School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences, Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition (IPAN), Deakin University, 221 Burwood Highway, Burwood, VIC, 3125, Australia.
Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act. 2018 Dec 13;15(1):128. doi: 10.1186/s12966-018-0760-7.
The consumption of ultra-processed foods is associated with diminished dietary quality and adverse health outcomes. The Australian Health Star Rating (HSR) is a nutrient-based front-of-pack (FOP) labelling system that assesses the 'healthiness' of foods on a scale of 0.5 to 5 stars based on their content of 'risk' and 'positive' nutrients. This study aimed to analyse the use of health stars on new packaged food products entering the Australian marketplace by level of food processing.
The Mintel Global New Product Database (GNPD) was searched to identify the number of stars displayed on the labels of all new packaged food products participating in the HSR system released into the Australian retail food supply between 27 June 2014 (the endorsement date) and 30 June 2017. Products were categorised by the four NOVA food processing categories: unprocessed and minimally processed (MP), processed culinary ingredients (PCI), processed (P), and ultra-processed (UP), and the distribution of the star ratings within each category was compared and analysed.
The majority of new food products displaying an HSR were UP (74.4%), followed by MP (12.5%), P (11.6%), and PCI (1.5%). The median HSR of MP products (4.5) was significantly higher than the median of P (4) and UP products (3.5) (all p < 0.05). In all NOVA categories HSR profiles were distributed towards higher star ratings, and the majority (77%) of UP products displayed an HSR ≥ 2.5.
The HSR is being displayed on a substantial proportion of newly released UP foods. Technical weaknesses, design flaws and governance limitations with the HSR system are resulting in 3 out of 4 instances of these UP foods displaying at least 2.5 so-called 'health' stars. These findings add further evidence to concerns that the HSR system, in its current form, is misrepresenting the healthiness of new packaged food products and creating a risk for behavioural nutrition.
超加工食品的消费与较差的饮食质量和不良健康结果有关。澳大利亚健康星级评级（HSR）是一种基于营养素的包装正面（FOP）标签系统，根据“风险”和“积极”营养素的含量，对食品的“健康”程度进行 0.5 到 5 星的评估。本研究旨在分析进入澳大利亚市场的新包装食品的食品加工水平与健康星级的使用情况。
通过搜索明特尔全球新产品数据库（GNPD），确定 2014 年 6 月 27 日（认可日期）至 2017 年 6 月 30 日期间，在澳大利亚零售食品供应中参与 HSR 系统的所有新包装食品标签上显示的星级数量。产品按照 NOVA 食品加工 4 个类别进行分类：未加工和最低限度加工（MP）、加工烹饪成分（PCI）、加工（P）和超加工（UP），并比较和分析每个类别中的星级分布。
显示 HSR 的大多数新食品是 UP（74.4%），其次是 MP（12.5%）、P（11.6%）和 PCI（1.5%）。MP 产品的 HSR 中位数（4.5）明显高于 P（4）和 UP 产品（3.5）的中位数（均 p<0.05）。在所有 NOVA 类别中，HSR 分布都偏向于更高的星级，77%的 UP 产品显示 HSR≥2.5。
HSR 被大量新发布的 UP 食品所采用。HSR 系统存在技术弱点、设计缺陷和治理限制，导致 4 个 UP 食品中有 3 个显示至少 2.5 个所谓的“健康”星级。这些发现进一步证明，HSR 系统目前的形式正在歪曲新包装食品的健康状况，并对行为营养构成风险。
