Calls for Australia to introduce junk food warning labels for food

Junk food warning labels could soon appear on supermarket shelves and fast food restaurants if health advocates have their way.

The renewed momentum has been sparked by a research paper that looked at hundreds of studies on food packaging and found that warning labels were highly effective in reducing the intake of unhealthy foods.

Countries like Chile and Israel have already prominently placed warning labels on the front of packages of processed foods high in salt, sugar and unhealthy fats for the past few years.

Labels in those countries are black and white, and experts worry that even those are not prominent enough and “blend in with the packaging.”

One proposed model includes placing large ‘traffic light’ warnings on the front of the package: green for good, yellow for in moderation and red for foods to be avoided.

Experts call for Australia’s health star system to be improved and made mandatory

Deakin University marketing professor Chris Dubelaar, who co-wrote the article, said Australia’s current star rating system for food packaging, which is voluntary, has only been partially successful.

He said that while it helped people make healthier choices, it was not effective in discouraging them from buying unhealthy foods.

Less than half of eligible food items use the star rating system.

“Companies say, ‘Well, I don’t want to put half a star on my product.’ So consumers have to fend for themselves,” said Mr Dubelaar The Sydney Morning Herald.

He said his study found that the only type of labeling that was effective in reducing consumption of unhealthy foods were large “in your face” labels.

Obesity Policy Coalition executive director Jane Martin has said the new study reinforces her calls for the food star system to be reviewed.

According to 2018 figures, more than 60% of Australians were overweight.

She wants to make the system that gives processed foods a rating from one, unhealthy, to five, healthy, mandatory.

He said the star labels were a good choice because they were easy to understand, but they needed to be more prominent and color-coded with green for healthy products, yellow for mid-range products, and red for low-rated products.

She said the ratings not only help shoppers, but also encourage manufacturers to tweak their recipes to make them healthier.

Aaron Schultz, founder of the Game Changer movement to get rid of ads for unhealthy foods in sports, previously called for plain packaging warning labels on junk food, similar to cigarettes.

Schultz shared an image of a Big Mac box labeled with the words “Big Macs make big kids” and an image of two overweight children on his Game Changer Facebook page in an attempt to start the debate.

A recent study found that warnings were effective in Chile in reducing the consumption of unhealthy foods.

Labeling of popular chocolates could soon look very different in Australia

Advertising executive Dee Madigan told the Today show on Monday that labels need to strike a good balance.

He said they need to be kept simple so that shoppers browsing shelves or a menu can understand them at a glance, but they also need to provide a big picture.

“We also don’t want to warn against an unhealthy type of food, for example, high in sugar or salt, and lead people to a different option that might also be unhealthy.”

“Star rating is good, but we have to make sure it takes all factors into account, not just one ingredient.”