Over 500 dietitians converged on the National Convention
Centre in Canberra for the Dietitians Association of Australia’s 30th National Conference. We have put togethre a summary of three intersting session which outlined current challenges affecting the food supply as well as future opportunities and the important role dietitians ca play in educating Australians.
Healthier food products myths and misconceptions
Cereal
Partners Worldwide (CPW) held a fascinating breakfast seminar on the first
morning of the conference. Nilani Sritharan explained how reducing sugar or
increasing fibre content can affect the nutrient content and taste as well as
increase the cost of breakfast cereals. Attendees taste tested a cereal which
had had the sugar reduced by half by either just removing the sugar, or
replacing it with a sweetener or a natural flavour. While there were noticeable
changes to the taste, interestingly the energy content changed by only a single
kilojoule.
Dr Tony Bird
went on to explain that GI testing of a set of cereals found that a four-fold
reduction in sugar to the level required for a green traffic light label had no
effect on the GI of the cereal. In considering these findings Manny Noakes
commented that, “consumers want to be liberated from certain things like sugar,
wheat or gluten.....however looking at single nutrients and changing them does
not mean you will end up with a more nutritious product.”
National Food Plan and the challenges for tomorrow
National Food Plan and the challenges for tomorrow
The National Food Plan was launched the same week of
the National Conference, and so Professor Peter Williams provided a timely discussion
on the potential role health professionals and health organisations can play to
support the Plan. The aim of the National
Food Plan is for government, businesses and individuals to work together towards
“a sustainable, globally competitive, food supply which supports access to
nutritious and affordable food”. Prof Williams recommended that health
professionals can play an important role advocating for disadvantaged groups
and educating consumers to make healthier food choices.
With environmental
sustainability being a focus of the Plan as well as a hot topic within the
dietetics profession, it was no surprise this was also discussed. Professor
Williams outlined the complexities of measuring the environmental impact of
consumption patterns, while also highlighting the significant amount of food wasted
each year by Australians. Professor Williams explained that health
professionals and all Australians can make a significant impact on
sustainability by reducing waste and discouraging over consumption.
Food laws helping consumers
When
Australians go to the supermarket they are often confronted with lots of
messages on foods labels, for example nutrition claims like “low in fat” or
health claims such as “reduces cholesterol absorption”. While manufacturers do
choose what claims they make on their food and beverages there is a clear set of
rules which govern what claims can be made and which products are eligible.
FSANZ (Food
Standards Australia and New Zealand) have recently introduced
new regulation which aims to encourage innovation by food manufacturers to make
healthier food products. The new system introduces the Nutrient Profiling
Scoring Criterion (NPSC) which can be used to assess the eligibility of foods
to make health claims. NPSC takes into account the type of food or beverage,
energy content, saturated fat, total sugars and sodium levels as well as the
content of fruit, vegetable, nuts, legumes, protein and fibre to produce a
score. The goal of the NPSC is to identify healthier food options, so only
foods and beverages which meet specified NPSC scores can make an appropriate health
claim.
A final word
on food labels…Beware of “puffery”: there may be cases where a claim is not a
nutrition content claim or a health claim and so is not regulated by FSANZ or
the code. Where these claims are false or misleading it’s recommended that
consumers contact the ACCC (Australian Competition and Consumer Commission).
