Sent May 2024 - Dietitians Australia and 25 other public health and consumer organisations wrote to the Food Ministers' Meeting about preparing for the future of the Health Star Rating (HSR) system.

Letter excerpt

Public health and consumer groups remain supporters of the HSR system as part of a suite of evidence-informed measures to improve population diets. We share Food Ministers’ disappointment at the results of the government’s uptake monitoring, which confirms low levels of voluntary uptake similar to those independently reported by The George Institute in Australia and the University of Auckland in New Zealand (36% and 30%, respectively). Findings from the government’s industry survey also indicate little intent from the food industry to increase the availability of the HSR system voluntarily.

We consider there is now no prospect of the food industry meeting the voluntary 2024 (60%) and 2025 (70%) uptake targets. Application of the HSR system also continues to be skewed towards high scoring healthier products while omitting this information from unhealthy options, suggesting it is being applied primarily for marketing purposes. Mandating the display of the HSR system is necessary to fulfill its intent to enable consumers to compare between products and choose healthier options.

For more read the full letter.