Click here to sign in with or
Forget Password?
Learn more
share this!
52
3
Share
Email
November 22, 2022
by George Institute for Global Health
New research shows that two thirds of all packaged foods on supermarket shelves contain added sugars—including some you might not expect—and they’re hard to identify, thanks to confusing terms used by food manufacturers.
The annual FoodSwitch: State of the Food Supply report found more than 400 different names for added sugars on packaged foods labels, making it impossible for consumers to identify and cut back, as advised in the Australian Dietary Guidelines.
George Institute Dietitian Dr. Daisy Coyle said that this “added sugar by stealth” meant some Aussies were consuming up to 22 teaspoons per day—nearly twice the maximum limit recommended by the World Health Organization.
“Too much sugar is contributing to spiraling rates of obesity and associated chronic diseases such as heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes,” she said.
“But while most of us know it’s bad for us, cutting back is hard when you can’t tell how much is in the food you are buying—right now, manufacturers are only required to list total sugars on the product’s nutrition information panel.”
In the report, George Institute researchers used the Government-developed Health Star Rating (HSR) system criteria to assess over 25,000 packaged food and drinks being sold in supermarkets across Australia.
It found that out of the big four supermarkets, Woolworths own-brands still have the highest overall healthiness rating with Coles and IGA in joint second place and ALDI coming in as least healthy.
But Dr. Coyle said the fact that there had been little change in the overall healthiness of the food supply in the last few years indicates that a different approach is now needed.
“One of the biggest barriers to success of the HSR program is that it remains voluntary—we found only 41 percent of products displayed an HSR on pack—so there isn’t a level playing field,” she said.
“And while the top 20 manufacturers have higher rates of uptake at around 70 percent, there is huge variation, with no Peters Ice Cream products displaying an HSR on pack to over 96 percent for The Smith’s Snackfood Company products.”
“Most notably IGA has chosen not to participate in the HSR scheme at all, even though they are one of Australia’s biggest retailers,” Dr. Coyle added.
Although the voluntary HSR system has been in place since 2014, compliance remains low at around 40 percent, and this has worsened since last year’s report. Although the Government has set industry a benchmark of 70 percent compliance by 2025, there is little evidence that this target will be achieved and still no firm commitment to make the system mandatory if it is not.
However, Food Ministers are soon to open a public consultation on proposed changes to food labels that would require foods to display the added sugar content on the nutritional information panel. Dr. Coyle said that while this was an important step towards helping Australians make informed choices, any changes were likely to take some time to be adopted.
“Currently, the only way shoppers can tell how much added sugar is in a product is by downloading the FoodSwitch App and scanning the barcode—this will give an estimate of added sugar content, as well as suggesting healthier alternatives to switch to,” she added.
The report also revealed some of the more surprising switches that could make a significant dent in sugar consumption over the course of a year:
“Consumers deserve to know what’s in the food they are eating, and we strongly support having the amount of added sugar in a product clearly spelt out. This could also prompt the food industry to reduce the amount of sugar they’re pouring into processed foods,” Dr. Coyle said.
“We don’t want shoppers to have to wait years for this information, we want people to be able to make informed choices now—small changes can really add up.”
Explore further
Facebook
Twitter
Email
Feedback to editors
Dec 02, 2022
0
Dec 01, 2022
0
Nov 30, 2022
0
Nov 30, 2022
0
Nov 29, 2022
0
21 hours ago
21 hours ago
21 hours ago
21 hours ago
21 hours ago
21 hours ago
22 hours ago
22 hours ago
22 hours ago
22 hours ago
Aug 24, 2021
Nov 20, 2018
Sep 15, 2022
Aug 17, 2022
Jul 29, 2022
Apr 10, 2019
Dec 02, 2022
Dec 02, 2022
Dec 01, 2022
Dec 01, 2022
Dec 01, 2022
Nov 30, 2022
Use this form if you have come across a typo, inaccuracy or would like to send an edit request for the content on this page. For general inquiries, please use our contact form. For general feedback, use the public comments section below (please adhere to guidelines).
Please select the most appropriate category to facilitate processing of your request
Thank you for taking time to provide your feedback to the editors.
Your feedback is important to us. However, we do not guarantee individual replies due to the high volume of messages.
Your email address is used only to let the recipient know who sent the email. Neither your address nor the recipient’s address will be used for any other purpose. The information you enter will appear in your e-mail message and is not retained by Medical Xpress in any form.
Get weekly and/or daily updates delivered to your inbox. You can unsubscribe at any time and we’ll never share your details to third parties.
More information Privacy policy
Daily science news on research developments and the latest scientific innovations
The latest engineering, electronics and technology advances
The most comprehensive sci-tech news coverage on the web
This site uses cookies to assist with navigation, analyse your use of our services, collect data for ads personalisation and provide content from third parties. By using our site, you acknowledge that you have read and understand our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.