BetterHomesAndGardensAustraliaDecember2015_

betterfood

198 BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS, DECEMBER 2015 bhg.com.au

seeing stars?

What’s it all about?

So, here you are in the

supermarket. You have a

few simple goals: complete

your grocery list; make wise,

healthy choices; pay up; then

get the heck outta there. But

there’s just one problem. You

left your nutritional science

degree (obtained after six

years of intense study at

the Harvard-MIT Health

Sciences and Technology

school) at home. Dang.

For the health conscious

among us, the modern day

supermarket experience is

full of delicious promise and

we love that! Sometimes

though, it can also be

overwhelming and confusing.

With so much choice and, to

be frank, so many gimmicks

and fake outs to try to

sidestep, making the best

choice can quite literally

feel like rocket science. Ain’t

nobody got time for that!

That’s where the new

front-of-pack Health Star

Rating system comes in.

Conceived in conjunction

with the federal government,

industry and public health

groups, its purpose is to take

the guesswork out of feeding

f il t iti

4 stars and a different box

has 2 stars, the 4-star version

is the healthier choice. It

may contain more positive

nutrients such as fibre,

protein or healthy heart fats

and fewer ‘risk’ nutrients

M

aking

healthy

choices

in the supermarket

shouldn’t leave you

feeling like you need

a Bex and a good lie

down. Thankfully,

the new Health Star

Rating system can help

you make light work

of the weekly shop. It

may even help shed

pesky extra kilos – just

in time for summer!

Why yes you are!

What is

THE HEALT

STAR RATIN

It’s an at-a-glance, fr

pack labelling syste

may carry a star rati

between half a star

five stars. Basically,

more stars the bette

yourfamilynutritious,

healthymeals and snacks.

Although the Health Star

Ratingmade its official debut

in 2014 and most major

food companies have already

embraced it, a newpublic

awareness campaign is in full

swing. It’s not mandatory for

companies toinclude star

ratings but it’s hoped all food

manufacturers will eventually

get onboard.Itmayeven

inspire them to make their

products healthier.

Whatdoesittellme?

It allowsyou toquicklyand

easilycompare themerits

ofsimilar products withina

foodcategory. For example,

ifoneboxofcerealhas

suchas saturatedfat,sodium

or sugar. Alongside the star

rating,manyproducts feature

an extrapanel highlighting

itsquantityof nutrientsper

100ml or 100g.

Will Iseeitonall foods?

No.Only packaged foods

carry the star rating. These

foods are more likelyto

be processed and contain

multipleingredients

that require complex

calculationstoworkout

whicharebetterforyou.

Does it replace

the nutritionpanel?

No. It’sdesigned

tobeusedin

conjunction with

TH

NG?

ront-of-

m.Products

ngof

up to

the

er!