Health star ratings likely to become mandatory as food industry misses 70pc target

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Health star ratings are only on 37 per cent of products according to new figures. Experts say food companies are using them as a marketing tactic and mostly putting them on healthy foods. The government says it will not make a decision about mandating the ratings until next year.

Transcript

00:00Working out the healthiest options in the supermarket can be tricky.

00:07I might say healthy food, but it's just a word.

00:10There is definitely a flood of stuff on the market.

00:12We need to know what is in our food.

00:15HealthStar ratings are meant to be a quick way to compare the nutritional value of similar products.

00:20But the initiative is voluntary, so many brands don't print them on their labels.

00:25In 2020, the government gave industry a deadline.

00:28STARS must be on 70% of products by this week or they could become compulsory.

00:33The latest research figures show they're only on 37%.

00:37The only way Australians are going to get transparent information on all products

00:41is for the government to mandate the HealthStar rating.

00:44The federal government can't yet commit to a mandate, but a decision will be made next year.

00:49I do get the impression there's willingness to work across jurisdictions to take another step forward.

00:54Experts say it's overdue.

00:57It has been 33 years since we've had a national nutrition policy in Australia.

01:02And for a country as amazing as ours, that is pathetic.

01:05But the rating system isn't without its faults.

01:08Experts say manufacturers can game it.

01:11For example, they can add protein to offset sugar content and get more stars.

01:15Undoubtedly, we could tweak that algorithm in the future to close those loopholes.

01:20The Australian Food and Grocery Council says the cost of printing new labels has been a barrier for some companies.

01:26But health experts don't have much sympathy.

01:29They say brands have paid for the stars when it suits them.

01:32A spokesperson for the Department of Health says it could take over 18 months for the stars to become compulsory.

01:38Paige Crowburn, ABC News.

01:45The Australian Food and Grocery Council says it could take over 20 months and for the stars to become USA,

01:54especially in the wildfires.

01:55The Australian Food and Grocery Council says the Vancouver Bureau has been a new source of intelligence.

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