Choice Health Stars rating system rates ‘healthy’ choices

PHRASES such as `healthy choice’, `natural’, `gluten free’ and `no added sugar’ trick us into believing a product is healthy when it’s not.

Unhealthy Health Food. Sun Health Bars Macadamia and Honey 1 star Mother Earth Golden Oats Baked Oaty Slices 1.5 stars Tuckers Natural Gourmet Rosemary and Rock Salt crackers 1.5 stars McCain Healthy Choice Wholegrains Italian Beef and Chia Meatballs with Wholemeal Spaghetti 3.5 stars Weight Watchers Roasted Sweet Potato and Pumpkin Risotto 3.5 stars

CRAFTY marketing ploys are tricking consumers into paying premium prices for poor food choices, consumer group Choice says.

Choice analysed the nutritional profile of 117 products marketing themselves as healthy and found a mixed bag when it came to assessing their health performance.

The group said products marketed as healthy often received the same health rating as a regular product but they came with a hefty price.

Phrases such as `healthy choice’, `natural’, `gluten free’ and `no added sugar’ trick customers into believing a product is healthy when it can be higher in salt, sugar and saturated in fat than a product without them, Choice spokesman Tom Godfrey says. “It’s a distraction on packaging so that people make poor choices,” he told AAP.

“Unfortunately, some of the biggest and much loved brands use marketing messages to confused and mislead consumers about what they are eating.” These include McCain, Weight Watchers, Naturally Good and Mother Earth.

For example, Choice compared two McCain frozen meals to see if the marketing messages on pack helped you make an informed choice about which product was healthier.

Calculating the products’ Health Star Ratings reveals a surprising result: both products receive 3.5 stars.

Not only does the McCain Healthy Choice meal contain more sugars and more sodium per 100g than the standard McCain spaghetti bolognese, but it also comes with a price premium: $1.85 per 100g, compared to $1.50 per 100g.

While a comparison of Woolworths Select chicken and mushroom risotto with Weight Watchers sweet potato and pumpkin risotto saw both products score 3.5 stars, but the Weight Watchers meal comes at an 87% price markup per 100g.

Choice is trying to encourage brands to sign up to the Health Stars ratings system based on energy (kJ), sugar, saturated fat, and sodium. The scheme ranks food products on a scale from 0.5 stars to five stars.

Kellogg’s signed up to the scheme a month ago, allowing its cereals to be rated. Coles and Woolworths have the stars on their private labels while some Sanitarium, Nestle, Uncle Tobys and Lion products also display them.

For more on the Health Stars rating system, visit Choice.