Assistant Minister for Health Fiona Nash has relaunched a voluntary, front of pack Health Star Rating (HSR) food labelling system to rate the healthiness of foods with a new website, which she said is the first stage of the campaign which will intensify over coming months as more food products support the system.
The launch comes 10 months after a website to promote the scheme was shut down.
Speaking at the Woden Plaza shopping centre in Canberra, Minister Nash launched phase one of an education campaign with a website to accompany the HSR System.
Minister Nash said that the HSR system will make it much easier for shoppers to make informed choices about healthier food options.
“The five star ratings clearly displayed on packaged foods will allow consumers, especially parents, to make healthy food choices for the whole family without spending hours reading labels at the supermarket,” she said.
“The HSR system takes into account the four aspects of food – energy; saturated fat; total sugars; and sodium content. Products that are low in saturated fat, sugars, sodium and/or energy will generally have a higher star rating. The healthier the food, the higher the stars.
“We’ve worked closely with stakeholders on this healthy food choices initiative which has resulted in this voluntary scheme receiving broad support from public health groups, food companies and supermarkets.”
The HSRs are coming to your nearest convenience or grocery store, with 11 companies signed up to the voluntary system so far. Seven brands already include the star ratings on their products, including Sanitarium’s UP&GO and Weet-Bix, SPC, Monster Muesli, and Coles.
Look up: www.healthstarrating.gov.au