Australian and New Zealand food regulation ministers have agreed the Health Star Rating (HSR) system should remain voluntary. They will take on board certain recommendations, agreeing it “should continue with some amendments”, following a forum meeting in Christchurch.
At the recent Australia and New Zealand Ministerial Forum on Food Regulation in Christchurch, ministers considered the Health Star Rating system five-year review report and its 10 recommendations. They noted some recommendations require funding support and will need to be considered further in the context of an implementation plan.
Forum ministers supported the system as a voluntary initiative, as well as agreeing some minimally processed foods, such as canned or frozen fruits and vegetables, may be beneficial to consumers if labelled with a 5-star rating.
They requested “the Food Regulation Standing Committee (FRSC) provide advice on the implementation of this recommendation including definitions for minimally processed fruits and vegetables”.
The forum recommended total sugars be more strongly penalised, which could lower the HSRs of five per cent of products (including breakfast cereals, snack bars and sugar-based confectionery). Other recommendations were sodium sensitivity be improved for products high in sodium, and the redefinition of dairy categories to improve comparability between dairy products.
Further advice and peer review from Food Standards Australia New Zealand and the FRSC are required to consider the sugar and sodium levels in the HSR calculator.
In September, The Australian Olive Association (AOA) argued the Health Star Rating calculator is “not fit-for-purpose” for edible oils and could mislead consumers.
The request for the FRSC to reconsider how edible oils are treated under the HSR system will be addressed to the forum in early 2020.
The forum further discussed to reform the Bi-national Food Regulation System, a comprehensive review of the Food Standards Australia New Zealand Act 1991, and the labelling and naming of plant-based alternatives to animal-derived products.
