‘Health Halos’ on Labels Should be Scrapped for Unhealthy Options, say Australian Consumers

26 Sep 2016 --- A survey by Australian consumer advocate CHOICE shows shoppers want to see a front-of-pack labeling initiative rolled out across more products and to stop unhealthy food being given a ‘health halo’. The government-led Health Star Ratings (HSR) scheme lets consumers compare the nutritional value of products within the same category, via an easy-to-understand graphic on the front of its packet. It's been in place for two years, with the number of products in Australia displaying HSRs currently at just over 3,000.

Some categories have better representation of HRS than others, according to CHOICE. For instance, the breakfast cereal segment has a large uptake of the initiative with all major food manufacturers using HSRs.

CHOICE has made a list of recommendations following the survey and this includes clamping down on HSR on foods that actually have high levels of sugar, salt and saturated fat. There is a growing mistrust from consumers towards products that come with a high rating even though they contain unhealthy ingredients and CHOICE believes this undermines the HSR system.

“When foods with high levels of sugar, salt or saturated fats and few positive nutrients receive a high rating, this undermines the HRS system… Potato chips, confectionery and chocolate are given as specific examples. Sea-Salt potato chips receiving 4-stars, Paddle Pops receiving 3 stars, or licorice receiving 2.5 stars are contributing to a growing mistrust in HRS. If nutrient poor foods continue to score high, consumer confidence in the system will decline,” says the report.

Research was commissioned to better understand how consumers in Australia and New Zealand understand HSRs and was jointly funded by CHOICE and Consumer NZ. CHOICE carried out a nationally representative survey on issues with HSRs and added sugars to see what people think of the food labeling system in these areas.

“Our survey finds that many consumers find HSRs useful and want to see them rolled out across more products. However, a growing number of consumers do not have, or are losing confidence in the system. This is primarily due to a number of anomalies, particularly those that allow foods with high levels of sugar, salt or saturated fat, and few positive nutrients, to carry relatively high HSRs,” says the report.

The survey also showed “overwhelming public support” for listing added sugars in food Nutrition Information Panels and even more so in identifying them in the ingredients list.

Based on the survey, CHOICE is making the following recommendations to the Health Star Rating Advisory Committee:

• To consider further advertising of the HSR system that targets older people and people in New Zealand, Queensland, Tasmania, the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory.
• To restrict the use of HSRs on foods with high levels of sugar, salt and saturated fat to address consumer concerns and prevent HSR giving a ‘health halo’ to unhealthy options. The preference is that HSRs are capped at a low level on all such foods.
• Companies are prevented from manipulating the HSR their product gets by choosing a nutrient rich liquid as a serving suggestion on as ‘as prepared’ basis or by only applying HRSs on food which receive a high rating.
• A scope is needed for the viability of added sugars to be accounted for rather than total sugars when calculating a product’s’ HSR.
• The Forum of Food Regulation Ministers requires that added sugars are explicitly labeled in the ingredients list as well as in the nutrition information panel.
• Focus on improving the application of HSRs on packaged foods before considering how to extend it further.

Consumer Awareness

The survey showed that 72 percent of people in Australia and 61 percent of people in New Zealand have seen HSRs printed on food products. Across Australian states more people in NSW (75 percent), Victoria (74 percent), South Australia (75 percent), and Western Australia (76 percent) have seen HRSs compared to people in Queensland (62 percent) and Tasmania, the Northern Territory and the ACT (69 percent).

More Australian women (75 percent) than men (69 percent) have seen HRSs on food packaging and recognition also varies across income categories with with only 67 percent of people earning less than $50,000 (US$38,000) saying they have seen HRSs compared to 75 percent of people earning more than $100,000 (US$76,185).

“Most people agree or strongly agree that HRHs help them to make healthier food choices. They overwhelming want to see HRSs on more products,” adds the report.