The Australian Government, food industry bodies and public health groups has formed the Healthy Food Partnership.
The Partnership is chaired by the Australian Government assistant minister for Health, Dr David Gillespie.
It comprises representatives from the Australian Food and Grocery Council, Ausveg, Coles, Woolworths, Dairy Australia, Dietitians Association of Australia, Food Standards Australia New Zealand, Meat and Livestock Australia, Metcash, National Heart Foundation of Australia, Public Health Association of Australia, the Quick Service Restaurant Forum.
Key activities of the Reformulation, Portion Size and Food Service working groups will be ready to move into stakeholder consultation and implementation phases in early-mid 2018. Addressing portion size will help rebalance dietary intakes in line with the Australian Dietary Guidelines.
The Department commissioned The Australian Prevention Partnership Centre (TAPPC) to prepare a rapid review of evidence on Effective Portion Size Strategies. The report provides a snapshot of recently published evidence and a signal for where research-based interventions and policy evaluations have been effective in changing portion sizes. The findings from the report have been used by the Portion Size Working Group in developing its recommendations. The report is available on the Healthy Food Partnership and TAPPC websites.
The Department, on behalf of the Food Service Working Group, also commissioned the Sax Institute to conduct an evidence check on International Food Service Initiatives. The report found “that awareness raising schemes when used in isolation are ineffective, and actions beyond increasing awareness are needed to effect change”. The report is available on the Healthy Food Partnership and Sax Institute websites.
The Food Service Working Group is progressing with the development of a voluntary pledge-based system whereby food services (restaurants, quick service restaurants, pubs, clubs etc.) can commit to and report on actions. Targeted consultation was conducted in October 2017, and the working group will undertake further consultation with stakeholders in early 2018 before finalising the pledge scheme.
The Reformulation Working Group has developed a prioritised list of nutrients and food categories to which reformulation goals and targets will apply. The draft targets have been informed by the National Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey 2011-12 consumption data for sodium, sugars and saturated fat, as well as retail product data from the FoodTrackTMdatabase, international reformulation targets and with reference to the various Health Star Rating nutrient cut points which contribute to that algorithm.
The Reformulation Working Group and Partnership Executive Committee recognise the importance of developing realistic reformulation goals for the Australian market, rather than just replicating international targets. The draft targets will be refined through modelling, with final targets and implementation time frames to be informed by consultation in 2018.
Strategies for evaluation and monitoring of the Partnership activities and communications in line with the Australian Dietary Guidelines will be developed early in 2018 as working groups move into the implementation phase. The scoping work of the Communication and Education Working Group will inform this activity.
Members noted also the progress on the development of a logo for the Partnership, reflecting the Australian Government’s leadership of this initiative, and will undertake some further concept testing early in 2018.
