Ultra Processed Foods
Ultra Processed Foods

Australian health experts have issued warnings to consumers about companies exploiting the country's voluntary food labeling system and its current star-rating regimen for commercial gain.

Experts voiced their concerns Thursday during a meeting attended by state, territory, and federal health and food ministers. They said that the current procedure was failing to adhere to international standards for warning consumers about industrial techniques used to process the food, The Guardian reported.

Phillip Baker, a research fellow from the University of Sydney's School of Public Health, said that the current rating system still awarded stars to unhealthy ultra-processed foods as it simply judged the product by the parameter of whether it contained good or bad ingredients.

Experts argued that companies were using this loophole and sneaky marketing tactics to distract customers from the core issue -- that the food was highly processed, which undermined its nutritional value.

Thus, a product can theoretically earn a five-star rating under the current health star rating system even if it may include few or no whole food components, go through several industrial processing steps, and have preservatives, additives, added sugar, saturated fat, and salt.

Baker said that the system called for more elaborate measures to stop the exploitation of the framework.

"What we're calling for is a much more comprehensive set of regulations, a broader policy framework, that actually economically disincentivizes the production of ultra-processed foods in the first place," Baker told The Guardian

Associate professor of food politics and policy expert at the University of Melbourne, Gyorgy Scrinis, said, "Food companies have exploited the current focus on nutrients as a way of marketing their poor quality, ultra-processed products."

"For example, they market their products as high in protein or low in fat, or even 'contains whole grains', yet these products are manufactured from ingredients that have been completely broken down or chemically transformed."

Currently, Australia's star system rates food items from half a star to five stars, with the latter being the healthiest choice. However, the system is not mandatory. It was found in May that only 32% of the intended products in Australia carried the health star rating

Ultra-processed food items were linked to innumerable health issues, such as cancer, type 2 diabetes, coronary conditions, etc., a study found in February.