Vegan Australia has made a submission to Food Standards Australia New Zealand on proposed changes to the Health Star Rating system, calling for any mandatory nutrition labelling system to treat vegan foods fairly and transparently.
The Health Star Rating system is a front-of-pack nutrition labelling scheme designed to help people compare packaged foods. Under the current voluntary system, one concern is that companies can decide whether to display the rating, which can limit consistency and make comparisons less useful.
Vegan Australia's submission focused on a further concern: ensuring that any changes to the system do not disadvantage vegan foods or reinforce animal-based foods as the nutritional default.
In the submission, Vegan Australia supported mandatory, consistent front-of-pack nutrition labelling, provided the system is implemented in a way that is fair, transparent and accessible to all members of the public, including people who are vegan, people seeking to live vegan, and people who avoid animal products for ethical, religious, cultural or health reasons.
The submission argued that vegan foods should be assessed according to their actual nutritional profile, not according to their relationship to animal-based products:
Vegan foods should not be treated as nutritionally inferior simply because they are animal-free, nor should animal-based products receive favourable treatment because existing food categories have historically centred animal-based foods.
One key issue raised by Vegan Australia was the treatment of dairy and dairy analogue categories. The submission warned that the system should not assume that animal-based dairy is a fixed or permanent food group requiring special treatment.
This issue is especially important because the Australian Dietary Guidelines are currently under review. Other countries have already changed the way they present dairy products in dietary guidance, showing that food categories are not fixed. Vegan Australia argued that the Health Star Rating system should be flexible enough to reflect future changes in dietary guidance, rather than embedding animal-based dairy as a permanent nutritional benchmark.
Vegan Australia argued that if calcium is central to the way foods are categorised or rated, the system should recognise animal-free sources of calcium fairly. Calcium can be provided by a range of vegan foods, including fortified plant milks, calcium-set tofu, some leafy green vegetables, almonds, sesame seeds and tahini, depending on the overall diet.
The submission stated:
Calcium is a nutrient, not a property of animal-based dairy alone.
Vegan Australia also raised concerns about vegan cheese products. Many vegan cheeses are used in the same way as animal-based cheese, including in sandwiches, on pizzas, with crackers and in cooking. However, vegan cheeses vary widely in their ingredients and nutritional profile. The submission argued that they should be assessed on those actual characteristics, rather than on how closely they imitate animal-based cheese.
The submission also called for care in the way Health Star Ratings are explained to the public. A Health Star Rating is a nutrition rating only. It does not tell people whether animals were used, confined or killed in producing a product. It does not assess whether a product is vegan, or whether it is consistent with a person's ethical commitments.
Vegan Australia said public education should make these limits clear:
A high HSR must not be allowed to operate as a broad endorsement of a product. It is a nutrition rating only.
The submission also noted the practical needs of people who live vegan. People avoiding animal products often need to read labels carefully, including ingredients, nutrition panels, allergen statements, fortification information and vegan certification marks. Vegan Australia urged FSANZ to ensure that any Health Star Rating symbol does not obscure vegan certification marks or other information needed to identify whether a product is vegan.
Vegan Australia also encouraged FSANZ to consider the impact on vegan businesses, including small and emerging producers. Clear guidance, worked examples and reasonable implementation support will be important if the system becomes mandatory.
Vegan Australia's submission concluded that a mandatory Health Star Rating system can help people compare packaged foods, but only if the system is fair, transparent and properly explained.
It urged FSANZ to implement the system in a way that supports informed nutrition decisions while respecting the rights and practical needs of people who live vegan.
Read Vegan Australia's full submission
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