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Food Survey Information Sheet 01/08
The Food Standards Agency published the results of the first sampling round of the Processed Food Databank in 2006, with almost 1,000 products in 29 processed food categories being purchased from high street food retail outlets between December 2004 and February 2005 (FSIS 13/06). You can see the results of the first round at the 'See also' link below.
A second sampling round of the Processed Food Databank has now been completed. Data from the second round were collected from the labels of 1,094 products purchased in the UK between February and September 2007. The results of this second round are published on the Agency website as a separate document, rather than amending the information gathered in round one. The second sampling round includes a range of products from the first round that were re-sampled to capture any reformulation changes as well as a number of products sampled for the first time. As in the first round, the absence of a particular brand in the second round means only that the brand has not been sampled and has no other significance.
Back to topThe Processed Food Databank was originally designed as a reference tool to provide indicative information on levels of sodium (salt) in a range of processed foods and has been used by the Agency to inform discussions with industry and other bodies aimed at encouraging a reduction in the salt content of processed foods.
However, as the Agency’s Strategic Plan (2007-2010) covers wider areas of work in nutrition, the databank also collected other information, including the declared levels of saturated fat and sugar in these processed foods. The databank includes types of processed foods that are major contributors to intakes of salt, saturated fat and/or sugar in the diets of both adults and children.
The Processed Food Databank therefore provides indicative information on levels of salt, saturated fat, sugar and other nutrients in processed foods over time and builds up an outline picture of the work carried out by the food industry on product reformulation as part of a wider programme toward set dietary objectives, such as those included in the Agency's Strategic Plan, the Public Health White Paper (Department of Health, 2004) and the Agency’s Salt Targets (set in March 2006).
As part of the work toward these objectives, the Agency is working closely with the food industry on the reformulation of processed food products in order to reduce salt, saturated fat and sugar intakes.
The first round of data was collected in 2005, with almost 1,000 products in 29 processed food categories being purchased from high street food retail outlets between December 2004 and February 2005. This information sheet refers to the second round of sampling, which took place between February and September 2007. The second round of sampling has collected details of 1,094 products, which have been recorded in a Microsoft Excel database.
The second round aimed to collect a broad sample of processed foods and beverages available to the UK public. A sampling plan for collecting 1,100 samples was designed with the aim of including a broadly representative range of the processed foods consumed by the UK public, but which focused on the types of food most commonly consumed rather than aiming simply to cover the entire range available. The plan was informed by both market share data and information on the contribution of particular processed foods to salt, saturated fat and sugar intakes in the UK diet. By including the market leaders in each product category the databank aims to achieve a broadly representative spread of the foods and drinks consumed by the UK public, and to reflect the key processed food categories that contribute most to salt, saturated fat and sugar in the diet.
As with the first sampling round the data obtained from the second sampling round will also be used to inform discussions with the food industry, and other bodies, aimed at encouraging reductions in the salt, saturated fat and sugar content of processed foods and to inform related areas of work in nutrition. This in turn will help consumers more easily choose a healthy diet and meet nutrient intake guideline.
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(pdf 96KB) FSIS 01/08: Processed Food Databank: Sampling Round Two: February 2007 – September 2007 Food Survey Information Sheet DataDownload excel
(Excel 3MB)Download pdf
(pdf 1MB) Processed Food Databank: Sampling Round One: December 2004 – February 2005 Read the Food Survey Information Sheet (External) Get Adobe Acrobat reader You may need the free Acrobat Reader to view a pdfFind out what our other sites have to offer