Oil health star ratings don’t stack up

Extra virgin olive oil is unique among cooking oils.

Unlike seed oils such as canola, sunflower or vegetable oil, which require heating, chemical solvents and industrial refining to extract oil from seeds, extra virgin olive oil is made purely by mechanically crushing olives and separating the juice.

No chemicals. No heat treatment. Just fruit.

When seed oils are refined, most of the antioxidants are lost, and trans fats and other secondary products can form.

Extra virgin olive oil, by contrast, retains a rich profile of biophenols, antioxidants and phytochemicals directly from the olive fruit.

Yet under the current Health Star Rating algorithm, extra virgin olive oil receives just 3 to 3.5 stars, while refined oils like canola and sunflower score 4 to 4.5.

Food Standards Australia New Zealand is reviewing a proposal to make the system mandatory, with public submissions open until July 5.

“The system they are proposing is inappropriate,” John Symington of Oasis Olives, near Rushworth, said.

“It doesn’t reflect the real health benefits of olive oil.”

The system’s flaw, according to the Olive Wellness Institute, a body funded by the olive industry, is that it uses saturated fat as the sole differentiator between cooking oils.

It ignores level of processing, bioactive compounds and decades of established health research.

Since the voluntary rating was introduced in 2014, many olive oil producers have declined to display it on their products, saying it misrepresents the oil’s nutritional value.

The Olive Wellness Institute has found that a 10 gram increase in daily consumption, about half a tablespoon, lowers risk of cardiovascular events by 10 per cent.

Its anti-inflammatory biophenols have also been linked to brain health benefits that could help reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease, as well as benefits for gut health and diabetes management.

Tina Knight, a board member of the Australian Olive Association and operator of Lisadurne Hill olive grove near Rushworth, said the ratings contradicted the weight of scientific evidence.

“As far as health-giving benefits, it’s terrific. It’s incorrect to put seed oils ahead of it,” she said.

The Federal Government, however, has defended the algorithm.

A spokesperson for the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing said the HSR system was designed to help consumers compare similar products based on saturated fat, sodium, sugars, energy, protein and fibre, but not processing method or bioactive compounds.

“As canola and sunflower oil are generally lower in saturated fat, they receive a higher rating,” the spokesperson said.

FSANZ has assessed the system as broadly aligned with the Australian and New Zealand Dietary Guidelines, which recommend limiting saturated fat, but make no recommendation to limit refined seed oils.

Any algorithm changes will be contingent on the outcome of a separate Australian Dietary Guidelines review, with draft guidelines expected later this year.

The Olive Wellness Institute has called on FSANZ to exempt the edible oils category from the mandate until the algorithm is fixed, pointing to a precedent where the system was modified for dairy products after it unfairly penalised cheese, milk and yoghurt for saturated fat content.

The Australian Olive Association has also made a submission opposing the changes.

Knight said the ratings risked misleading consumers at the point of purchase.

“It’s not going to affect people who already know extra virgin olive oil,” she said.

“But it makes our message much harder.”

Symington was blunt about what the rating changes would mean for producers.

“Producers are going to have to spend considerable money, time, and energy to counter misinformation because that’s what this is.”

For some growers, the response has been to double down on what the rating system cannot measure.

Whether consumers will hear that message above a four-star rating on a rival bottle remains the industry’s open question.