Health Star Rating in Grain Foods-Does It Adequately Differentiate Refined and Whole Grain Foods?

Felicity Curtain,Sara Grafenauer

doi:10.3390/nu11020415

Abstract

The Australian front-of-pack labelling system, Health Star Rating (HSR), does not include whole grain (WG) in its algorithm, but uses dietary fibre (DF), despite Dietary Guidelines recommending WG over refined grain (RG) foods. This study aimed to determine how effectively HSR differentiates WG and RG foods. Product label data were collected 2017–18 from bread, rice, pasta, noodles, flour and breakfast cereals (n = 1127). Products not displaying HSR, DF per 100 g, and %WG ingredients were excluded, leaving a sample of 441 products; 68% were WG (≥8 g/manufacturer serving). There was a significant difference (p < 0.001) in HSR between WG bread and breakfast cereal over RG varieties, yet the mean difference in stars depicted on the pack was only 0.4 for bread and 0.7 for breakfast cereal. There was no difference for rice (p = 0.131) or flour (p = 0.376). Median HSR also poorly differentiated WG. More WG foods scored 4–5 stars compared to RG, yet there was notable overlap between 3.5–5 stars. DF content between RG and WG subcategories was significantly different, however wide variation and overlap in DF highlights that this may not be a sufficient proxy measure, raising concerns that the HSR algorithm may not adequately communicate the benefits for consumers of swapping to WG foods.

Highlights

Nutrition labelling is thought to be an effective policy tool used to promote healthier eating by highlighting a specific quality or nutrient, or by providing information, such as through a Nutrition Information Panel and ingredients list [1].In 2014, the Health Star Rating (HSR), a voluntary front-of-pack labelling system, was adopted in Australia and New Zealand, as a joint measure between state and federal governments, public health and consumer organisations, and food industry stakeholders
There were considerably more refined grain products than whole grain within the rice (76%), From the total data pool, the breakfast cereal subcategory had the greatest number of grain foods and flour (75%) categories, while the pasta category had only refined grain products eligible for and the greatest proportion of products that met all inclusion criteria (70%)
Whole grain foods were not consistently higher in dietary fibre compared to refined grain foods, with whole grain rice on average lower in dietary fibre compared with refined grain bread, refined grain pasta, and refined grain breakfast cereal

Summary

Introduction

In 2014, the Health Star Rating (HSR), a voluntary front-of-pack labelling system, was adopted in Australia and New Zealand, as a joint measure between state and federal governments, public health and consumer organisations, and food industry stakeholders. The HSR system was designed to reflect principles outlined in the Australian Dietary Guidelines, and provide consumers with a simple measure to compare foods within the same category [3]. The system uses an algorithm to rate foods on a per 100 g basis, quantifying ‘negative nutrients’, (kilojoules, sodium, saturated fat, and total sugars), and subtracting ‘positive’ points, based on fruit, vegetable, nuts, or legumes (FVNL) content, as well as dietary fibre and protein content, which is converted to a star rating

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