Suchergebnisse

In Australia, manufacturers can use two government-endorsed approaches to advertise product healthiness: the Health Star Rating (HSR) front-of-pack nutrition labelling system, and health claims. Related, but different, algorithms determine the star rating of a product (the HSR algorithm) and eligibility to display claims (the Nutrient Profiling Scoring Criterion (NPSC) algorithm). The objective of this study was to examine the agreement between the HSR and NPSC algorithms. Food composition information for 41,297 packaged products was extracted from The George Institute's FoodSwitch database. HSR and the NPSC scores were calculated, and the proportion of products in each HSR category that were eligible to display a health claim under the NPSC was examined. The highest agreement between the HSR scoring algorithm and the NPSC threshold to determine eligibility to display a health claim was at the HSR cut-off of 3.5 stars (k = 0.83). Overall, 97.3% (n = 40,167) of products with star ratings of 3.5 or higher were also eligible to display a health claim, and 94.3% (n = 38,939) of products with star ratings less than 3.5 were ineligible to display a health claim. The food group with greatest divergence was "edible oils", with 45% products (n = 342) with HSR >3.5, but 64% (n = 495) eligible to display a claim. Categories with large absolute numbers of products with HSR <3.5, but eligible to display a claim, were "yoghurts and yoghurt drinks" (335 products, 25.4%) and "soft drinks" (299 products, 29.7%). Categories with a large number of products with HSR ≥3.5, but ineligible to display a claim, were "milk" (260 products, 21.2%) and "nuts and seeds" (173 products, 19.7%). We conclude that there is good agreement between the HSR and the NPSC systems overall, but divergence in some food groups is likely to result in confusion for consumers, particularly where foods with low HSRs are eligible to display a health claim. The alignment of the NPSC and HSR scoring algorithms should be improved.

© 2017 Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Background The Australian Government has introduced a voluntary front-of-package labeling system that includes total sugar in the calculation. Objective Our aim was to determine the effect of substituting added sugars for total sugars when calculating Health Star Ratings (HSR) and identify whether use of added sugars improves the capacity to distinguish between core and discretionary food products. Design This study included packaged food and beverage products available in Australian supermarkets (n=3,610). The product categories included in the analyses were breakfast cereals (n=513), fruit (n=571), milk (n=309), non-alcoholic beverages (n=1,040), vegetables (n=787), and yogurt (n=390). Added sugar values were estimated for each product using a validated method. HSRs were then estimated for every product according to the established method using total sugar, and then by substituting added sugar for total sugar. The scoring system was not modified when added sugar was used in place of total sugar in the HSR calculation. Products were classified as core or discretionary based on the Australian Dietary Guidelines. To investigate whether use of added sugar in the HSR algorithm improved the distinction between core and discretionary products as defined by the Australian Dietary Guidelines, the proportion of core products that received an HSR of ≥3.5 stars and the proportion of discretionary products that received an HSR of <3.5 stars, for algorithms based upon total vs added sugars were determined. Results There were 2,263 core and 1,347 discretionary foods; 1,684 of 3,610 (47%) products contained added sugar (median 8.4 g/100 g, interquartile range=5.0 to 12.2 g). When the HSR was calculated with added sugar instead of total sugar, an additional 166 (7.3%) core products received an HSR of ≥3.5 stars and 103 (7.6%) discretionary products received a rating of ≥3.5 stars. The odds of correctly identifying a product as core vs discretionary were increased by 61% (odds ratio 1.61, 95% CI 1.26 to 2.06; P<0.001) when the algorithm was based on added compared to total sugars. Conclusions In the six product categories examined, substitution of added sugars for total sugars better aligned the HSR with the Australian Dietary Guidelines. Future work is required to investigate the impact in other product categories.

In Australia, manufacturers can use two government-endorsed approaches to advertise product healthiness: the Health Star Rating (HSR) front-of-pack nutrition labelling system, and health claims. Related, but different, algorithms determine the star rating of a product (the HSR algorithm) and eligibility to display claims (the Nutrient Profiling Scoring Criterion (NPSC) algorithm). The objective of this study was to examine the agreement between the HSR and NPSC algorithms. Food composition information for 41,297 packaged products was extracted from The George Institute's FoodSwitch database. HSR and the NPSC scores were calculated, and the proportion of products in each HSR category that were eligible to display a health claim under the NPSC was examined. The highest agreement between the HSR scoring algorithm and the NPSC threshold to determine eligibility to display a health claim was at the HSR cut-off of 3.5 stars (k = 0.83). Overall, 97.3% (n = 40,167) of products with star ratings of 3.5 or higher were also eligible to display a health claim, and 94.3% (n = 38,939) of products with star ratings less than 3.5 were ineligible to display a health claim. The food group with greatest divergence was "edible oils", with 45% products (n = 342) with HSR >3.5, but 64% (n = 495) eligible to display a claim. Categories with large absolute numbers of products with HSR <3.5, but eligible to display a claim, were "yoghurts and yoghurt drinks" (335 products, 25.4%) and "soft drinks" (299 products, 29.7%). Categories with a large number of products with HSR ≥3.5, but ineligible to display a claim, were "milk" (260 products, 21.2%) and "nuts and seeds" (173 products, 19.7%). We conclude that there is good agreement between the HSR and the NPSC systems overall, but divergence in some food groups is likely to result in confusion for consumers, particularly where foods with low HSRs are eligible to display a health claim. The alignment of the NPSC and HSR scoring algorithms should be improved.

