Flaws in the health star rating system

The Health Star Rating System has been slammed as unhelpful and misleading. 
By Lucy Marrett

Championed to make packaged food choices simpler, the HSRS was launched three years ago but of late has been receiving criticism suggesting there is a fundamental flaw in the system. The federal government’s Heath Star Rating System (HSRS) has been referred to as flawed and in urgent need of review.

What exactly is the HSRS?

According to the official HSRS website it is: “a front-of-pack labelling system that rates the overall nutritional profile of packaged food and assigns it a rating from ½ a star to 5 stars. It provides a quick, easy, standard way to compare similar packaged foods. The more stars, the healthier the choice.”

It was designed as a way to make choosing healthy options simple and quick, taking the hassle out of reading nutrition labels, and instead provide a clear visual guide.

 

Read more here.

This story first appeared in C&I Week.

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