How ‘friendly’ is your child’s lunchbox?

Media release: 24 January 2025

Heart Foundation calls for more support for misled parents preparing school lunchboxes

Parents are being warned to watch out for misleading marketing tactics as they prepare to pack healthy lunchboxes when the school year resumes.

With more than 4 million students to return to classrooms across the country in the coming weeks, Australia’s leading heart health charity, the Heart Foundation, is urging parents to read nutrition information on food labels and not be fooled by misleading marketing tactics which take advantage of their healthy intentions.

It comes as the Heart Foundation calls for action to make it easier for people in Australia to choose healthy options, with the recommendation of the Health Star Rating system to be mandatory on all food products.

Heart Foundation Senior Food and Nutrition Advisor Jemma O’Hanlon said many parents have good intentions when it comes to packing a nutritious lunchbox for their kids, but with products labelled as ‘lunchbox friendly’, a lack of regulation means the products aren’t necessarily heart smart.

“Parents no doubt read ‘lunchbox friendly’ food options as being healthy, allergy friendly or good options for children, yet there’s no clear definition of what lunchbox friendly

means,” Ms O’Hanlon said.

“What does ‘lunchbox friendly’ mean? Who knows what it is referring to—it could just be the size of the food that will fit into a lunchbox.

“The trap is that many parents think these marketable terms such as ‘lunchbox friendly’ means the product has been vetted to meet a strict health criteria, but the truth is they don’t.”

Heart Foundation advocates for mandatory ratings on food products

In recent advocacy efforts, the Heart Foundation provided a submission to government calling for the Health Star Rating (HSR) to be mandatory on all food products to make it easier for shoppers to compare between products and choose healthy options.

The Heart Foundation wants the nutrition information panel on food labels to be easier to interpret and include ‘added sugars’ so consumers can better understand what is in their food.

Ms O’Hanlon said The Heart Foundation has long advocated for supporting the heart health of future generations, and the submission called on the government to ensure that food labelling is honest and transparent, so that parents can make informed decisions at the supermarket.

The Heart Foundation submission comes in response to a call for evidence from Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) which is undertaking work to help inform front and back-of-pack nutrition labelling, including the HSR system and the nutrition information panel (NIP).

In its submission, the Heart Foundation states that the HSR is simple and easy for consumers to understand, and studies indicate that the clarity of the label makes it an effective tool in guiding healthier choices ¹².

What should parents look for?

The Heart Foundation recommends parents looking to create healthy lunches for their children should aim to pack a lunchbox filled with wholefoods for optimal heart health.

“Try to make food a fun experience for your kids. You could consider different ways to cut and serve food. Kids are more likely to eat fruit when it’s chopped up, so little bite- sized pieces that they can pick up with their fingers and put in their mouths are more likely to be eaten,” Ms O’Hanlon said.

“Don’t be too disheartened if the food comes home in the lunchbox. It’s normal and part of the journey of exposing your child to different foods. Kids naturally go through

different stages in their lives including fussy eating.

“Studies have shown it can take over 10 times of offering a food before a child may accept it, so keep offering gently, without pressuring.”

Heart healthy lunchbox tips

Heart healthy lunchbox additions Ms O’Hanlon recommends are:

• Fresh sandwiches made with wholemeal bread
• Lean protein fillings such as chicken, fish, egg or falafel
• ‘Pick me platter’ style lunches with finger foods such as avocado, tomatoes, cucumber, carrot or celery sticks with cheese cubes
• A tub of yoghurt as a source of calcium
• Fruit salad
• Frozen water bottle.

A copy of the Heart Foundation’s submission to government on Health Star Rating system and Nutrition Label Information can be found on the Heart Foundation website.