The majority of foods eaten in high income countries are processed or pre-prepared by the food industry and evidence indicates that higher levels of processing are related to reduced healthiness as well as more negative environmental impacts. Monitoring of changes to the healthiness of the food supply has the potential to drive positive changes in the nutrient composition of processed foods by stimulating the food industry to reformulate products.
| Indicator | Result | Previous | Assessment* | What was measured? | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Packaged food |
|||||
Proportion of packaged food and drinks classified as unhealthy** |
53% |
The packaged food supply in New Zealand supermarkets (2018). |
|||
Proportion of packaged food and drinks that are ultra-processed |
69% |
The packaged food supply in New Zealand supermarkets (2018). |
|||
Proportion of packaged food and drinks with a Health Star Rating of <3.5 stars*** |
59% |
59% |
The packaged food supply in New Zealand supermarkets (2018), with change from previous data (2016). |
||
Proportion of private label (supermarket own-brand) packaged foods with a HSR <3.5 compared to branded label packaged foods |
51.1% vs. 61.5% |
The HSR for packaged foods available in New Zealand supermarkets from 2019. |
|||
Beverages |
|||||
Proportion of single-serve beverages that are sugar-sweetened or have naturally occurring sugars |
79.1% |
Non-alcoholic beverages available in New Zealand supermarkets (2019) |
|||
Proportion of sugar-sweetened beverages that exceeded the UK soft drinks industry levy benchmark^ for sugar |
72.9% |
Non-alcoholic beverages available in New Zealand supermarkets (2019) |
|||
Fast-food supply |
|||||
Proportion of fast-food products that exceeded the UK sodium targets^^ |
46.5% |
Nutrient information on products from the major fast-food chains in New Zealand (2020) |
|||
Proportion of meal combos that provided more than the daily maximum recommended intake for sodium (adults)^^^ |
44% |
Nutrient information on 176 fast-food combo meals from the major fast-food chains in New Zealand (2020) |
How healthy are Aotearoa New Zealand’s food environments? (2021) |
||
Proportion of combo meals that provided over half of daily recommended energy requirements (adults)~ |
50% |
Nutrient information on 176 fast-food combo meals from the major fast-food chains in New Zealand (2020) |
|||
Average contribution of fast-food combos to daily maximum recommended intake for: |
|||||
|
|
Nutrient information on 176 fast-food combo meals from the major fast-food chains in New Zealand (2020) |
How healthy are Aotearoa New Zealand’s food environments? (2021) |
All data on packaged and fast food was obtained from the Nutritrack packaged and fast food databases.
*Green = ‘promotes health’; Orange = ‘needs improvement to promote health’; Red = ‘unhealthy’. For criteria, refer to the Indicator Assessment Criteria at the bottom of the page.
** The term ‘unhealthy’ refers to discretionary foods, which the Australian Dietary Guidelines defines as foods that are nutrient-poor and not necessary for a healthy diet.
*** The Health Star Rating is a trans-Tasman voluntary front-of-pack nutrition labelling scheme, which gives packaged products a rating from 0.5 to 5 stars based on the products nutrients, ingredients, and energy. Any Health Star Ratings that were not displayed at the time of analysis, were calculated using the HSR algorithm and nutritional information from Nutritrack.
^ The UK soft drinks industry levy is a program in which soft drink manufacturers must pay a fee for soft drinks that contain at least 5 grams of sugar per 100 milliliters (ml).
^^ The UK salt reduction targets contain individual per serving salt targets for 11 different eating out, takeaway and delivery sector food categories.
^^^ Based on the Australia and New Zealand Nutrient Reference Values, recommended daily maximum sodium intake for adults of 2000mg.
~ Based on an average daily recommended energy intake of 8,700kJ.
Key Recommendations
Bolder, more specific, and comprehensive commitments by Government and food industry players are essential to improving the composition of food available in Aotearoa, and population nutrition.
Government:
- Implement a substantial levy (e.g. 20%) on sugar-sweetened beverages with the revenue recycled into health initiatives.
- Develop mandatory targets for reducing sodium and added sugar in key food categories for both packaged food and food eaten outside of the home.
Packaged food companies:
- Continue, or begin to implement, a reformulation program on high volume products for nutrients of concern (sodium, added sugar, saturated fat) and portion size.
Fast-food restaurants:
- Reduce portion size of products and meal combos that contribute highly to daily recommended limits of key nutrients.
- Develop guidance on portion size of fast-food meal combos.
- Reformulate products, particularly those that are very high in sodium.
- Continue to offer no-sugar beverages in combos and consider healthier food options in meal combos.
Supermarkets:
- Continue to monitor and reduce the sodium and added sugar content of private label products.
For more information
Reports
How healthy are New Zealand food environments? 2018 full report
How healthy are Aotearoa New Zealand’s food environments? 2021 Full Report
Articles
Gontijo de Castro T, Eyles H, Ni Mhurchu C, Young L, Mackay S. Seven-year trends in the availability, sugar content and serve size of single-serve non-alcoholic beverages in New Zealand: 2013-2019. Public Heal Nutr. 2021 May 15;24(7):1595-1607.
Gontijo de Castro T, Mackay S, Young L, Ni Mhurchu C, Shaw G, Tawfiq E, et al. Comparison of healthiness, labelling, and price between private and branded label packaged foods in New Zealand (2015-19). Nutrients. 2021 Aug 9;13(8):2731.
Mackay S, Eyles H, Gontijo de Castro, Young L, Ni Mhurchu C, Swinburn B. Which companies dominate the packaged food supply of New Zealand and how healthy are their products? PLoS ONE. 2021 Jan 16;16(1): e0245225.
Mackay S, Gontijo de Castro T, Young L, Shaw G, Ni Mhurchu C, Eyles H. Energy, Sodium, Sugar and Saturated Fat Content of New Zealand Fast-Food Products and Meal Combos in 2020. Nutrients. 2021;13(11):4010.
| Indicator Assessment Criteria | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Metric | |||
Proportion of food and drinks classified as unhealthy |
≤ 20% |
21 – 40% |
> 40% |
Proportion of food and drinks with HSR <3.5 |
≤ 20% |
21 – 40% |
> 40% |
Proportion of food and drinks that are ultra-processed |
≤ 20% |
21 – 40% |
> 40% |
Proportion of single-serve beverages that are sugar-sweetened or have naturally occurring sugars |
≤ 20% |
21 – 40% |
> 40% |
Proportion of food and beverages that exceed the relevant targets |
≤ 20% |
21 – 60% |
> 60% |
Proportion of meal combos that provided more than the daily maximum recommended intake for the relevant nutrient |
0% |
1 – 20% |
> 20% |
Proportion of meal combos that provided more than half of the daily maximum recommended intake for the relevant intake |
0% |
1 – 20% |
> 20% |
Average contribution of meal combos to daily maximum recommended intake for relevant nutrients* |
≤ 33% |
34 – 50% |
> 50% |
*Meals should not contribute more than 1/3 of the recommended intake for energy, sugar, sodium, and fat, based on an intake of 3 meals a day.