Food policy

The George Institute’s food policy team work in Australia and overseas to reduce death and disease caused by diets high in salt, harmful fats, added sugars and excess energy.  The team does multi-disciplinary research with a focus on outputs that will help government and industry deliver a healthier food environment for all.

Our flagship FoodSwitch program, a growing database of nutrition and labelling information describing over 500,000 packaged and restaurant foods, enables us to analyses changes in the healthiness of the food supply provided to more than a billion people around the world.

In Australia, FoodSwitch data is currently being used to track the implementation of the government’s front-of-pack labelling system – the Health Star Rating.  It is also supporting national food reformulation programs driven by the Healthy Food Partnership and major food retailers. Results of this work are strengthening regulatory and policy efforts to promote healthier diets as well as the essential supporting work of the food industry.

A key example of our innovation and collaboration is the award-winning FoodSwitch app, which is now available in 8 countries and uses our data to guide consumers toward healthier choices in store.

In 2013 The George Institute was designated a World Health Organization Collaborating Centre on Population Salt Reduction, with a remit to support countries worldwide to achieve the new by 2025 target for reducing salt by 30%.