The Australian Olive Association (AOA) argues the Health Star Rating calculator is “not fit-for-purpose” for edible oils and could mislead consumers, following the recommendations from the recent Health Star Rating System (HSRS) Five Year Review Report.
The report recommendations suggests the ‘status quo’ HSR to be applied for oils, meaning naturally produced extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) will be ranked with fewer stars than refined seed oils, such as canola and sunflower.
The AOA says these recommendations go against the findings from the HSRS draft report, which highlighted the shortcomings of the calculator to assess “the true healthiness of edible oils”.
The HSRS is government-supported and offers a score out of five for foods in the same category to help guide consumers to make healthier choices. The algorithm rates healthiness only on saturated fat, which AOA CEO Greg Seymour says will mislead consumers when it comes to purchasing edible oils.
“Edible oils are a single ingredient food that were never designed to be ranked by the HSR. Giving ranking based on saturated fat alone, while ignoring all other positive nutrients, is going to mislead consumers about what is widely known to be healthier,” said Seymour.
“Aussies generally know EVOO is the healthiest choice. It’s relatively low in saturated fat and contains so many beneficial nutrients with a body of scientific research to prove it. So we [the industry] would welcome the opportunity to work with the Government on developing a more sophisticated HSRS calculator that accounts for these types of positive attributes, to ensure the HSRS does what it was intended.
“Until that happens, edible oils should be exempt from the HSRS so the Government-endorsed system isn’t undermining consumer confidence.”
The Australia and New Zealand Ministerial Forum on Food Regulation (Food Forum), which consists of State and Territory Ministers from Australia and New Zealand, will consider the HSRS Final Report and recommendations at an upcoming meeting in November.
