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Multinational food companies are undermining healthy eating push: Choice

Consumer watchdog Choice says that new food labels designed to encourage healthy eating are under threat due to pressure from the food industry.

The front of pack labelling system which was agreed to earlier this year, provides a rating of up to five stars on the front of food products, along with details on salt, sugar and saturated fat content.

The system is designed to enable consumers to easily make comparisons between products and according to research conducted by the Department of Health and Ageing, is a more useful and user-friendly system compared to the industry-run Daily Intake Guide system.

“We spent two years negotiating this new system with the food industry, represented by the Australian Food and Grocery Council (AFGC). The new system incorporates a number of concessions sought by the AFGC but now it has turned around and launched a fierce campaign against the very system it helped to develop,” says Choice CEO, Alan Kirkland.

“This research shows exactly why we need a new scheme to replace the flawed, industry-run Daily Intake Guide that currently appears on many food products. Australians who have actually heard of the Daily Intake Guide – less than half of those surveyed – are likely to find it complex and misleading because it suggests that there is a daily intake of sugar, salt and saturated fat that people should be aiming for, when the best advice is to limit consumption. 

“Despite it always being clear as part of the negotiations that the Daily Intake Guide had to go, the AFGC is now fighting to make it part of the new labelling system,” says Kirkland.

Executive manager of the Obesity Policy Coalition, Jane Martin says that front of pack labelling systems, such as the star system, enables the consumer to cut through claims and promotions on packaging and encourages them to choose healthier foods.

"We have recently seen several countries, including the UK, introduce easy to understand, interpretive, front of pack labelling schemes which simplify the nutrition information panel because evidence shows this supports consumers to choose healthier foods," says Martin.

The Health Star Rating System was developed by key consumer, health and industry groups including the AFGC, with support from the Department of Health over the past two years and Choice says that food manufacturers are worried that the scheme will expose ‘the truth about some of their best selling products.’
 
“The Board of the AFGC includes some of the world’s biggest food companies — like Kellogg, Simplot and Campbell Arnotts. We should not allow companies such as these to dictate our domestic food policy.”
 
“Consumers should be free to buy and eat whatever they want – but if they are looking for a healthy option, this should be easy to find through clear, accurate and honest information in an easy-to-understand format, on the front of packs.”

The AFGC have been contacted for comment.
 

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