Food ministers in Australia and New Zealand want the countries’ voluntary Health Star Rating labels made mandatory.
In a meeting on Friday (13 February), the ministers said a report to monitor the use of the labels had shown an “uptake” of 39% in Australia and 36% in New Zealand. The governments have been targeting to have 70% of the “intended products” using the Health Star Rating labels by November.
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The Health Star Rating scheme, launched in 2014, scores the nutritional profile of packaged products on a scale from 0.5 to five stars.
“Ministers expressed concern that the low uptake has limited the system’s effectiveness and undermined consumer trust,” a statement released after the meeting read.
“Ministers also considered consumer research showing strong support for the HSR, but persistent misunderstandings about how to use it – particularly that the HSR is only intended for comparing similar products.”
In 2024, the industry had been warned the voluntary system would be made compulsory if targets were not met.
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By GlobalDataThe countries’ ministers have agreed, “by majority”, to ask Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) to develop a proposal to make the labels mandatory.
Early preparatory work by FSANZ found “no regulatory barriers” to mandating the scheme, subject to statutory requirements, according to the statement.
FSANZ is now expected to run two rounds of public consultation before providing a report back to ministers, who will then make a final decision. The next ministers’ meeting is scheduled for May.
The Australian Medical Association backed the idea, with its president Danielle McMullen saying: “Making health star ratings mandatory is a win for consumers and a clear acknowledgment that voluntary approaches have failed.
“Clear, consistent labelling empowers people to make informed choices about what they are eating, and that matters when rates of overweight and obesity continue to climb across Australia.”
Industry group The Australian Food Grocery Council (AFGC) said “genuine consultation with industry will be essential, along with a practical and realistic implementation timeline”.
“Mandating HSR will have significant operational, labelling and supply chain implications for food and grocery manufacturers, and careful planning will be critical to support a smooth transition,” the council added.
