Apple a day not so healthy, say new food advertising rules

Sellers of apples and pears will not be able to claim that they help with weight management.

The natural goodness of fruit could prove its downfall under draft rules that govern how food can be advertised.

The proposals by transtasman food regulator Food Standards Australia New Zealand have upset nutritionists and growers, who say they will prevent certain fruits from being legally classified as healthy.

Under the draft rules, the amount of sugar will be taken into account, meaning apples, pears and most stonefruit will be disqualified from health claims because their natural sugar levels exceed 16g per serving.

The draft standard aims to help people choose better food, but nutritionists say it could harm healthy-eating campaigns such as 5+ a Day, which encourages people to have five or more servings of fruit and vegetables daily.

Produce growers say the horticulture industry, worth an annual $4.7 billion to the New Zealand economy, could also suffer.

Ron Becroft, president of United Fresh, which runs the 5+ a Day campaign, said New Zealanders had slipped into "terrible eating patterns".

"Fruit and vegetables are not one of the enemy," he said.

"I think the messages that Grandma told us that fruit and vegetables are fundamentally good for you are still there. And if you look at the body of evidence around the world there's absolutely no question that a diet high in fruit and vegetables is good for you."

He had hoped the draft would give produce growers and marketers more scope to make health claims.

"Politicians and legislators - when the only tool they've got is a hammer, everything looks like a nail."

Dr Mike Butcher, of Pipfruit New Zealand, said it would be "common sense" to differentiate between foods where sugar was added, such as most processed foods, and those where sugar occurred naturally.

"It's good to see standards being put around food label claims, as it appears to be so easy to get away with quite unsubstantiated claims."

However the changes should not take away from the benefits of produce.

Under the new standards, sellers of apples and pears will not be able to claim that they help with weight management. However, HortResearch scientist Dr Roger Stanley said those fruit encouraged a feeling of fullness.

The draft rules did not show the distinction between whole foods and serving sizes, he said.

"It's okay if you've got a serving of bread, or if it's diced peas, you can have half a cup, but an apple is served as a whole fruit, and its average concentration of sugar exceeds that generic standard."

Professor Clifford Tasman-Jones of the Nutrition Foundation wants the standards looked at again.

"The eating of fruit is something that we encourage; it doesn't have the same effect as taking sugary drinks. If you stick to a strict sugar content, then you will be classifying some foods as not healthy when in fact they are."

The authority's spokeswoman, Dr Leigh Henderson, acknowledged that the rules affected certain fruit and said a solution could be to make an exemption for particular foods.

The authority had been pragmatic in its drafting, she said. "If we move the barrier to higher sugar levels to allow the fruits in, then basically we will get very many sweet cereals and other food types that we think are not appropriate to carry health claims."

Submissions on the draft are open until March 31. The standard will be finalised by the end of the year.