Food Standards Agency Scotland and Scottish Executive Health Department joint statement on industry salt reduction progress: April 2005

1. Positive progress has been made by industry on salt reduction.

2. Since February 2004:

• Officials have met or had contact with about 65 key food industry organisations across all sectors on salt reduction.
• 49 commitments to salt reduction work have been received from a range of organisations across all sectors of the food industry, with an additional nine plans yet to be received.
• In Scotland, the Deputy Minister for Health and Community Care has also met with key players in the Scottish food industry to discuss the development of healthier food choices, including salt reduction.

3. Salt reduction remains a priority for Government across the UK. The Food Standards Agency's new Strategic Plan confirms our commitment to work with industry to reduce the salt intake of the population to 6g per person per day by 2010. The Scottish Executive document 'Eating for Health - Meeting the Challenge' is supported by Food Standards Agency Scotland's Diet and Nutrition Strategy, attached below (both published in 2004) and sets out the context for salt reduction in Scotland.

4. The Agency and UK Health Departments are continuing to meet with key organisations to monitor and track developments as they occur.

5. The next stage of the programme of work with industry will include the following:

• Obtaining long-term plans with specific measurable stepwise commitments to salt reductions capable of delivering the Government's target of 6g average daily intake by 2010; and securing clear data from all relevant organisations to ensure that salt reduction claims can be verified.
• Focusing on securing further salt reductions in both the cereal and meat product categories (these make the biggest contributions to adult salt intakes in the UK).
• Developing a clear programme of work, including specific guidelines for salt reduction, with the catering sector.
• Setting targets for 10 key product categories and developing a five-year framework for self reporting by industry organisations.

6. In the meantime, the UK-wide programme of meetings will continue to involve all sectors of the food industry, and is likely to have two key purposes:

• to meet the key players that we have not already met and who have not submitted plans
• to meet with those who manufacture and/or are responsible for those foods that are major contributors to salt intake (cereals and cereal products, meat products, ready meals, pizzas, sandwiches, soups, pies)

7. Additional meetings will also be set up with other organisations to follow up commitments once these have been received.

8. In Scotland, the Agency and the Health Department will monitor changes in salt levels both in terms of intake and levels in products. In the future, the National Diet and Nutrition Survey will be used to assess changes in intake throughout the UK. Work is underway to establish additional monitoring mechanisms in Scotland in 2005, following the recommendations of the Working Group on Monitoring Scottish Dietary Targets.

9. In order to track the progress of reformulation work, the Agency at UK level has commissioned the setting up of a databank of processed food products. The databank will consist of an extensive range of processed food products, including branded and supermarket own-label products, listing their nutrient content. As well as salt (sodium), this will also cover fat and sugar to inform possible future work. Data will be collected from product labels. It is envisaged that data collection will be repeated annually for the next two years, with the first data collection now having been completed.

10. A range of 'mini surveys' will continue to be published over the next few years to provide data on the levels of salt (sodium) and a limited range of other nutrients in processed foods. In addition, the Agency's annual Consumer Attitudes Survey monitors the proportion of respondents who are concerned about salt and those who have taken action to change their salt intake.

11. In September 2004, the Agency launched a high-profile UK-wide consumer awareness campaign on salt. The Agency's tracking research is now showing a steady increase in the number of people recognising that they might have a problem with too much salt in their diet and now trying to cut down. Between August 2004 and January 2005:

• there has been a 32% increase in people claiming to be making a special effort to cut down on salt
• there has been a 31% increase in those who look at labelling to find out salt content
• there has been a 27% increase in those who say that salt content would affect their decision to buy a product 'all of the time'.

The Agency is now planning the second phase of the UK campaign.

Advice and targets
12. In 1996, Scottish dietary targets were published in the Scottish Diet Action Plan (SDAP) with the aim of improving health in Scotland. The SDAP recommended that the average salt intake in Scotland should be reduced from 163mmol per day to 100mmol per day (equivalent to 6g) by 2005. Subsequent to the SDAP, the publication of 'Improving Health in Scotland: The Challenge' (2003) committed the Executive and the Agency in Scotland to continue the further implementation of the Scottish Dietary Targets until 2010.

