Summary
Aotearoa New Zealand (NZ) has an opportunity to support making Health Star Rating symbols mandatory on packaged foods. In February 2026, the majority of Food Ministers across Australia and NZ voted to progress mandatory Health Star Rating labelling, and asked Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) to develop a proposed food standard.
The NZ Food Safety Minister voted against work to prepare this proposal, going against his position prior to a Cabinet meeting on the matter.
Health Star Ratings provide consumers with clear nutritional information at-a-glance and an incentive for food companies to make products healthier. Despite this, only 36% of eligible packaged products display Health Stars. Selective application to higher-scoring products indicates use mainly as a marketing tool.
FSANZ is now consulting on the proposal, giving a chance for people to submit in favour of making Health Stars mandatory.
Health Star Ratings (HSRs) are a visual aid for busy shoppers that help them make better-informed decisions when purchasing food. The HSR system uses an algorithm to rate the overall nutritional quality of packaged foods and non-alcoholic beverages. Ratings range from 0.5 to five stars, with the more stars the better. The algorithm balances positive attributes, such as fibre, protein, fruit, vegetable, nut and legume content, against negative factors, including saturated fat, sugar, salt (sodium) and dietary energy.
However, because the use of HSRs has been voluntary, shoppers cannot always compare products. There is also a risk that manufacturers will only label healthier products to boost sales. It is the best front-of-pack labelling option we currently have and the current FSANZ consultation on the proposal to make it mandatory is a chance to make the system better.
History of Health Star Ratings
The HSR was introduced in Australia and NZ in 2014 on a voluntary basis. In 2019, Australian and NZ governments completed a five-year review of the system. This review found the system was working well overall but could be strengthened. The algorithm was improved to penalise foods and drinks higher in total sugar and sodium.
Food Ministers in Australia and NZ set a final uptake target of 70% of eligible products to apply a HSR by November 2025. However, in 2025, government monitoring found uptake was only 36% in NZ and 39% in Australia, well below the uptake target.
Why Health Star Ratings need to be mandatory
Research clearly shows consumers value an easy-to-interpret front of pack label and find the current Nutrition Information Panel challenging to read and understand.1,2
Mandatory HSRs would also create an even playing field for the food industry and would encourage industry reformulation to create healthier products, particularly with less sodium and sugar, so that their products have more stars.3
Selective application to higher-scoring products indicates that HSRs have been mainly used as a marketing tool rather than allowing consumers to make an informed choice.4 This has distorted the HSR system for consumers, resulting in incomplete information and significantly limiting consumers’ ability to compare the healthiness of similar products.
The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends front-of-pack nutrition labels as a ‘best buy’ policy to promote healthier diets.5 Front-of-pack labels can change dietary intake and influence reformulation that contributes to preventing chronic diseases like heart disease, diabetes and multiple cancers.5
NZ’s Food Safety Minister voted against mandatory Health Star Ratings
In February 2026, the majority of Food Ministers across Australia and NZ voted to move toward mandatory HSRs and requested FSANZ to develop a proposal to amend the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code. After the vote, NZ’s Minister of Food Safety, Hon Andrew Hoggard, publicly stated on TVNZ’s 1News that he voted against the move.
According to a Cabinet Economic Policy Committee paper, this was a U-turn from his position prior to the Cabinet meeting on the matter. The paper indicated that, while the Minister favoured voluntary HSRs, he had not intended to oppose developing the standard at the Food Ministers’ meeting.
A practical consideration was that Australia is our largest export market so industry would need to display HSRs if exporting to Australia and they become compulsory there.
The Cabinet paper said that clear health benefits should outweigh costs to businesses and consumers and stated, if the standard was not appropriate for NZ, there could be a separate standard or we could opt out. However, there is a joint food regulation system between Australia and NZ underpinned by a Food Treaty. For NZ to opt out we would have to meet exceptional circumstances.
When explaining his vote against on 1News, Minister Hoggard stated, “we trust New Zealanders to make their own informed choices, and we don’t want to be a ‘nanny state Government’”. This is despite the strong evidence that consumers value the labelling.
What can be done now?
Consultation on the Health Star Rating System proposal by FSANZ is open until 5 July 2026. While there are 18 questions posed, the key one is whether HSRs should be mandatory.
We consider there is a strong case to prioritise timely approval of a mandatory system, followed by a comprehensive independent, evidence-based review of the algorithm and strengthening the design, visibility and transparency of the HSR system.
After submissions close, stakeholder feedback will help inform whether FSANZ proceeds with a draft variation to amend the Food Standards Code. If this happens, a second call for submissions is likely mid-September to late October 2026. Food Ministers will then hold a majority vote on whether or not to mandate HSRs in 2027.
Food Standards Australia New Zealand is calling for submissions on Proposal P1067 – Health Star Rating System.
This proposal considers whether the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code should be amended to require packaged foods sold in Australia and New Zealand to display a Health Star Rating symbol.
The consultation closes on 5 July 2026.
What this Briefing adds
- Why making the HSR system mandatory provides an opportunity to strengthen the system and has a much better chance of informing shoppers.
- A recently released Cabinet paper and NZ Food Safety Minister’s position on HSRs are detailed.
- Key points for submitters concerned with public health and consumer rights on HSRs include prioritising timely approval of a mandatory system ahead of a comprehensive independent, evidence-based review of the algorithm and strengthening the design, visibility and transparency of the HSRs.
Implications for policy and practice
- Food Ministers votes in 2027 will determine whether HSRs will be mandatory and public engagement on this issue via submissions will help shape this decision.
- Mandatory HSRs provide consumers with transparent and easily interpretable information on the healthiness of packaged foods.
- Mandatory HSRs are likely to encourage food product reformulation to lower sodium, sugar, saturated fat and energy.
- If NZ opts out of mandatory HSRs, or they continue to be voluntary in both countries, it is likely that the low uptake of display will continue, meaning consumers will have less information and reformulation towards healthier products will be less likely.
Authors' details
Dr Sally Mackay, Senior Lecturer, School of Population Health, Waipapa Taumata Rau | University of Auckland. Co-Chair, Food Policy Expert Group, Health Coalition Aotearoa.
Emma Shields, Food Policy Expert Group, Health Coalition Aotearoa
Dr Emmeline Taptiklis, Registered Nutritionist (NZ), Food Policy Expert Group, Health Coalition Aotearoa
