Health Star Rating Calculator

Rate a product 0.5 to 5 stars under the Australia and New Zealand Health Star Rating system, built to Implementation Guide v9 (10 December 2025). Enter the values per 100 g or 100 mL.

Product category

Dairy categories need 75% or more dairy ingredients. Cheese splits at 320 mg calcium per 100 g.

Average energy (kJ)

Saturated fat (g)

Total sugars (g)

Sodium (mg)

Protein (g)

Dietary fibre (g)

FVNL non-concentrated (%)

Concentrated fruit & veg (%)

Health Star Rating

3.5

Final score 0

Component	Points
Baseline	0
Energy	0
Saturated fat	0
Sugars	0
Sodium	0
Modifying	0
V - fruit, veg, nuts, legumes (0%)	0
P - protein	0
F - fibre	0

HSR is currently voluntary in Australia and New Zealand. FSANZ Proposal P1067 proposes mandating it and prescribing the algorithm in the Code, with a decision expected in 2027. This is a calculation aid, not regulatory approval.

How the Health Star Rating is calculated

Half a star to five stars

The Health Star Rating is the Australian and New Zealand front-of-pack scheme, scoring packaged food from 0.5 to 5 stars in half-star increments. More stars means a more favourable nutritional profile within the product's category.

The calculation balances risk nutrients - energy, saturated fat, total sugars and sodium - against positive components including protein, fibre, and fruit, vegetable, nut and legume content.

Category matters as much as the numbers

Products are scored within a category profile, and the categories behave differently. Beverages, dairy, fats and oils, and general foods do not share thresholds.

Applying the wrong category profile is the most common calculation error, and it can move a product by more than a full star.

The FVNL component is where products gain most

The fruit, vegetable, nut and legume content contributes positively, and it is often the largest single lever available to a reformulating brand. Concentrated forms count differently from whole ones, which is a detail worth getting right rather than estimating.

Voluntary, and therefore a marketing decision

Display is voluntary in both countries. A product scoring well benefits from showing its rating; a product scoring 1.5 stars is under no obligation to advertise that.

Calculate before you commit to displaying, and recalculate after any reformulation.

Reference information, not legal advice. Requirements change and turn on facts specific to your product - confirm against the current regulation before relying on it.

Common questions

Is the Health Star Rating mandatory?

Not yet. It remains voluntary in Australia and New Zealand today. Food Ministers agreed on 13 February 2026 to make it mandatory and asked FSANZ to prepare a proposal, which goes through two rounds of public consultation before ministers take a final decision. No compliance date has been set, so treat the mandate as coming rather than current, and watch for the FSANZ timeline.

Why is it being mandated?

Uptake under the voluntary scheme fell well short of its target. Against a goal of 70 percent of eligible products carrying the rating by November 2025, actual uptake reached roughly 39 percent in Australia and 36 percent in New Zealand. The gap, and the pattern of who displays a rating and who does not, is what prompted the decision.

How is the rating calculated?

From baseline points for energy, saturated fat, total sugars and sodium, offset by modifying points for fruit, vegetable, nut and legume content, protein and fibre. The product category determines which scoring table applies, and dairy and fats have their own. The final score maps to a rating from half a star to five stars in half-star steps.

Can I display the rating only on my better products?

Under the voluntary scheme that has been possible, and it is precisely the behaviour the uptake figures exposed. Guidance has always been that a company adopting the system should apply it consistently across its range rather than selectively. If the mandate proceeds, selective display stops being an option.

Does a high star rating mean a food is healthy?

It means the product scores well against others assessed on the same scale, which is a within-category comparison rather than an absolute verdict. The system is designed to help someone choose between similar packaged products in the same aisle, not to rank a breakfast cereal against a vegetable.