Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Population Health, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.
National Institute for Health Innovation, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.
PLoS One. 2021 Jan 26;16(1):e0245225. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0245225. eCollection 2021.
Improvement of national food supplies are an opportunity to improve a country's health. Our aim was to identify the major food companies manufacturing packaged foods and non-alcoholic beverages available in New Zealand supermarkets in 2018; to assess the healthiness of products using (1) the Health Star Rating (HSR) system, (2) Australian Dietary Guidelines classification (core/discretionary), and (3) by level of processing; to compare the healthiness of products displaying and not displaying the HSR and; to assess potential for food reformulation within selected food sub-categories. Information on packaged foods was obtained from the Nutritrack supermarket database. Companies that manufactured each food and brand were identified using company websites and the New Zealand companies register. In total, 13,506 packaged products were mapped to 1,767 brands and 1,214 companies. Based on market share of products available for sale (Euromonitor data), there were 22 dominating companies producing 31% of products and 17% of brands. Fifty-nine percent of products were classified as unhealthy (HSR <3.5/5 stars), 53% as discretionary, and 69% as ultra-processed. Products displaying the HSR on the package had a higher mean HSR ±SD than if the HSR was not displayed (3.2±1.3 versus 2.5±1.4, p = 0.000). Efforts to improve the healthiness of products should be directed to the 22 food companies dominating this market share, particularly in the core foods groups which are currently less likely to meet Heart Foundation reformulation targets (bread, breakfast cereals, cheese, canned baked beans, yoghurt). The New Zealand supermarket packaged food supply included in the Nutritrack database is dominated by a small number of companies and is mostly unhealthy. Government leadership is required to improve the healthiness of the packaged food supply and provide adequate information to consumers. This includes interventions setting reformulation targets for core food groups, setting population nutrient intake targets and mandating that the HSR is displayed on all products.
改善国家粮食供应是改善国家健康状况的一个机会。我们的目的是确定 2018 年新西兰超市销售的包装食品和非酒精饮料的主要食品公司；使用（1）健康星级评级（HSR）系统、（2）澳大利亚饮食指南分类（核心/自由裁量）和（3）加工水平评估产品的健康程度；比较显示和不显示 HSR 的产品的健康程度；并评估选定食品亚类中食品配方改革的潜力。包装食品的信息是从 Nutritrack 超市数据库中获得的。使用公司网站和新西兰公司注册处确定制造每种食品和品牌的公司。总共有 13506 种包装食品被映射到 1767 个品牌和 1214 家公司。根据可销售产品的市场份额（Euromonitor 数据），有 22 家主导公司生产了 31%的产品和 17%的品牌。59%的产品被归类为不健康（HSR<3.5/5 星），53%为自由裁量，69%为超加工。包装上显示 HSR 的产品的平均 HSR ±SD 高于未显示 HSR 的产品（3.2±1.3 对 2.5±1.4，p = 0.000）。改善产品健康度的努力应针对主导这一市场份额的 22 家食品公司，特别是在目前不太可能达到心脏基金会配方改革目标的核心食品组（面包、早餐麦片、奶酪、罐装烤豆、酸奶）。Nutritrack 数据库中包含的新西兰超市包装食品供应主要由少数几家公司主导，而且大部分是不健康的。需要政府领导来改善包装食品供应的健康状况，并为消费者提供足够的信息。这包括干预措施，为核心食品组设定配方改革目标，设定人口营养摄入目标，并要求在所有产品上显示 HSR。
