The Tick is about to go

In 1989, a logo started to appear on foods in our supermarkets. It was designed and intended to help consumer pick a healthier option by giving a method for comparing similar foods.

What logo? – The Heart Foundation’s red and white Tick.

When it first came out, there was opposition and even suggestions that businesses could just slap it onto foods if they paid enough.

For a company to be able to use the logo, there were many strict tests and requirements which had to be met, besides paying the registration and usage fees.

Now nearly 30 years after it made it’s first appearance, The Tick is very well recognised and respected.

The logo has allowed us all to easily compare foods for components like; saturated fats, kilojoules, fibre, calcium, trans fat and salt, amongst others.

A recent announcement by the Heart Foundation has been a bit of a shock, The Tick will be phased out over the next two years.

It is not because the logo has been unsuccessful, it is due to the introduction of the Health Star Rating (HSR).

The Heart Foundation is one of many organisations which have worked with the Federal Government to develop and introduce the new five star rating system.

The HSR is now being slowly phased onto products in our supermarkets and is giving customers and consumers a standard way of doing the camparison that was once only possible with The Tick.