The Heart Foundation’s Tick deals with reality

Here are some other facts about Tick that Ms Stanton got wrong:

Tick foods do not cost more. Shopping basket tests of 20 of the most commonly bought items (for example, bread, milk, margarine, baked beans) choosing Tick and non-Tick items with as similar nutritional profiles as possible, revealed the total cost of the Tick basket was in fact $0.19 cheaper.

About one third of the foods with the Tick are fresh foods. The Heart Foundation continually promotes fresh foods, healthy eating and provides online recipes and cook books promoting healthier eating. It also provides clear advice on eating “occasional foods” - no more than once a week. Tick standards for occasional foods are the toughest of all - there's currently only one biscuit brand with the Tick.

Having a “one size fits all” criteria is meaningless. That's why our national food standards organisation (FSANZ) is adopting a multiple nutrient criteria approach for health claims. Different foods have different nutrition priorities. For example, yoghurt needs to be a good source of calcium, have less saturated fat and kilojoules, but vegetable oil needs to have a healthier ratio of healthy to unhealthy fats whereas kilojoules and calcium just aren't relevant.

Like any program, the Tick needs funds to exist. We pass on the costs the Heart Foundation incurs to those companies who've met all of our nutrition standards. We believe that the food companies who produce the foods should foot the bill for their improvement. Every cent that comes into Tick goes back into making healthier foods.

Sideline critics claim Tick is driving more people to McDonald's. We hope that we are driving consumers to spend their take away dollars in McDonald's instead of the other chains who have yet to assume some level of responsibility for the nutrition of their foods. We do not believe that someone who eats sushi or a tuna salad sandwich is suddenly going to venture to McDonald's because of the Tick and then order the Big Mac, fries and coke.

We are proud of the action we are taking to shake up the eating out industry. Sure, it would have been easier to join the sideline critics, but where does that leave the millions of Australians who eat out?

It's time to put food snobbery aside and get real.

The Heart Foundation Tick has proven that companies can and will make healthier choices. So instead of taking aim at those who are taking action and providing healthier choices, let's turn up the heat on food outlets and companies that have made no effort to improve their offerings or, even worse, promote meals of questionable nutritional value as "healthy".