Healthier Australia Commitment looks to improve quality of our food

Although we live in a country where food is abundant and we are eating more than ever, it seems that the produce to pass our lips is not always healthy.\n\nThe rate of obesity and other chronic diseases is on the rise, and people are not getting any smaller.\n\nSo what can we do about it? Several leading food companies have taken the first step, with the introduction of the Healthier Australia Commitment.\n\nFormed by the Australian Food and Grocery Council (AFGC), these firms have set goals to reduce the amount of saturated fat, sodium and superfluous energy in their products by 2015.\n\nMembers of the AFGC are: Campbell Arnotts, PepsiCo, Sugar Australia, General Mills, Unilever, Lion, Nestle and Coca-Cola South Pacific.\n\nThey aim to reduce sodium by 25 per cent, saturated fat by 25 per cent, and energy by 12.5 per cent. The latter will focus on foods that are high in energy yet low in nutritional value, such as sugary soft drinks, for example.\n\nProfessor Peter Clifton of the Baker IDI and Diabetes Institute expressed his support for this initiative, which he believes will contribute to the prevention of some chronic diseases.\n\n"In Australia, the rates of chronic preventable diseases like obesity, type two diabetes and cardiovascular disease are high, putting a strain on our health system," Mr Clifton said in a statement.\n\n"There are many factors that contribute to maintaining a healthy lifestyle and diet is one of those, hence the changes industry is making could have a positive impact on Australia's health."\n\nIn addition to the Healthier Australia Commitment, the AFGC has also set up an interactive website called www.togethercounts.com.au.\n\nThis site features information about energy balance, helping people understand how many kilojoules they should be consuming for good health.\n\nThose interested in this initiative may want to explore the benefits of Stevia, a natural sugar. Low in calories and high in flavour, this sugar replacement is a great way to cut down on extra kilojoules and maintain a healthy weight.\n\nYou can add Naturally Sweet Stevia extract to hot drinks, cold beverages, baked goods and more.\n\n