Should we trust the Health Star Rating?
If you are a visual learner – please see my YouTube video on the Health Star Rating HERE!
If you are a reader…. read ON!
What is the Health Star Rating? ⭐️
The Health Star Rating (HSR) is a front-of-pack labelling system that rates the overall nutritional profile of a packaged food. It is being used in its current form across Australia and New Zealand. The HSR is funded by government, NOT the food industry! It has been in operation since 2014. The program has just undergone a review (2019).
What do the stars mean?
Foods are assigned a rating from 1/2 a star to 5 stars (5 being the best rating you can get). Therefore, the more stars, the healthier the choice!
Why use the HSR?
The HSR really provides us with an EASIER way to compare similar packaged foods. It is designed to help us make a healthier choice.
Who can show an HSR rating?
An HSR is NOT purchased by a food manufacturer. It is a voluntary opt-in program offered by the government. A food manufacturer can choose to have their product evaluated and assigned an HSR.
How does a product get 5 stars?
The HSR is arrived at via a calculator which is driven by an algorithm. The algorithm assess’ positive and risk nutrients in foods.
What are the positive nutrients?
– fruit components
– vegetable components
– nut components
– legume components
– dietary fibre
– protein content
What are the risk nutrients?
These are nutrients that can be associated with risk factors for chronic diseases:
– total energy
– saturated fat
– sodium
– total sugars
What are the limitations of the HSR?
1. You can only compare like with like. That is, you can only compare an HSR of a cereal with another cereal. You can’t compare a cereal with a yoghurt. You cannot compare across food categories.
2. It is not intended to replace general dietary advice like the Australian Dietary Guidelines.
3. A 5 star rating does not mean you should eat that food to excess or replace other core food groups with that food.
4. Many health foods are not packaged and therefore will never carry the HSR even though they are a good choice – e.g. fruits and vegetables.
What has been the outcome of the HSR (2014-2019)?
1. Of Aussies who purchased a product displaying the HSR in the last 3 months, almost 2/3 stated that the HSR influenced their decision and 1/3 were influenced to purchase a product with more stars.
2. The HSR is encouraging positive reformulation. In Australia, there were significant reduction in energy and saturated fat content in products displaying the HSR over the 4 years.
So, IS the HSR something we should really trust?
Overall, my answer is yes! It certainly makes products easier to compare (without analysing the nutrition information panel) and takes the pressure off having to delve more deeply into nutrition science and healthy eating advice! But remember, that doesn’t mean that the HSR takes the place of individualised advice or takes the place of general healthy eating guidelines like the Australian Dietary Guidelines.
All of the information in this article has been gathered from the HSR website and the recent HSR 5-year review report.