About the program
Australians have access to a huge variety of processed and manufactured food and drinks. These are tasty and convenient, and form a big part of most people’s diet.
Some of these foods are part of the 5 food groups, which we should eat every day, as recommended by the Australian Dietary Guidelines. Many are discretionary foods, which often contain high amounts of sugar, sodium and saturated fat.
We are working with food companies to gradually reduce sugar, sodium and saturated fat in some processed and manufactured foods and drinks. This includes various types of bread, cheese, savoury snacks and processed meat.
To see what foods are included in the program, see the:
The program is voluntary for food companies, but we encourage all companies of any size to take part.
Research has shown that reducing harmful ingredients in processed and manufactured foods and drinks is one of the most effective nutrition policies to reduce obesity and diet-related diseases.
Goals of the program
The Partnership Reformulation Program aims to:
- help reduce overweight and obesity
- help reduce diet-related diseases, including chronic conditions
- improve the overall health of Australians
- lower the significant cost of health care to our economy.
The program builds on the previous achievements of the Food and Health Dialogue, which has already reduced sodium content in many products. This includes breads, cereals, processed meats, soups, savoury pies and pastries.
The voluntary Health Star Rating system has also helped improve the nutritional profiles of packaged foods and drinks.
Meeting these goals
The Partnership Reformulation Program commenced in 2020 to support food companies to reformulate their products, resulting in reductions in sodium, sugar and saturated fat across a broad range of food categories.
In 2025-26, the Healthy Food Partnership Secretariat conducted a comprehensive review of the Partnership Reformulation Program to ensure it continues to improve the nutritional quality of the Australian food supply while remaining technically feasible and achievable for industry. The review considered the latest food composition and consumption data, international reformulation programs, and feedback from participating companies and public health stakeholders. Revisions included new food categories, updated targets and updated definitions to better reflect the current Australian food supply and consumption patterns.
The updated Partnership Reformulation Program was endorsed by the Healthy Food Partnership Executive Committee in August 2026, to be achieved by 30 June 2030.
See the full list of food categories and their reduction targets.
These targets cover 80% of the categories, by sales volume, for participating businesses. We encourage food companies to also reduce sugar, sodium, and saturated fats in the other 20% of their products.
Participating companies will report to us on their progress in:
- June 2028 (2 year progress)
- June 2030 (4 year progress).
Who we work with
Because such a big part of our diet comes from processed and manufactured foods, food companies can have a huge influence on the diet of the entire Australian population.
We are working with the food industry to make these changes to processed foods and drinks, and ensure the transition goes smoothly.
We are also working with the Australian Bureau of Statistics to continue to monitor how much sugar, salt and saturated fat Australians consume.
Participating companies
Some of Australia’s major food manufacturers have committed to the Partnership Reformulation Program targets for relevant categories. The following companies would like to be identified:
- Mars Food Australia
- Nestlé Australia Ltd
- Sanitarium
- Tip Top Bakeries
- PepsiCo
- Woolworths
- Kraft Heinz Australia
- Unilever Australia
- Mondelez International
- Simplot Australia
- Kellogg (Aust) Pty Ltd
- Danone
- Lactalis–Mainland Dairy.
Achievements to date
Wave 1, 2-year progress
The Australian Bureau of Statistics analysed the impact of the first 2 years (the mid-point) of Wave 1 of the Partnership Reformulation Program on the Australian food supply.
It reported that participating companies removed 78 tonnes of sodium (or almost 200 tonnes of table salt) and 470 tonnes of saturated fat from the food supply in the 2020–21 financial year.
Read more about these findings, including proportion of products meeting the reformulation targets, and market-coverage of products subject to reformulation targets.
Wave 2, 2-year progress
The Australian Bureau of Statistics analysed the impact of the first 2 years (the mid-point) of Wave 2 of the Partnership Reformulation Program on the Australian food supply.
It reported that participating companies removed 3.3 tonnes of sodium (equivalent to over 8 tonnes of table salt) and 261 tonnes of sugar from the food supply in the 2022–23 financial year.
Read more about these findings, including the proportion of products meeting the reformulation targets and the market coverage of products subject to reformulation targets.
Wave 1, 4-year progress
The Australian Bureau of Statistics analysed the impact of the first 4 years (four-year end point) of Wave 1 of the Partnership Reformulation Program on the Australian food supply.
It reported that participating companies removed 145 tonnes of sodium (or 369 tonnes of table salt) and 72 tonnes of saturated fat from the food supply in the 2023-24 financial year.
Read more about these findings, including the proportion of products meeting the reformulation targets and the market-coverage of products subject to reformulation targets.
To supplement this analysis, the Partnership Secretariat has prepared a report that compares the progress of participating companies with the wider market. The report provides more granular analysis of progress by product category, participation rates, and comparisons with the wider market.
The findings of the report are largely aligned with the independent analysis undertaken by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, with the main differences attributable to the use of different data sources and sample sizes (n values). Both reports show similar trends in sodium and saturated fat reduction, and the proportion of products meeting reformulation targets is largely consistent across both analyses. Where there are differences, these are explained by the scope of data (e.g., the report by the Secretariat includes a broader assessment of participating products against the wider industry, while the ABS report uses scanner data weighted by sales volume).
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