New Zealand Government has announced plans to introduce a new Health Star Rating food labeling system, which will help in making healthy food choices.
New Zealand Food Safety Minister Nikki Kaye said that cabinet has agreed to adopt the new voluntary system, which has been developed as part of the Australian and New Zealand Ministers Food Forum.
"Over the past 18 months, the Ministry for Primary Industries has supported the New Zealand Front of Pack Labelling advisory group consisting of food safety officials, public health representatives, consumer groups, and representatives from the food industry," Kaye added.
The new system will use a star rating scale of ½ to 5 stars for all packaged food products that will go for retail sale, while foods with high number of stars will reflect better nutritional value.
The number of stars will be determined by using an algorithm, which considers the food product's overall nutritional value.
In order to implement the new labeling system, the New Zealand Front of Pack Labeling advisory group will work with the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI).
Said to be line with dietary guidelines, the system will consider four aspects of a food such as energy, saturated fat, sodium and total sugars that are claimed to be risk factors for chronic diseases.
In addition, it will also take into account certain other aspects such as fruit and vegetable content, as well as dietary fiber and protein content.
By considering these components, points are allocated based on the nutritional composition of 100g or 100ml, following the units used in the food's nutrition information panel.
According to minister Kaye, on joining the trans-Tasman system, the forum has agreed that New Zealand will be a member of a committee, which was established to oversee the implementation of the labeling system.
