Doctors call for mandatory food star ratings to stop health ‘crisis’
- Health experts and regulators are pushing to make Australia’s Health Star Rating system mandatory on all packaged foods, arguing it would help consumers make healthier choices and address rising obesity and chronic disease rates.
- The current system is voluntary and underused (appearing on fewer than 40% of products), leading to inconsistent labelling that can confuse shoppers and limit the system’s effectiveness.
- While public health groups support mandatory ratings, the food industry opposes the change due to cost and complexity, and debates continue about improving how the ratings are calculated; a final decision is expected in 2027.
Adding health star ratings to all packaged foods could stop the “worsening national crisis” of obesity, public health bodies say as they push for changes to the labelling system.
Ranging from half a star to five stars, the health star rating was designed to help shoppers quickly compare the nutritional value of similar products.
They are voluntary, allowing food and beverage companies to choose whether or not to use them.
Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) is considering a proposal to make the stars mandatory on all packaged food.
FSANZ said the uptake of health star ratings was well below the 70 per cent target set by Australian and New Zealand food ministers, with fewer than 40 per cent of intended products displaying it.
The regulator said that the gap in uptake prompted renewed consideration of a mandatory system to deliver consistent, trusted nutrition information for consumers.
Doctors and health organisations from the Cancer Council to Diabetes Australia said it would boost public health.
But the grocery industry believes the voluntary system is working and mandatory label changes will burden businesses with additional costs.
Inconsistent health stars …
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Original article and photo by "ABC News"
