Saturday 4 July 2009

How to complete the salt self-reporting framework

Monday 13 August 2007

Your questions answered

Does the FSA want data for products for the whole year?

The FSA would like data at 31 March 2007 for products available at that point in time. In addition, if a sales weighted average is being provided, this should be calculated for the 52 weeks ending 31 March 2007.

Will the FSA use the self-reporting framework to name and shame?

We do not intend to use the data that we collect through the framework to name and shame companies.The purpose of the self-reporting framework is to monitor and provide a public record of progress towards achieving the salt targets, and to inform the review in 2008.

What categories does the FSA want data for? Which ones are compulsory?

Any data that is provided as part of the self-reporting framework is voluntary. The FSA would like to obtain data for all products in a company's portfolios that are manufactured by or on behalf of the company and fall within the salt target categories.

It is important to avoid double counting and so where data is provided for the same product by, for example, the retailer and the manufacturer, the Agency should be made aware of this.

We don’t have data for all products within a category 'as sold'. What alternative data can we provide?

With the exception of dehydrated products, wherever possible, the FSA would prefer to receive data for each sub-category 'as sold'. If this information is not available, data should be provide for products'as consume'. Salt targets for dehydrated products (such as packet soup) were published 'as made up' and therefore data provided for these products should be presented in this way.

The following letter codes in the self-reporting framework spreadsheet should be used to indicate the type of data that has been provided:

S=As sold
C=As consumed
M=As made up

Where data for products within a sub-category are a mixture of 'as sold' and 'as made up', data should be represented for the majority of products within the category. The comments box can be used to highlight which products differ from those represented in the in majority of cases and how they are represented.

The Agency says it would like to know whether the data for sodium/salt is 'calculated, analysed or label'. What does this mean?

The FSA would like to know how the data that is provided (for salt or sodium) has been derived, i.e. from analysis of the food product, calculation of the nutrient content of the recipe for that product (e.g. using Nutricalc or similar software) or from data given on the current food label for that product.

The data should relate to the source of the primary data – this is likely to be analysis for sodium (from which levels of salt are then calculated) or chloride (from which sodium levels can be calculated), but may cover salt (if from a recipe calculation or label data). The following letter codes should be used to indicate how the data has been calculated:

C=Calculated
A=Analysed
L=Label

If a number of methods have been used to calculate the salt or sodium data for individual products within a category, data for how the majority of products have been calculated should be stated. The comments box can be used to highlight which products differ from those represented in the majority of cases and how these data have been calculated.

The FSA would like to receive data from organisations that reflect the most recent reformulations, and acknowledges that this may differ slightly to that which is included on the label. The FSA will include an explanation of why this may be so in the published year one data for the self-reporting framework.

For greater accuracy, can I submit data on sodium/salt to two decimal places?

The FSA is happy to receive data on sodium or salt to either one or two decimal places.

What is the comments box for?

There are two comments boxes included at the right-hand side of the data collection spreadsheet – one to provide comments on progress for each sub-category and one to provide comments on progress for individual products within the sub-category. These allow organisations to provide additional information on progress made towards achieving the salt targets and future plans i.e. reductions already achieved and when targets are intended to be reached. If data on salt/sodium levels have been obtained via analysis, this section should include details of the analytical method used. Any additional information such as dates for pre-2007 baseline data, any caveats that should be noted and any information to support the data should also be included in these sections.

We have a large number of products within our portfolios for each category, and due to resources, we will not be able to report on all products. Can we submit a proportion of the data requested?

The Agency recognises that for some organisations with a very large number of product lines, it may be very difficult or extremely time-consuming to provide data for the entire sub-category. We will therefore accept a smaller amount of data, as long as it represents at least 80% of market sales for each sub-category.

In addition, receiving individual product information is important for the FSA, and will prove to be even more important in the absence of a sales weighted average. The FSA recognises that it may be difficult to provide individual product data for an entire portfolio, and therefore will accept a sub-set of data for larger portfolios for bestselling products, which should include a minimum of 10 individual products. There is no upper limit to the number of individual products for which you can provide data.

Can I supply confidential information to the FSA?

The FSA is happy to receive data of a confidential nature, which should be marked 'Confidential – commercially sensitive' to ensure that this data is treated accordingly. For convenience any commercially sensitive information should be included in a separate annexe.

Can I provide baseline data from previous years?

Yes, the FSA is happy to accept pre-2007 data (i.e. for 2005-6) to help put current achievements into context. Any organisations that provide pre-2007 data for individual product categories should complete a separate data collection sheet for each sub-category in the same way as for 2007 data. If, however, pre-2007 data is being provided for a sub-category only, this could be included in the comment’s box alongside the 2007 data being submitted.

This data can be specified using the'pre-2007' option from the 'reporting year' drop-down list. In addition, the specific date (if appropriate), to which this data relates, should be included in the relevant comments box on the spreadsheet.

When I open the spreadsheet, there are no options to choose from which I click on the drop down lists- what does this mean?

When the spreadsheet is opened, a prompt to 'Enable Macros' is displayed. If the Macros are not 'enabled' when the spreadsheet is opened, the spreadsheet will not function.

I am having trouble saving my completed spreadsheet, where am I going wrong?

To ensure that the spreadsheet works correctly, save it to your computer before you start to complete it. This is the 'master spreadsheet' and should be used as the template for all the spreadsheets you will create.

If you complete the spreadsheet without saving it first, you won't be able to save your data.

When does the FSA want data to be submitted to the FSA?

The FSA would like to receive data by 10 October2007, which is two months from the date that the self-reporting framework was published on the Agency’s website.

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