Scientists have carried out a overview of the influence of synthetic components in objects resembling bread, soup, yoghurt and cereal, thought of to be ultra-processed meals.

These staple meals and snacks have been discovered to be making a ticking timebomb. Eating them makes folks 24 % extra prone to endure a coronary heart assault or stroke.

Ultra-processed meals make up 60 % of the common UK weight-reduction plan, it was mentioned. It has led a former authorities meals professional to name for a return to home-cooked meals.

Henry Dimbleby, co-founder of wholesome meals chain Leon, mentioned: “This should be a wake-up call. If there is something inherent in the processing of foods that is harmful, then that is a disaster.

There needs to be much more research to find out why these foods are killing us. Once you know what the mechanism is for the harm, then you can regulate for it.”

Mr Dimbleby was commissioned by the Tories to conduct an unbiased overview of the meals system.

However, he resigned from his authorities position in March after he mentioned ministers refused to enact his suggestions to broaden free faculty meals, impose a salt and sugar tax and introduce GP prescriptions for fruit and veg.

He added: “Britain is particularly bad for ultra-processed food. “It is storing up problems for the future. If we do nothing, a tidal wave of harm is going to ­hit the NHS.

“At the same time, all these people are out of work as a result of diet-related illness. So we will end up with a sick and impoverished country.

“We need a shift in our cooking habits to eat more food cooked from scratch, with more vegetables and fibre. That is really hard in practice, it requires a huge cultural shift.

“Diet-related illness is the highest cause of non-communicable disease. It is the biggest drag on our economy with ­people out of work.”

The findings got here in a overview of 10 research involving 325,000 folks introduced on the European Society of Cardiology congress in Amsterdam.

It was revealed that Britons eat a higher proportion of ultra-processsed meals than any nation on the planet, aside from the US.

For one in 5, such ­staples make up 80 % of what they eat. However, most don't know what this meals class contains.

These meals have gone by a number of manufacturing processes and are sometimes excessive in salt and sugar. Often the meals are low in fibre and lack the vitamins current in recent and minimally processed meals, like recent fruit and greens.

A Department of Health spokesman mentioned: “We have introduced legislation to restrict the placement and promotion of ­certain products in supermarkets to discourage unhealthy food choices.

“Thanks to our salt reduction programme, the amount of salt in food has fallen by around 20percent , preventing nearly 70,000 heart attacks and strokes. Our Soft Drinks Industry Levy has also nearly halved the amount of sugar in soft drinks.”