and take-away, it was very hard to make the large reductions needed.