A major supermarket and a large food company have become the first major supporters of the Health Star Rating system for food and drinks.

Woolworths and Sanitarium have both committed to adopting the new system, which state and territory ministers agreed to push ahead with this morning.

The system gives packaged food and drinks a rating out of five to reflect their nutritional benefit.

Sanitarium will adopt the new Health Star Rating system for its entire product range, including market-leading products Weet-Bix and Up&Go, while Woolworths are labelling the move a step forward in their "desire to inspire a healthier Australia".

Sanitarium Australia general manager Todd Saunders says the system will benefit consumers by assisting them in making healthier choices.

"That's reason enough for us to get involved," he said.

"This is a major preventative health initiative which offers an opportunity for the food and beverage industry to significantly contribute to improving the health of our nation.

"We know Australians trust Sanitarium products and by providing transparent and easy to understand information through the Health Star Rating system, we are continuing to deliver on the trust consumers place in us and our brands."

Woolworths general manager of supermarket operations, Pat McEntee, says the company is committed to the scheme.

"This rating scheme [will] help our customers make better decisions about the food they buy for their families," he said.

A website explaining the system was controversially pulled down earlier this year at the request of Assistant Health Minister Fiona Nash, who said it was published in error.

It was later revealed Senator Nash's former chief-of-staff, Alastair Furnival, co-owned a lobbying business that worked for the junk food industry.

Mr Furnival resigned from his position in February.

State and territory ministers have agreed to re-establish the website.

Senator Nash has again defended her decision to pull down the website and said she had not been lobbied to do so.

"It was my direction to take down the website and you would know ... this issue has been canvassed for a considerable amount of time earlier in the year," she said.

"I think the thing now is to focus on the very real benefits that are going to come from this system being in place."

The system is voluntary, to be phased in over five years, with a review after two years.

But Senator Nash says the website explaining the system will not be re-launched until August.

"We have an education campaign that needs to go with that; it's really important that consumers aren't confused about this process and that they have the education they need to know how it works, to know what to look for and what it all actually means," she said.

"That's why it's really important that we have that education campaign out there at the same time that the website goes up."

Public Health Association praises reinstating Health Star Rating system

The Public Health Association of Australia (PHAA) has congratulated the ministers on reaching the agreement.

Chief executive Michael Moore, who was also co-chair of the technical design working group developing the rating system, says it is now up to industry to move the system forward.

"Consumers will appreciate the opportunity to have clear information on the nutritional content of the food that they purchase and consume," he said.

"It is so straightforward – the more stars, the healthier the food.

"It has been a difficult negotiation from the beginning with compromises on both sides.

"There were many private hiccups and a very public one when the [Health Star Rating] website was pulled down.

"However, the key element to success has been bureaucratic and political leadership.

"The Health Star Rating system would not have happened without the wisdom, understanding and engagement of Jane Halton, the Secretary of the Department of Health."

The Australian Food and Grocery Council has joined the PHAA in welcoming today's development, adding that there has been "significant improvements" to the controversial scheme.

"The improved design of the Health Star Rating system, flexibility around its introduction and acknowledgement that it can coexist with existing front of pack scheme .. are significant improvements," the group said in a statement.

"In addition, there is acceptance that it can be expensive for cash strapped companies to adopt major labelling changes and therefore a voluntary approach with an extended five year implementation period has been adopted."

Ratings system great for consumers: Choice

Consumer group Choice has welcomed the decision and is calling on food manufacturers to start rolling out the ratings as soon as possible.

Choice chief executive Alan Kirkland says the move was great news for consumers.

"The Health Star Rating scheme will help shoppers compare products at a glance. CHOICE strongly supports the ministers' decision to help consumers make healthier choices," he said.

"Choice's work evaluating products with the Health Star Rating calculator shows that the rating scheme is going to provide a strong incentive to food manufacturers to improve the nutritional profile of their products and get more stars.

"We know that many shoppers are confused and frustrated by the current state of food labelling, in which the complex, numerical information on the back of packs is rendered even more confusing on those products which carry the food industry's voluntary Daily Intake Guide percentages.

"Now that ministers have given the final sign off to the Health Star Rating scheme, responsibility shifts to food manufacturers to start rolling out the star ratings on their product ranges.

"There is a great PR opportunity waiting for the early adopters, as we've seen with Monster Health Food Co which rolled out the first star rating in April.

"Choice is today calling on food companies to ditch the dodgy Daily Intake Guide and embrace the Health Star Rating to help consumers make informed decisions about what they eat."

The Food Ministers' Forum met in Sydney today.

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