There’s been a few subtle changes on the supermarket shelves that could impact your health in a big way. Here’s what you need to know…
Sound the trumpets – this is a first in Australian history. The Government has introduced a new, simple Health Star Rating system for food labelling that could completely change the way you shop – and your health. Unlike the current varied nutritional advice panels on food packaging which are confusing and non-comparable against like products, the Health Star Rating system allows you to compare products easily, and rates the whole food and nutrients from a half star to 5 stars (five being the healthiest option). So in a split second, you’ll know whether your food choice is healthy or not, and most likely choose the better option.
It’s early days and the system is voluntary for food companies to adopt at this stage, but this simple labelling system could have massive impacts on our food choices and health. Sanitarium Health & Wellbeing was one of the first companies to support the voluntary Health Star Rating labelling system with their products UP&GO (which scored four and a half stars), and Weet-Bix (awarded five stars) already hitting supermarket shelves. We spoke to Todd Saunders, General Manager, Sanitarium Australia, to find out why they’re leading the charge and how this important national initiative affects you.
Why is Sanitarium so supportive of the Government’s new Health Star Rating system?
“Our Mission Statement best sums it up. Sanitarium is committed to the health and wellbeing of all Australians, and we want to ensure the nutritional information on our products is transparent and easy to understand. The Health Star Rating system is an effective way to deliver this and we see the use of a consumer-friendly visual guide on packs as a great way to empower shoppers to make healthy food choices.”
“Sanitarium exists for two reasons – to produce healthy food and secondly, to make sure that it’s affordable and everyone has access to it. The health and wellbeing of Australians is a part of our DNA and something we’ve been involved in for 116 years now. As early as the 1980s we introduced nutritional advice for any consumer that wanted to ring us.”
How does the Health Star Rating system work?
“The Health Star Rating system scores products on a scale of 0.5 to five stars, with five stars representing the most nutritionally-sound option. The calculation is based on nutrient and whole food content, including the amount of energy, saturated fat, sugars, sodium, protein and fibre in a product, along with values for the fruit, vegetable, nuts and legumes content.
A full Health Star Rating label (below) displays an overall rating and nutrient information across a range of key elements, but smaller packs may have fewer icons or just show the overall rating.”
How will the Health Star Rating help consumer’s improve their health?
“The launch of Health Star Ratings is a big consumer win and a positive step forward for the health of the nation – in fact, it’s critical for the health of the nation going forward. We’ve got so many problems with obesity, diabetes, blood pressure and other health issues. It’s really important that consumers can aspire to improving their health and diet. If we don’t, as a nation, we will go down a different very expensive path in terms of our health.”
Will it impact the way we shop?
“I spend a lot of time in supermarkets. We’re all time poor and life is pretty hectic. So to be able to see a Health Star Rating on foods and make the right decision for our health quickly will have a great impact.”
How is the Health Star Rating different to current nutritional ratings systems?
“This is the only rating systems that rates food on a continuous rating scale in a comparable way – other systems don’t do that. It also deals with the whole food, not just the nutrient, so it’s holistic in that respect. Also, there is no entry criteria that prohibits food from qualifying for the system, so it’s applicable for all foods.”
How was the Health Star Rating system initiated?
“The Health Star Rating system was coordinated by the Commonwealth Department of Health, working with consumer and public health groups and industry representatives, including Sanitarium. It came out of a Federal Government report that was published in 2012 called Labelling Logic. That was following a public enquiry and investigation into the efficacy of food labelling in 2009. It was important to get the Health Star Rating system right and to ensure that everyone was able to contribute and have their say. The great thing about this system is that it has used and leveraged all of the scientific research available over the past 20 years.”
Will all products have a Health Star Rating label?
“It’s voluntary. We encourage other Australian manufacturers to use the system and we’ve had great support from the trade endorsing it. I think there will be a tipping point at some stage where there will be more products than not using the system, and that will encourage other manufacturers to get on board.”
When will we start to see Health Star Ratings be on all Sanitarium packs?
“Our Sanitarium Weet-Bix and Up&Go began arriving in-store in November. We’re hoping to have all of our products in market by mid 2015.”
