Nestle drops Milo’s 4.5 Health Star
Rating after criticism from health experts
FOR years, Milo has
marketed itself as a healthy drink aimed at kids, much to the dismay of health
experts. Now it’s finally acknowledged the truth.
NESTLE
has decided to drop Milo’s 4.5 Health Star Rating after health experts
criticised the brand for “tricking” consumers into thinking Milo is healthy.
Nestle’s
4.5-star rating was based on the condition that people consume just three
teaspoons of Milo with a glass of skim milk.
Public
health experts and consumer group Choice have previously suggested Milo should
receive a 1.5 star rating, because most people don’t actually consume Milo that
way.
“Most
Aussies don’t consume Milo with skim milk alone,” said Choice’s head of
campaigns and policy, Katinka Day.
“To
claim a health star rating by adding nutritionally superior ingredients of
another product is not helpful, especially for people who eat their Milo with
full cream milk, or even straight out of the can or on ice-cream,” Ms Day said.
“It’s a
move that smacks of marketing trickery rather than a genuine attempt to help
consumers make an informed choice.”
Ms Day
said the 4.5 rating should be replaced with a more accurate description of the
product.
“While
we welcome Nestle’s decision to ditch its dishonest star rating, it doesn’t go
far enough. Milo needs to display a 1.5 star rating which reflects the
product’s actual ingredients,” she said.
Nestle
spokeswoman Margaret Stuart said the ratings drop only applies to the Milo
powder and all other Milo-branded products will retain the 4.5 Health Star Rating.
“It’s
encouraging to see a growing body of evidence showing that the HSR is
delivering on its
key
objectives,” Ms Stuart said in a statement.
“Crucially,
it’s guiding shoppers who are comparing packaged foods within a category in
store, and encouraging packaged food manufacturers to improve the nutritional
content of their products, resulting in broader improvements across the food
industry,” Ms Stuart said.
“The
system, which was developed with the input of many stakeholders, is
fundamentally
sound,
scientifically robust and compares well with front of pack labelling systems in
other
countries.”
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