A new five-star food labelling system has been agreed by all Australian governments as another means of helping to deal with the obesity epidemic, and to help consumers make more informed food choices.
The star scale will rate foods from half-a-star to five stars based on their nutritional value. The star scale will contain ½ star increments and a “slider” above the relevant star/half star with the corresponding number to highlight the star rating of the food.
In short, the more stars, the healthier the food.
“Front-of-Pack Labelling will support consumers to make healthier food choices by giving them at-a-glance information about the food they buy,” the Health Minister, Tanya Plibersek, said.
“The star rating system will contribute to alleviating the burden of chronic disease, overweight and obesity issues in Australia.
“Overweight translates into chronic diet-related diseases, hospitalisations and a significant rise in long-term care so this is a significant step in assisting consumers make informed choices.”
The health star system will apply to packaged, manufactured or processed foods presented ready for sale.
The Parliamentary Secretary for Health, Shayne Neumann, said that additional information will also be available.
“Nutrient information will be provided for saturated fat, sugars and sodium and one optional positive nutrient information relevant to the particular food; along with an ‘energy’ icon, with the unit of measure in kilojoules,” Mr Neumann said.
The Health Ministers agreed that the preferred implementation option is a voluntary system, subject to there being a consistent and widespread uptake of Front-of-Pack Labelling. If, following evaluation after two years, a voluntary implementation is found to be unsuccessful, a mandatory approach will be required.
Reaction of health advocacy groups
The move has been widely endorsed by health advocacy groups including the AMA, the Public Health Association of Australia (PHAA), the Heart Foundation, the Cancer Council, the Kidney Health Foundation, the Stroke Foundation and Diabetes Australia.
Michael Moore from the PHAA says the system will make it easier for consumers to make healthier choices.
"People will be able to just, at a glance, have a look at the front of the pack and go, 'Hey this is four-and-a-half star food, that's obviously good for me, it's obviously good for my children'," he said.
AMA Vice President, Professor Geoffrey Dobb, said the decision is a major win for public health in this country.
“The Ministers have earned a ‘gold star’ for backing a labelling system that will make it easier for people to make informed choices about healthy foods,” Professor Dobb said.
“The Health Star Rating system is easily identifiable and easy to understand. It is similar to other easily understood ranking systems that give products a ranking that ranges from half a star to five stars – with five stars being the healthiest option.
“Products will be rated on factors including their kilojoule (energy) content and nutrient information on saturated fat, sugars and sodium.
Professor Dobb said the AMA looks forward to the food industry to “putting all its energy into supporting the Health Star Rating system for packaged food.”
Jane Martin from the Obesity Policy Coalition says the aim of the proposal is very clear.
"The situation is very serious already. We've got more than 65% of adults overweight or obese and 25% of children," she said.
"And, the projections are that by 2020 that will rise to 80% of adults and two-thirds of children."
She says it is a population-wide problem and while obesity rates are higher among low-income earners, it is a middle-class problem
"There's not going to be one magic bullet and we need to give people the kind of information that will help them make better decisions and healthier decisions," she said.
"So front-of-pack labelling system that gives people interpretive information will help them cut through the marketing spin."
Reaction of food and grocery industry
The Australian Food and Grocery Council issued a statement saying that "serious flaws remained" with the system and that it had been rushed by the Government without any cost benefit or evidence that it will be effective. Earlier this year, the Council released an App which enables consumers to scan the nutritional profile of many food products.
The new five-star system is expected to be in place by the middle of next year.
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