The number of products displaying the Health Star Rating labels has continued to climb this year despite the Covid-19 lockdown halting non-essential work in many food and beverage companies for many weeks.
At June 30, there were a total of 5250 products with the labels. Of those, 2787 were branded products made by FGC member companies. That compared to 2684 at the end of December. The remaining 2463 products are the home brands of Foodstuffs and Countdown, and non-FGC members.
FGC Chief Executive Katherine Rich says the increase in products with the Health Stars shows the sector is continuing its hard work to offer consumers more choices and healthier food and beverage products.
“The Government, in its response to the Food Industry Taskforce on Addressing Factors Contributing to Obesity, said it wanted industry to continue to work on the uptake of Health Stars and reformulation to reduce saturated fats, trans-fats, free sugars and salt/sodium, and that’s exactly what’s been happening – even in this tough year.
“It was great to see companies’ commitment to this important work continuing despite the challenges posed by the lockdown. Like the Government, we believe the Health Stars and reformulation will play a part in helping to reduce obesity.”
The Health Star Rating labelling system, which is voluntary, was introduced in 2014 after testing and development by food safety officials, public health representatives, consumer groups, and the food and beverage industry on both sides of the Tasman.
FGC monitors industry uptake of member companies and reports each quarter to the Food Safety division of the Ministry for Primary Industries, which monitors the scheme in New Zealand.
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