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Guidelines for undertaking surveys

Wednesday 30 November 2005

The Food Standards Agency collects information from non-statutory food surveys to form part of the science base for the development of food policy.

Data generated through the undertaking of Food Standards Agency-funded surveys are an important component of the Agency�s objective to improve the safety, authenticity and nutritional quality of food available to UK consumers, and to provide the maximum information available to enable consumers to make informed choices.

The survey guidelines (formerly known as the Guidelines for Technical Surveys) are principally designed to be an internal document for use by Agency Project Officers, and are intended to provide information and guidance on the procedures for planning and conducting surveys and reporting their results. These guidelines aim to ensure that Food Standards Agency surveys are as consistent, fair and representative as possible across the whole of the Agency�s Food Survey Programme, and comply with the principles of openness and transparency.

Although the guidelines are principally written for the Agency's Project Officers, they are being published here to make more transparent the process by which the Agency conducts its non-statutory food surveys. Parts of the document will be useful to current and potential survey contractors, in identifying the responsibilities of the various parties involved in a Food Standards Agency survey.

The guidelines were last formally revised in October 2003 following internal and external consultation. Since the last revision there have been several legal and other requirements that have arisen which require amendments to the existing guidelines. Likewise, much experience has been gained and it is the intention to ensure that the survey guidelines are a distillation of best practice.

The survey guidelines will continue to be developed in the light of experience. Comments should be sent to:

Dr Andrew Damant
Scientific Data Quality Branch
Analytical Services Surveys and Research Policy Division
Room 505C, Aviation House
125 Kingsway
London WC2B 6NH

Tel: 020 7276 8757
email: Andrew.Damant@foodstandards.gsi.gov.uk

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Guidelines for undertaking surveys updated November 2006

Download pdf  (pdf 292KB) Text of the leaflet to be distributed during sample purchase

Download pdf  (pdf 22KB) Text to be distributed following/during sample purchase from the internet, mail order establishments, etc

Download pdf  (pdf 22KB) (External) Get Adobe Acrobat reader You may need the free Acrobat Reader to view a pdf

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