The George Institute for Global Health, UNSW, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health UNSW, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Eur J Clin Nutr. 2024 Oct;78(10):916-918. doi: 10.1038/s41430-024-01480-2. Epub 2024 Aug 6.
Front-of-pack nutrition labelling (FOPNL) on packaged foods is recommended by the World Health Organization to promote healthier diets. Our aim was to assess uptake of Australia's FOPNL, the Health Star Rating (HSR), overall and by HSR score received (0.5 (less healthy) to 5.0 (more healthy) in 0.5 increments) after ten years of voluntary implementation. In a sample of 21,197 products, we found HSR uptake of 37% overall in 2023. Uptake was unevenly distributed, with 24% of products with an HSR ≤ 3 displaying the label, compared to 53% of products scoring ≥3.5 (p < 0.001). Low HSR uptake on poorly rated products demonstrates that most food manufacturers will only display FOPNL where marketing value exists in a voluntary system. Poor and uneven HSR uptake limits consumers' ability to meaningfully use the label to compare and choose healthier products. Government action is urgently required to make the HSR system mandatory.
包装食品的预包装食品营养标签（FOPNL）是世界卫生组织推荐的，以促进更健康的饮食。我们的目的是评估澳大利亚 FOPNL（健康星级评级，HSR）的采用情况，包括在自愿实施十年后，按 HSR 得分（0.5（不太健康）到 5.0（更健康），每 0.5 分为一档）进行的总体采用情况和按得分进行的采用情况。在 21197 种产品的样本中，我们发现 2023 年 HSR 的总体采用率为 37%。采用情况分布不均，HSR≤3 的产品中有 24%显示了标签，而 HSR≥3.5 的产品中有 53%显示了标签（p<0.001）。低 HSR 在评级较低的产品上的采用率表明，在自愿制度下，只有在营销价值存在的情况下，大多数食品制造商才会显示 FOPNL。HSR 采用情况不佳且不均衡限制了消费者使用标签来比较和选择更健康产品的能力。迫切需要政府采取行动，使 HSR 系统成为强制性的。
