JOURNALIST: So we're talking Health Star Ratings. I guess where is that at firstly and what's the push been to actually get that mandatory?
REBECCA WHITE, ASSISTANT MINISTER FOR HEALTH AND AGEING: People might know Health Star Ratings as that little emblem on the front of the package that gives a number of stars for the nutrition or quality of the food that they're eating. What we’ve done through the food ministers is raise a proposal for Food Standards Australia New Zealand to go out to consultation asking for people's feedback on what it would mean to make that mandatory. Consultation for that opened yesterday. So I'm encouraging people to have a look at the department's website and put their thoughts in about what it looks like for Australians to have a mandatory food standards labelling process with Health Star Ratings.
This is something we've had in place in Australia for about 12 years now and it's been voluntary. So people will see it on some packets but not on all packets. So the question we are now examining is what it looks like to put on all packaged foods in grocery aisles, so that when people are busy and they're shopping and they're in a hurry and they need just a quick front of pack reference guide for the nutrition of the product they're about to purchase, Health Star Ratings can offer that to them.
JOURNALIST: There's concerns that it can be misleading and that it's not always representational of the actual ingredients. Is that a concern you're expecting to hear in this feedback?
WHITE: We are asking people their views on what Health Star Ratings mean currently, but what it would mean to mandate it as a standard across all packaged foods. It is really important for people to remember that when you are comparing products, it is a comparison between like-for-like products. So you can't compare muesli bars to milk, for instance. You can compare muesli bars together. And that's why it's sometimes confusing for people. So, there will be some education we need to undertake as well so consumers better understand how it works. But it's also important that people know that on the back of packs you've got the Nutrition Information Panel, which does give much more detailed information about what's contained in the products they're purchasing. Health Star Ratings is really just an easy front of pack guide so people can make a quick decision if they're in a hurry or if they just don't want to read all the information on the back.
JOURNALIST: So it's your understanding, though, that the rating itself holds a bit of weight for consumers who are looking to make decisions?
WHITE: We know from public surveys that about 84 per cent of Australians understand what Health Star Ratings are and there is a high level of trust. But we also know that because it's not mandatory, there can be confusion about why it's on some products and not all products. And that's why this is the next step in the process to examine what it would look like to make it mandatory.
JOURNALIST: Have the states mostly been supportive with this?
WHITE: This is a decision that was made by food ministers, which includes Commonwealth ministers as well as state and territory ministers. It was taken in February this year. So that was agreed that we now go out to consultation and ask consumers, health promotions groups, public health groups, industry, their views on what it would take to make this mandatory. At the end of the day, we want consistent, clear information for people when they're in the supermarket making decisions, and we hope that mandatory Health Star Ratings will help do that.
JOURNALIST: Do you know how long it would take to actually bring it into effect?
WHITE: The round of consultation that's open now closes on June 21. There will be another round of consultation that follows that. I expect that food ministers will receive advice on this early next year, and then it'll be a matter for us to decide based on that advice how long it might take to implement. But early suggestions might be two to three years before it's fully across all packaged goods if a decision is made to mandate it.
JOURNALIST: So given that timeline, a bit of a delay I guess. There's other campaigns and so forth, the sugar-free, that kind of thing. I guess those were quite important in the meantime to get the conversation going about how healthy our food is.
WHITE: I think this is about making sure people think about the food they're putting in their body. Any time we have a conversation about Health Star Ratings or health and nutrition generally in food, I think it's good because it makes people think a little bit more about what it is they're purchasing. Recognising that some products are out of reach for people too and that's why programs like healthy programs for school foods is really vital, making sure that we're improving the health and nutrition of food in aged care facilities and hospitals, because not everybody can go down to the shop and buy their products. It’s also about where else they might be eating their food.
JOURNALIST: You announced today in your speech the release of a feasibility study?
WHITE: We know that junk food advertising to children is something a lot of people raise concern about, and we recently received a report that has identified some of the challenges that we see across the Australian community. We know that Australian children aren't having the recommended amount of food, fruit and vegetables in their diet and that they are consuming high levels of sugar in particular in their diet. Junk food advertising to children is an area that our government is interested in, to understand whether or not changes could be made that would also then lead to an improvement in children’s health. So that report’s just been received by the Government, it is published online and I encourage people to take a look at that. We’ll have some time to consider what that is recommending to us before making a further decision on any steps that we might take.