Published
In July 2024, food ministers asked Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) to:
- start preparatory work on potential mandating of the Health Star Rating (HSR) system; and
- 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 will inform ministers’ future decision-making on whether the HSR system should be mandated if the final uptake target is not met by industry (i.e. 70% of intended products to display the HSR by 14 November 2025). This will facilitate an efficient process to incorporate the HSR system in the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code (the Code) should ministers ask FSANZ to consider mandating the system.
NIP review
The review is examining consumer use and understanding of the NIP to assess whether regulatory changes to the NIP are needed to better support consumers to make informed food choices. Should the review identify potential areas for improvement in the NIP, FSANZ will consider preparing a proposal to amend the Code.
Call for information
In November 2024 FSANZ released a public call for information, providing an early opportunity for stakeholders to submit information and evidence to inform both the HSR preparatory work and NIP review. A report summarising key themes from the submissions received is provided below.
Information and evidence provided by submitters will be considered in our evidence assessments for both the HSR preparatory work and the NIP review.
- What we heard report: What we heard report (PDF 363KB)
- Consultation paper: Call for information on nutrition labelling - Health Star Rating and Nutrition Information Panel (PDF 178KB)