BACKGROUND: Nutrition policies to improve the food environment frequently rely on voluntary business action for implementation, many have had mixed success. The aims of this study were to identify key food system drivers influencing the Australian packaged food sector and analyse how these might impact the willingness of food companies to voluntarily reduce salt in packaged foods. METHODS: Business methods formed the basis of this retrospective applied policy analysis of voluntary salt reduction for the period 2013-2016 where the focal policy was the Australian Food and Health Dialogue (2009-2015). The analytical framework included political-legal, economic, social, technological (PEST) external drivers of the food system, and Porter's Five Forces for the competitive drivers of the food system. Documentary data identifying food system drivers affecting the Australian packaged food sector (comprised of the food processing and supermarket industries) were identified through a comprehensive search of the grey and academic literatures. RESULTS: The interplay between external and competitive food system drivers created an environment in which voluntary salt reduction was found to be an uneasy fit. A high cost of doing business, soft growth, intense competition, asymmetry of power in favour of supermarkets, and marginal consumer interest in less salty food were found likely to create commercial disincentives to invest in voluntary salt reduction above more pressing commercial imperatives. Analysis of food manufacturing industries highlighted the highly contextual nature of food system drivers. Opportunities for nutrition policy included: support for 'shared value' in economic discourse; and, leveraging investor, supermarket, and the largely unrealised bargaining power of consumers. CONCLUSION: Business frameworks can provide meaningful insights for nutrition policy on how food system drivers can thwart policy goals. Our analysis highlighted areas to incentivise voluntary action and illustrated the importance of political-legal, economic and consumer strategies for salt reduction.

Background In June 2014, the Australian government agreed to the voluntary implementation of an interpretive 'Health Star Rating' (HSR) front-of-pack labelling system for packaged foods. The aim of the system is to make it easier for consumers to compare the healthiness of products based on number of stars. With many Australians consuming fast food there is a strong rationale for extending the HSR system to include fast food items. Objective To examine the performance of the HSR system when applied to fast foods. Design Nutrient content data for fast food menu items were collected from the websites of 13 large Australian fast-food chains. The HSR was calculated for each menu item. Statistics describing HSR values for fast foods were calculated and compared to results for comparable packaged foods. Results Data for 1529 fast food products were compared to data for 3810 packaged food products across 16 of 17 fast food product categories. The mean HSR for the fast foods was 2.5 and ranged from 0.5 to 5.0 and corresponding values for the comparator packaged foods were 2.6 and 0.5 to 5.0. Visual inspection of the data showed broadly comparable distributions of HSR values across the fast food and the packaged food categories, although statistically significant differences were apparent for seven categories (all p < 0.04). In some cases these differences reflected the large sample size and the power to detect small variations across fast foods and packaged food, and in others it appeared to reflect primarily differences in the mix of product types within a category. Conclusions These data support the idea that the HSR system could be extended to Australian fast foods. There are likely to be significant benefits to the community from the use of a single standardised signposting system for healthiness across all fresh, packaged and restaurant foods.

Background: Excess dietary salt is a leading risk for health. Multiple health, government, industry and community organisations have identified the need to reduce consumption of dietary salt. This project seeks to implement and evaluate a community-based salt reduction intervention. Methods: The study comprises a baseline assessment followed by a targeted intervention and then an evaluation of efficacy. The study location is Lithgow, a regional town in New South Wales, Australia. The salt reduction intervention is based upon the Communication for Behavioural Impact framework which utilises an integrated communication model to enact community advocacy and impact by providing tools that enable the translation of knowledge into behavioural change. The duration of the intervention will be between 6 and 12 months. The primary evaluation will be through measurement of 24-hr urinary sodium excretion in independent population samples aged > 20 years, drawn before and after the intervention period. The study is designed to detect a difference in mean sodium excretion of 0.7 grams per day or greater with 80% power and p = 0.05. Discussion: This study will provide a robust evaluation of the effectiveness of a community-based intervention seeking to reduce dietary salt intake using the Communication for Behavioural Impact framework. The results will provide important new evidence to inform the design and implementation of current and future salt reduction policies in Australia. The results will also have important international implications because, following the recent World Health Organization recommendations for the control of non-communicable diseases, many countries are now seeking to achieve a reduction in average population salt consumption. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02105727

Background: Excess dietary salt is a leading risk for health. Multiple health, government, industry and community organisations have identified the need to reduce consumption of dietary salt. This project seeks to implement and evaluate a community-based salt reduction intervention. Methods. The study comprises a baseline assessment followed by a targeted intervention and then an evaluation of efficacy. The study location is Lithgow, a regional town in New South Wales, Australia. The salt reduction intervention is based upon the Communication for Behavioural Impact framework which utilises an integrated communication model to enact community advocacy and impact by providing tools that enable the translation of knowledge into behavioural change. The duration of the intervention will be between 6 and 12 months. The primary evaluation will be through measurement of 24-hr urinary sodium excretion in independent population samples aged > 20 years, drawn before and after the intervention period. The study is designed to detect a difference in mean sodium excretion of 0.7 grams per day or greater with 80% power and p = 0.05. Discussion. This study will provide a robust evaluation of the effectiveness of a community-based intervention seeking to reduce dietary salt intake using the Communication for Behavioural Impact framework. The results will provide important new evidence to inform the design and implementation of current and future salt reduction policies in Australia. The results will also have important international implications because, following the recent World Health Organization recommendations for the control of non-communicable diseases, many countries are now seeking to achieve a reduction in average population salt consumption. Trial registration. ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02105727. © 2014 Land et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.