Health Star Rating upgrade gets tougher on salt and sugar
An upgrade to the Health Star rating system, making it tougher on sugar and salt, came into force yesterday.
The system helped consumers make healthier food choices by displaying the overall nutritional benefits of packaged foods, New Zealand Food Safety deputy director-general Vincent Arbuckle said.
The Health Star Rating scheme is used in New Zealand and Australia to help consumers choose the healthiest product within a food category.
The scheme gives foods a score based on their nutrient profiles, comparing the ‘‘negative’’ nutrients – energy, saturated fat, sugars and sodium – against the ‘‘positive’’ – protein, dietary fibre, fruits, vegetables, nuts and legumes.
Products are then rated in stars from 0.5 stars to 5 stars. Foods with more stars are healthier than similar foods with fewer stars – however, stars are not intended to be used to compare different types of foods.
Introduced in 2014, the transTasman system was enhanced after a 2019 review found it was performing well and suggested improvements to better reflect dietary guidelines.
Key changes include lower ratings for products with high levels of sugar and salt – including sugary breakfast cereals and fruit juices – and automatic fivestar ratings for minimally processed fruit and vegetables.
All manufacturers participating in the opt-in system are now required to have updated their labelling to reflect the changes.
The Health Star Rating system remains voluntary – and there is no government charge to use it – but if uptake by manufacturers does not meet a 70% target by 2025, the government will consider making the system mandatory.
By mid-2021, more than 5600 products in supermarkets had health stars on their labels, including both manufacturer and in-house brands at Countdown, Four Square, New World and Pak’nSave.