The clock is ticking for Ministers on both sides of the Tasman to mandate the Health Star Rating (HSR) system as the food industry has failed to meet yet another target for voluntary uptake of the labelling system.

Health Coalition Aotearoa (HCA), alongside 20 public health groups on both sides of the Tasman, is calling on our Food Minister Andrew Hoggard and his Food Safety Australia and New Zealand (FSANZ) counterparts for a clear commitment and plan to mandate HSR for all packaged food products.

A target to have HSR on 60 per cent of all packaged products by yesterday – November 14, 2024 – has almost certainly not been met, with an April survey of 2023 data by the University of Auckland finding just 30 per cent of products carried the label in New Zealand.

An Australian audit of products from 2024 revealed just 36 per cent had an HSR in Australia.

“Given this, and the poor previous adoption in New Zealand, it is highly unlikely uptake has increased by the needed 30 per cent to meet yesterday’s 60 per cent target,” Dr Sally Mackay co-chair of HCA’s food policy expert advisory group and University of Auckland researcher said.

It is also extremely unlikely that the next and final target for 70 per cent of products having a HSR by November 14 next year will be achieved, further confirming the need to make the HSR mandatory.

Today, New Zealand’s Food Safety Minister Andrew Hoggard will join his Australian counterparts at the final Food Standards Australia and New Zealand (FSANZ) meeting for the year at which the HSR is likely to be on the agenda. 

At the July Food Ministers meeting the Ministers expressed their disappointment at the poor uptake and advised FSANZ officials to begin “preparatory work to inform ministers’ future decision-making on mandating the HSR system”.

“An efficient and strategic process must be put in place now to ensure regulation making HSR mandatory can be introduced as soon as the 2025 target is not met,” Dr Mackay said. 

Ministers must also provide a detailed timeline for their decision and details of the preparatory work being conducted.

New Zealanders deserve independent and easy-to-use labels on all packaged foods providing the information they need to make healthy choices for themselves and their whānau, Dr Mackay said. 

“It is abundantly clear the voluntary system is a failed experiment despite over a decade of opportunity for food manufacturers.

We know that under the voluntary system the big commercial food entities are using the Health Star Rating system as a marketing tool by putting HSRs on their healthier products and avoiding displaying it on things like ice cream and kids’ snack bars that would get a low score.”