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Posted: 2024-08-13 18:50:05

Leading food manufacturers could soon be subject to mandatory health star ratings, more onerous labelling on packaged products and restrictions on marketing, especially to infants, under a federal government overhaul.

Unlike several other countries, Australia currently has a voluntary rating system, no sugar taxes, and no stringent requirements on marketing processed foods to children.

The food manufacturing industry has long opposed new regulation and has successfully lobbied political leaders in Canberra against changes to food labelling.

But a recent Senate inquiry into diabetes noted that self-regulation by the food industry and the fast-food industry "has not and will not work".

It cited widespread concern over the "rampant" marketing of highly processed food products for very young infants, including pureed foods in sachets and infant formula.

Assistant Minister for Health Ged Kearney said changes were on the way and that, in the longer term, the government was considering the recommendations of the Senate inquiry including calls to implement a sugar tax.

But to get bipartisan political support, it would need further evidence that such a tax reduced sugar consumption and did not have a disproportionate impact on low-income households.

Data from 2023 shows at least 1.5 million people in Australia are now living with diabetes, a 32 per cent rise since 2013.

A woman in a green dress sits in her parliament house office

Ged Kearney says the government will be making changes to food labelling. (ABC News: Simon Beardsell)

"We want food that is presented to consumers with labelling that is factual, that's not confusing, and that doesn't put pressure on parents to buy products that aren't healthy for their kids because of marketing mechanisms," Ms Kearney told the ABC.

"We have an obesity epidemic in Australia and right around the world, and I think poor food choices is a part of that."

How does the health star rating system work?

Front-of-pack health star ratings, which have been in place in Australia since 2014, are meant to help consumers make more informed food purchases and healthier eating choices.

But the Senate inquiry into diabetes found that because the health rating system was voluntary by design, most manufacturers used the system inconsistently and did not display ratings on less healthy items.

It noted that "food labelling is opaque, unintelligible to most people without consideration of the long-term consequences" and that "urgent reform is required in advertising, marketing and community awareness".

health stars

A Senate inquiry found most manufacturers used the health star system inconsistently.

The Senate inquiry called on the federal government to act and it put forward 23 recommendations, including making health star ratings mandatory and encouraging food companies to reduce sugar in their products by introducing a tax on certain beverages.

The food industry is not on track to meet targets for keeping health stars voluntary — the aim was for 70 per cent of intended products to have a health star rating by mid-November 2025.

Statistics released in May this year showed health stars were only on 32 per cent of products in Australia.

Ms Kearney said the industry could be forced to place health star ratings on its products as early as 2026.

Longer term, there may also be additional requirements regarding food labelling to make it easier for consumers to make informed decisions.

The government, Ms Kearney said, was looking at ways to make information on the back of packaged foods clearer.

"We're going to have proper kilojoule readings," she said.

"We're going to make it [easy for] people to understand about the carbohydrates and the sugars and the whole listing on the back of the panel, as well as making sure that the health star rating on the front of the panel is well understood."

How food manufacturers can 'game' the ratings system

Food manufacturers have also been accused by health experts of "gaming" the system by using labelling and marketing tactics to distract from the harmful ingredients in ultra-processed foods and other processed foods.

"Generally, processed foods have not had as much done to them as ultra-processed foods," said Food for Health Alliance executive manager Jane Martin.

"Ultra-processed foods are something that you cannot make in your home kitchen, you don't have the ingredients to make them … and they've gone through a lot of different industrial processes in factories to make them so they're not recognisable to you."

Packets of colourful chips line supermarket shelves

There are concerns about too much consumption of ultra-processed foods.(ABC News: Jennifer King)

Ms Martin wants food manufacturers to stop marketing certain products to children and to stop misleading parents.

Products with a higher star rating are meant to equate to healthier food, and help a consumer choose between the same type of food, not between different categories of products.

But research from Deakin University and others over the years shows that the star ratings do not always make sense or meet nutritional dietary guidelines.

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