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Briefs

Food Ministers announce Health Star Rating (HSR) to be mandated

Food Ministers announce Health Star Rating (HSR) to be mandated

13 February 2026

Background

Food Ministers have today directed FSANZ to commence the process to mandate HSR labelling – ​see meeting communique​.

This decision follows the voluntary uptake of HSR falling short of the Ministers’ final target of 70% by November 2025, and consideration of preliminary work by FSANZ on approaches for mandating the system.

There was media coverage earlier this week in the lead up to this decision (see ​ABC 730 program​ reflecting ongoing public and stakeholder debate regarding the scope and purpose of the HSR system. This confirms that any changes to the system will be hard fought.

The AFGC has prepared media statements following ​the ABC 730 story​ and ​FMM decision on HSR​.

Next steps

FSANZ will now raise a Proposal to initiate work on the required amendments to the Food Standards Code. This is expected to take at least 12–18 months, with additional transition time for implementation.

Members are alerted to the push by public health advocates to alter the algorithm to include level of processing. The AFGC will continue to advocate strongly on behalf of the industry – both through FSANZ consultations and more broadly across government – to ensure that this does not occur and that the sector’s technical and operational considerations are heard.

We encourage all members to remain engaged as this work progresses. A dedicated member working group was established to support AFGC’s input into FSANZ’s preparatory work on HSR, which will continue to be active during this next phase.

Additional resources

To assist members during this period, the AFGC has developed a ​one-page resource consolidating information on the HSR system​, including how ratings are calculated.

For further information, or to nominate to be on the member working group, please contact Anne-Marie Mackintosh at ​anne-marie.mackintosh@afgc.org.au​.

Contact

Please contact me if you have any questions.

Dr Duncan Craig
Director, Nutrition and Regulation
​duncan.craig@afgc.org.au​