Abstract
The coalition Government has made virtually no progress on a number of food policy areas recommended by experts in a 2023 report, despite a health system overburdened with nutrition-related chronic disease and in crisis.
The fifth New Zealand Healthy Food Environment Policy Index (Food-EPI) reports on progress made on ‘food environments’ in the past three years. The food environment is the part of the food system that consumers directly experience, and encompasses the availability, visibility, cost and composition of foods.
The expert group has outlined policy priorities for immediate action:
- restricting children’s exposure to food marketing
- a sugary drinks levy
- food composition targets
- healthy and environmentally sustainable school-food policies
- commitment to and expansion of the healthy school lunch programme.
Most of these actions were proposed in 2020 and 2023. Any action must be underpinned by a government-led national food systems action plan and a nutrition survey.