Strong uptake for food health labelling

Food Safety Minister Jo Goodhew has welcomed news that by the end of 2015 the Health Star rating system will be a common sight on our supermarket shelves.

The Health Star Rating labelling system was adopted by New Zealand in 2014 to enable consumers to better identify the nutritional value of packaged foods.

“Between the two main retailers alone, Foodstuffs and Progressives, more than 500 of their homebrand products will be on supermarket shelves with the Health Star rating by the end of 2015,” Mrs Goodhew says.

“A number of common products are already using the labelling, and at least eight companies have committed to putting this labelling in place for new products this year.”

The new system uses a star rating scale of ½ to 5 stars and, except for some exclusions such as alcohol, can be voluntarily used on all packaged food products for sale.

“The level of uptake reflects industry confidence in this labelling system, as they can use it to determine the health rating of their products,” Mrs Goodhew says.

“This nutritional awareness means consumers can more easily make healthier choices about the packaged food they buy, and the food industry may be incentivised to reformulate their recipes to produce a healthier product.”