Food Standards Australia New Zealand has released Proposal P1067 to introduce mandatory front-of-pack Health Star Rating (HSR) labelling for packaged foods sold in Australia and New Zealand, replacing the current voluntary system.
Under the proposal:
a)foods required to carry a Nutrition Information Panel (NIP) would generally require HSR labelling;
b)formulated supplementary foods and meal replacements would be prohibited from displaying HSR symbols; and
c)HSR use in advertising would only be permitted for compliant foods.
FSANZ proposes a standardized HSR symbol using only the star element, removing current energy and nutrient icons.
The mandatory system would retain six HSR categories, including revised dairy and dairy analogue categories (1D, 2D and 3D). Products would need at least 75% dairy or dairy analogue content, with additional criteria such as:
≥100 mg calcium/100 mL or 100 g for Category 1D;
≥3.1% legume protein for yoghurt analogues; and
≥15% protein for cheese analogues.
FSANZ also proposes:
-“as reconstituted” HSR calculations for products requiring water addition;
-“as drained” calculations for drained foods;
-unified FVNL scoring without concentrated FVNL distinctions; and
-mandatory declaration of dietary fibre, calcium and FVNL percentage when used in HSR calculations.
Automatic HSR overrides would apply to:
a) plain and carbonated water: 5 stars;
b) unsweetened flavoured water beverages: 4.5 stars; and
c) fresh/minimally processed fruits, vegetables, fungi and legumes: 5 stars.
For multipacks, suppliers could display either the lowest HSR or individual ratings for each product. Multicomponent foods would generally require a single HSR, with cheese-and-cracker products using weighted-average calculations.The HSR symbol would generally need to appear on the front of pack, while imported foods using over-stickering could place the symbol on the replacement label. FSANZ also confirmed WTO notification procedures have been initiated due to potential trade impacts
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