13. Following the publication of the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) report on Salt and Health in May 2003, the Agency set a target to reduce the salt consumption of the population from 9.5g to an average of 6g a day by 2010.

Hungry for Success
14. In Scotland, additional work on salt reduction has been carried out through the Scottish Executive initiative Hungry for Success. In November 2002, the Scottish Executive Expert Panel on School Meals published 'Hungry for Success: A Whole School Approach to School Meals in Scotland'. This report set out a number of recommendations aimed at improving the quality of school food, including a proposal to set nutrient standards for the average school lunch. To help caterers achieve these standards, FSA Scotland devised target nutrient specifications for manufactured products used in school meals. Target maximum values for total fat, saturated fat, sugar and sodium were published in May 2004.

February 2004 plans
15. In November 2003, the Agency hosted a salt stakeholder meeting in London. The organisations present at the meeting were requested to outline in writing, by February 2004, the work they were carrying out to reduce salt in food. 44 plans were received in total from a mixture of UK manufacturers, retailers and trade associations, procurement bodies, voluntary organisations and academic institutions.

16. A key feature of the plans submitted was the claim made by industry that significant salt reductions had already been made. Some of these that can be verified include:

• a 16% reduction in branded breakfast cereal products between 1998 and 2002
• a 25% reduction in sodium levels in potato crisps in the past 10 years (1994-2004)
• Heinz making reductions of between 11% and 18% across its product range in 2003

17. The plans received indicated a high awareness of salt as an issue within these groups. Reduction programmes were taking place on a broad front, with action at different stages between different companies and sectors. Progress had been made in the retail sector with some manufacturers also doing well. The catering sector showed more limited activity. Public procurement bodies had stated their commitment to addressing this issue, with the potential to be a big positive influence on the service catering sector (e.g. schools, hospitals etc).

Follow-up meetings
18. Since February 2004, a programme of follow-up work has been undertaken with key organisations, including trade associations, retailers, caterers, manufacturers and those involved with public procurement. The aim is to establish effective one-to-one working relationships, better understand the needs of different sectors and players, consolidate initial progress, and negotiate specific measurable commitments to salt reductions capable of delivering the target of 6g daily intake by 2010. The industry has indicated that it welcomes this interactive approach with the Agency and is generally positive about the potential for further reductions over time.

Call for September plans
19. In September 2004, revised salt-reduction plans were sought from the industry. 19 submissions were received, eight of which were revised plans giving some additional commitment (the rest re-stated the commitments outlined in previous submissions made in February 2004).

Further commitments received
20. Since these September 2004 statements, a number of additional commitments have been received. These include:

• A new five-year plan from Marks & Spencer with a commitment to meet the FSA salt model values in seven out of 12 categories by 2010 (ready meals, soups, meat pies, sausages, breakfast cereals, bread, baked beans). Targets have been set for five other categories (pizza, sandwiches, cook-in and pasta sauces, quiches; and buns, cakes, pastries and fruit pies).
• A commitment from the Association of Cereal Food Manufacturers to reduce the salt content of breakfast cereals by a further 10% by the end of 2005.
• Agreement from the British Meat Processors Association, Meat and Livestock Commission, and Food and Drink Federation Meat group to set up a group on bacon and ham early in 2005 and to consider how best to monitor progress against their targets and to begin to lay foundations for next steps.
• Commitments from the four main contract caterers in the UK (Aramark, Avenance, Compass and Sodexho), to submit salt-reduction plans to the Agency.

In addition:

• Tesco and Sainsbury have both committed to submitting revised salt-reduction plans by the end of March.
• Kerry Foods agreed to review the levels of salt in two cheese products and try to make further salt reductions in these.
• McCain agreed to submit details of its salt-reduction plans, in the short and medium term, to the Agency.
• Heinz has indicated that it intends to reduce the salt content of its tomato ketchup, in addition to the reduction plan currently ongoing.

February 2005 letters
21. This UK work has been further supported by letters issued in February, which emphasised the importance of working closely with industry to achieve salt reductions and requesting updates on progress and revised plans.

Meetings with retailers
22. Recognising the important contribution of the food retailers to this work, further meetings are taking place with key players at UK level and in Scotland. Regular meetings will continue between Scottish ministers, officials and the major UK retailers.