With Australians consuming 20 million pizzas at Pizza Hut every year, an estimated 35 tonnes of sodium will be gone from their diet when the healthier pizzas become regular menu items.

Currently, some meat-laden menu items at Pizza Hut contain up to 13 grams of salt, more than twice the total recommended daily intake for an adult. The daily salt intake of Australians is 9 grams but the George Institute for International Health (GIIH) said this should be lowered to 6 grams.

GIIH senior director Professor Bruce Neal said the benefit of cutting one-third of salt in the diet is lesser chances of suffering from a stroke or heart attack.

Pizza Hut's healthy move comes as Wednesday's Fast Food Forum in Sydney pointed to salt as an emerging issue as big as fat and sugar.