Choice campaign pressures Kellogg's and Mondelez to start using health star ratings

Esther Han
March 17, 2015
The Age

Food giants behind Coco Pops cereal, TipTop bread and Kraft spreads have been slammed in a new campaign for stalling on the introduction of star ratings that can help shoppers buy the healthiest products.
Consumer advocacy group Choice launched a campaign on Tuesday, pressuring six food companies – Kellogg’s, McCain, Mars, PepsiCo, Mondelez, George Weston and Goodman Fielder – to start using the star ratings scheme.
“The system works best when shoppers can compare several products in a category, like-for-like. For example, right now you can walk down a breakfast cereal aisle and see a range of health stars already on different brands, but there are some obvious gaps,” said Choice spokesman Tom Godfrey.
“It’s just not good enough that a major player like Kellogg’s, that sells popular brands Just Right, Special K, Coco Pops and Nutri-Grain, are withholding basic health information.”
Food companies have four more years to comply with the star rating scheme that gives shoppers at-a-glance information about a product’s nutrition, according to the Federal Health Department. After that, it may become mandatory.
The rating takes into account the amount of salt, sugar and saturated fat in products per 100 grams.
Kellogg’s popular Nutri-Grain, Fruit Loops and Crunchy Nut cereals only achieved two stars, an analysis of ingredients by Choice found.
Nutri-Grain, the second-highest selling cereal in Australia last year, which carries the claim “Iron man fuel – made with corn, oats and wheat”, was 32 per cent sugar and a bowl contained as much sodium as a packet of chips, the Obesity Policy Coalition revealed on Tuesday.
“Clearer labelling through such a system is a vital step in helping consumers make healthier choices in an environment where approximately 63 per cent of Australian adults and 25 per cent of Australian children are overweight or obese,” said the Coalition’s executive manager Jane Martin.
A Kellogg’s spokesperson refused to comment on the health star rating system, but said it “offered a wide variety of breakfast cereals, with different nutrition profiles, so that consumers can choose options that suit their individual needs and wants.”
Kellogg’s All Bran Original achieved five health stars, while its Just Right, Special K Original and Sultana Bran received four, according to the Choice analysis.
“Kellogg’s should be embracing the new system and celebrating the fact that Just Right and All Bran receive 4 and 5 stars respectively,” Mr Godfrey said.
Choice congratulated supermarket giants Coles and Woolworths, as well as food companies Sanitarium, Nestle, Uncle Tobys and Lion, for displaying stars on their products.
A Nestle spokeswoman said it slapped health stars on its breakfast cereals in February, and aims to have the labelling on the majority of its products by the end of the year. No Nestle breakfast cereal rated below 3.5 stars.
“Forty-seven of the 52 are 4 stars or more, on the back of a long running program to steadily improve the nutritional profile of all our cereals,” she said.
“But we do have products in our range that score less stars and in keeping with our commitment to use the Health Star Rating system on pack, these will be labelled accordingly.”
A spokeswoman for Mondelez International, the owner of Kraft, Belvita and Philadelphia, said the company had not started displaying health stars because it would be inconsistent with its view that the system is flawed.
“Our view is that the concept and formula underpinning the voluntary system fails to account for individuals’ dietary requirements and takes an unrealistic view of portion sizes,” she said.
“For example the recommended Vegemite serve is five grams, not 100g as the stars are based on.”
Choice conceded the Health Star Ratings calculator – developed by industry, public health and consumer experts and governments – was not perfect.
“Food additives are a major concern for many consumers, and one criticism of the system is that it doesn’t take them into account,” wrote Choice journalist Rachel Clemons in a recent article.
“A product like margarine which generally contains multiple ingredients including various additives can have a higher HSR than butter, which is minimally processed and has just a couple of ingredients, for example.”
Sanitarium and Coles told Choice that all of their applicable products will carry the health star labelling by the end of June this year.
Simplot Australia, owner of Edgell, John West, Birdseye, Lean Cuisine, Leggo’s, and Woolworths, which has more than 4000 private brand products, both said the majority of their products will have health stars by next year.
Lion’s, which sells food under Dairy Farmers, Pura, Farmers Union, Big M, Yoplait, South Cape, Coon, said it would display health stars by 2018.
If Kellogg’s used ratings they would show:
Just Right 4 stars
Special K Original 4 stars
All Bran Original 5 stars
Coco Pops 2 stars
Crunchy Nut 2 stars
Fruit Loops 2 stars
Mini-Wheats Little Bites Original 4.5 stars
Nutri-Grain 2 stars
Rice Bubbles 3 stars
Sultana Bran 4 stars
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