New Zealand Government’s Food Policy Progress Remains Stagnant

The latest Food Environment Policy Index indicates significant stagnation in New Zealand’s food policy progress since 2023, with many recommended actions still unimplemented. This raises concerns about public health as diet-related diseases continue to grow.

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Government’s Inaction on Food Policy

Recent findings reveal that the New Zealand government has failed to advance on key food policy areas identified by experts in the 2023 Food-EPI report. This stagnation occurs despite the mounting burden of nutrition-related chronic diseases within the healthcare system. Effective food policies are critical for fostering healthier food environments and improving public health outcomes.

Expert Recommendations for Immediate Action

The expert panel has reiterated urgent actions necessary to enhance the healthiness of food environments in New Zealand. These include limiting children’s exposure to unhealthy food marketing, establishing a sugary drinks levy, setting food composition targets, implementing healthy and sustainable school food policies, and expanding the healthy school lunch program. Many of these recommendations were initially proposed in both 2020 and 2023.

To facilitate these changes, a comprehensive government-led national food systems action plan, combined with regular nutrition surveys, is essential. Without a structured approach, progress in addressing food-related health issues remains improbable.

Current State of Food Policy Implementation

The fifth New Zealand Healthy Food Environment Policy Index highlights the lack of advancement in food policy implementation since 2023. Approximately two-thirds of policy indicators and half of the infrastructure indicators were classified as having low or negligible implementation. Yet, the government has demonstrated some progress in specific areas:

• Preventing unhealthy foods from making health claims.
• Providing nutrition information panels on packaged foods.
• Ensuring transparency in policy development processes.
• Offering public access to essential information.
• Monitoring the prevalence of diet-related non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and associated risk factors.

Additionally, some advancements include the introduction of a mandatory healthy food policy in healthcare settings and ongoing discussions about Health Star Ratings, which require final approval by Food Ministers by 2027. A chapter focused on sustainable food systems was also included in a recent trade agreement with the European Union.

Seven Actions to Transform Food Environments

The expert panel has outlined seven critical actions that must be prioritized for immediate implementation. These consist of five policy actions and two infrastructure support measures, which aim to create healthier food environments.

The expert panel has outlined seven critical actions that must be prioritized for immediate implementation.

Key recommendations include:

• Making Health Star Ratings mandatory for packaged foods.
• Establishing food composition standards to reduce sodium and added sugars.
• Implementing a substantial sugary drinks levy, redirected towards health services and healthy food systems.
• Restricting children’s exposure to unhealthy food marketing across all platforms.
• Developing and enforcing healthy food policies within schools.
• Conducting a national nutrition survey, scheduled for 2027.
• Committing to and expanding the Healthy School Lunches program to reach more children, particularly in underserved communities.

These actions align with best practices recommended by the World Health Organization and could lead to substantial improvements in public health.

THE CNP TAKEAWAY

While New Zealand’s government has made slight improvements in specific areas of food policy, substantial actions are still necessary to address diet-related health issues. Prioritizing the recommendations of the expert panel could pave the way for healthier food environments and enhanced public health outcomes.