Stock Cubes and Salt: How to Read the Label

The NHS says stock cubes are often high in salt.

UK salt reduction targets set how much salt stock should contain once made up, and the NHS suggests choosing reduced-salt versions. A little label reading goes a long way.

Updated 15 October 2026 · 5 sources

Read per 100g
Choose reduced salt
Not for babies
Stock cubes in three lines

Check an age

THE SHORT ANSWER

Count the salt
in the pot.

Stock is salty by design.
Small swaps make a real difference.

THE TARGET

0.71 g per 100 g, made up

Public Health England's 2024 targets ask for stock, made up as instructed, to average 0.71 g of salt per 100 g, with a maximum of 0.9 g. The targets cover cubes, granules, pastes and jellies.

See the numbers

THE LABEL

High means over 1.5 g

The NHS calls a food high in salt above 1.5 g per 100 g and low at 0.3 g or less. Check whether a stock label gives figures as sold or as made up.

How to read it

SWAPS

Flavour without the salt

The NHS suggests low or reduced-salt stock cubes, and herbs, spices, black pepper, garlic, chilli or lemon juice in place of salt.

Check daily limits

General information only, not medical advice. For advice about your own health, speak to a doctor, pharmacist or other qualified health professional.

Fresh herbs, garlic, black pepper and a cut lemon on a wooden chopping board — AI-generated image, not a photograph of a real person or place.

FOUR LABEL HABITS

Check the pack,
then the pan.

These habits follow the NHS advice on food labels and cutting down on salt.

Find the per 100 g column
Compare products using the salt figure per 100 g. Over 1.5 g is high, 0.3 g or less is low.
Check as sold or as made up
Stock figures may be given for the dry product or for stock made up as instructed. The salt targets use the made-up version.
Look for green and amber
Where the front of the pack is colour coded, the NHS suggests choosing green and amber labels for salt.
Taste before you add
If you use stock, taste the dish before adding any extra salt, as the NHS suggests.

TWO NUMBERS WORTH KNOWING

Most salt is
already in the food.

One figure on where our salt comes from,
one on the adult daily maximum.

≈ ¾

Salt from packaged and everyday foods

The NHS says around three quarters of the salt we eat comes from packaged and everyday foods such as bread, breakfast cereals, meat products and ready meals.

HIDDEN SALT · NHS

6 g

Most salt an adult should have in a day

Around one level teaspoon. Too much salt can cause high blood pressure, which increases the risk of heart attacks and strokes.

DAILY LIMIT · NHS

At the 2024 average target of 0.71 g of salt per 100 g, 500 g of made-up stock would hold about 3.55 g of salt, more than half an adult's daily maximum.

A QUICK AGE CHECK

How much salt
at this age?

Pick an age to see the most salt the NHS recommends in a day, from all food including stock. The bar shows the daily maximum.

From the NHS page Salt in your diet. The limits include salt already in food as well as salt added in cooking and at the table.

Salt check

Choose an ageUnder 1 year1 to 3 years4 to 6 years7 to 10 years11 years and over

Under 1 yearLess than 1 g

Babies' kidneys cannot process much salt. The NHS says not to use stock cubes or gravy in their food, as they are often high in salt.

1 to 3 yearsNo more than 2 g

A third of the adult maximum. The NHS suggests low or reduced-salt stock cubes where you use them.

4 to 6 yearsNo more than 3 g

Half the adult maximum, including salt already in bread, cereals and other everyday foods.

7 to 10 yearsNo more than 5 g

Close to the adult limit. The NHS lists gravy granules among the sauces that can be high in salt.

11 years and overNo more than 6 g

About one level teaspoon a day, including the salt already in food and any added during and after cooking.

Source: NHS, Salt in your diet (maximum recommended salt intake by age), and NHS, Foods to avoid giving babies and young children.

A hand crumbling a plain stock cube into a glass measuring jug of hot water — AI-generated image, not a photograph of a real person or place.

THE REDUCTION TARGETS

Targets for stock,
cube by cube.

Public Health England set salt reduction targets for 2024 across dozens of food categories, published in September 2020. For stocks, the average target fell from 0.75 g of salt per 100 g in 2017 to 0.71 g, and the maximum from 0.95 g to 0.9 g.

Gravy has its own targets: an average of 0.85 g and a maximum of 1.01 g of salt per 100 g as consumed. The NHS also lists gravy granules among sauces that can be high in salt.

In conversation

Questions people ask

Are stock cubes high in salt?

They can be. The NHS says stock cubes and gravy are often high in salt, which is why it advises against giving them to babies, and suggests low or reduced-salt stock cubes for everyone else.

How much salt should stock contain?

Public Health England's 2024 targets ask for stock made up as instructed to average 0.71 g of salt per 100 g, with a maximum of 0.9 g per 100 g.

Can I use stock cubes in baby food?

No. The NHS says not to add salt to a baby's food or cooking water, and not to use stock cubes or gravy, as they are often high in salt.

How do I tell if a food is high in salt?

The NHS says more than 1.5 g of salt per 100 g (or 0.6 g sodium) is high, and 0.3 g or less per 100 g (or 0.1 g sodium) is low.

How can I add flavour without salt?

The NHS suggests herbs and spices, black pepper, garlic, chilli or lemon juice, tasting food before adding salt, and keeping salt off the table if you are cutting down.

Sources

Each figure on this page comes from the sources below.

Small cube,
big salt.