Delicious Science with Dr Joanna McMillan
Jun 11, 2026 · 31 min · 11 segments
Dr. Joanna McMillan critically examines the limitations of the Health Star Rating system, especially its application to cooking oils like extra virgin olive oil, and advocates for a more nuanced…
Joanna McMillanHost
If I put two bottles of oil side by side on a supermarket shelf, one of them, extra virgin olive oil, mechanically extracted from fresh olives, it's rich in natural polyphenols and with one of the most impressive research records of any food on the planet.
Which one do you think should get the higher health star rating? If you said the extra virgin olive oil, you'd be using common sense.
Today, we need to talk about the Health Star rating, what it gets right, what it gets wrong, and why it matters, because Australia is now considering making it mandatory.
Because a food label that is meant to help us to make healthier choices should not steer us away from one of the healthiest fats in the human diet.
I'm a nutrition scientist, dietitian, and today I'm a slightly frustrated policy nerd.
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If I put two bottles of oil side by side on a supermarket shelf, one of them, extra virgin olive oil, mechanically extracted from fresh olives, it's rich in natural polyphenols and with one of the most impressive research records of any food on the planet.
Which one do you think should get the higher health star rating? If you said the extra virgin olive oil, you'd be using common sense.
Today, we need to talk about the Health Star rating, what it gets right, what it gets wrong, and why it matters, because Australia is now considering making it mandatory.
Because a food label that is meant to help us to make healthier choices should not steer us away from one of the healthiest fats in the human diet.
I'm a nutrition scientist, dietitian, and today I'm a slightly frustrated policy nerd.