In addition to PEAL, Australian food businesses are now navigating another major labelling change: mandatory Health Star Ratings (HSR). Previously a voluntary front-of-pack labelling system, HSR is now required on most packaged food products sold in Australia.
Health Star Ratings provide consumers with a quick, at-a-glance indication of a product's overall nutritional profile, rated from 0.5 to 5 stars. The rating is calculated using a standardised algorithm that considers energy, saturated fat, total sugars, sodium, protein, fibre, and fruit/vegetable/nut/legume content.
The HSR system was first introduced in 2014 as a voluntary initiative. After a decade of voluntary uptake, the Australian Government determined that mandatory implementation was necessary to ensure consistent consumer access to nutritional information across all packaged food products.
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View Compliance KitsWho needs to comply? The mandatory HSR requirement applies to most packaged food products with a Nutrition Information Panel (NIP). There are some exemptions, including very small packages, single-ingredient foods (like plain flour or sugar), and some specialty products. However, the vast majority of packaged foods will need to display the HSR graphic.
The HSR graphic must appear on the front of the package and follow specific design guidelines regarding size, placement, and format. The Health Star Rating Calculator (available on the official HSR website) determines your product's star rating based on its nutritional composition.
For food businesses already dealing with PEAL compliance, the addition of mandatory HSR can feel overwhelming. The good news is that both requirements can be addressed simultaneously when you're updating your labels. In fact, doing both at once is more efficient than handling them separately.
Key steps for HSR compliance: First, calculate the HSR for each of your products using the official calculator. Second, ensure your NIP data is accurate and up to date — the HSR calculation depends on it. Third, work with your label designer to incorporate the HSR graphic on the front of pack in the correct format and minimum size.
Our PEAL Compliance Kit includes guidance on coordinating your PEAL and HSR label updates together, helping you address both requirements in a single label revision cycle. This saves you time, reduces reprinting costs, and gets your products fully compliant faster.
If you're unsure whether your products need HSR, or how to calculate and display it correctly, reach out to our team. We're here to help Australian food businesses navigate every aspect of the changing labelling landscape.