Food Ministers’ Meeting outcomes
On 13 February 2026, food ministers asked Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) to raise a proposal to consider mandating the Health Star Rating (HSR) system.
Food ministers also noted the outcomes of the Nutrition Information Panel (NIP) review, including that the current NIP requirements continue to meet their intended purpose and no regulatory changes to the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code (the Code) are warranted at this time.
Read the Food Ministers’ Meeting communiqué: Food Ministers’ Meeting communiques | Food Regulation
Proposal to mandate the HSR system in the Food Standards Code
FSANZ will commence the proposal as an agency priority, in accordance with the requirements of the Food Standards Australia New Zealand Act 1991.
The proposal will be informed by the HSR preparatory work and will include opportunities for public comment. Further information on the scope of the proposal will be published as it becomes available.
Further information about the Health Star Rating system is available at healthstarrating.gov.au.
Background
In July 2024, food ministers asked FSANZ to:
- start preparatory work on the potential mandating of the Health Star Rating (HSR) system
- review the nutrition information panel (NIP) in parallel with HSR work.
This work recognises the close relationship between the HSR system and the NIP, including how they work in combination to support consumers to make informed food choices.
Preparatory work on the HSR system
FSANZ’s preparatory work was undertaken to inform ministers’ future decision-making on whether the HSR system should be mandated if the final uptake target was not met by industry (70% of intended products to display the HSR by 14 November 2025).
The preparatory work supports an efficient regulatory process should the HSR system be incorporated in the Code.
Nutrition Information Panel (NIP) review
The NIP review examined consumer use and understanding of the NIP to assess whether regulatory changes were warranted to better support consumers to make informed food choices.
The review considered a broad evidence base, including previous nutrition labelling reviews, ministerial policy guidance, Australian and New Zealand dietary guidelines, consumer research, stakeholder views, international approaches and estimated costs of potential label changes.
Consultation
FSANZ undertook a staged program of stakeholder engagement and evidence gathering to inform the HSR preparatory work and NIP review, including a public call for information, stakeholder webinars and publication of a preliminary position paper for the NIP review.