A new five star rating system for food nutrition to go on the front of packaging has been approved by state and federal health and agriculture ministers today.
The labelling system, which will initially be voluntary, rates foods from half-a-star to five stars, based on nutritional value.
It involves star ratings that give an overall indication of a food’s nutritional quality. Additional information will also be given on key nutrients associated with diet-related disease: sugars, saturated fat, sodium and kilojoules.
Soft drinks and confectionery will be exempt, but they will still display the kilojoule content.
Federal health minister, Tanya Plibersek, said the new system was a win for consumers.
“Front-of-Pack Labelling will support consumers to make healthier food choices by giving them at-a-glance information about the food they buy,” Ms Plibersek said.
“The star rating system will contribute to alleviating the burden of chronic disease, overweight and obesity issues in Australia.
“Today more than four million Australians are obese, and almost 10 million are overweight. One in four children are overweight or obese, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are almost two times as likely as non-indigenous Australians to be obese."
The new rating system has been developed over two years by a working group on food packaging, which contains representatives of the food industry and consumer and public health groups, including Choice, The Heart Foundation and the AMA.
Choice said the system would enable consumers to make healthier choices at-a-glance. According to Choice, a five-star rating instantly says a product is a great choice, while one star says it is a ‘sometimes’ food.
“The Health Star Rating has been designed to replace the industry’s flawed Daily Intake Guide and the onus will now be on food companies to implement the system widely so that consumers can quickly compare products and make better choices about what they eat,” said Choice chair Jenni Mack, who led the group that developed the implementation framework
According to Choice, the onus would be on the industry to “embrace the Health Star Rating or face a mandatory approach”.
Choice said it would work with industry representatives on the rollout of the scheme.
It's believed that the stars will appear on the front of food packaging by the middle of next year.
Cancer Council Australia welcomed the decision. The council's CEO, Professor Ian Olver, said Australia faced a significant increase in cancers caused by obesity and overweight, with food choices one of the key factors behind the anticipated rise.
“A lot of people want to make healthier personal food choices, but research shows the current food labelling system is unclear and confusing,” Professor Olver said.
“The health star rating scheme provides a clear, overall indication based on the amount of sugars, saturated fats and salt in packaged foods."
Federal and state ministers have approved a new health star rating system (inset) to replace the daily intake guide on food nutritional labelling.
