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The Healthy Food Finder is a product lookup tool, developed by NSW Health. The Healthy Food Finder is designed to help you to find foods and drinks that meet the criteria for NSW school canteens and NSW Health facilities.
NSW Health has developed Food and Drink Criteria to determine what foods and drinks meet the criteria for NSW school canteens and NSW Health facilities. The criteria are found in the:
(i) NSW Healthy School Canteen Strategy*, and the
(ii) Healthy Food and Drink in NSW Health Facilities for Staff and Visitors Framework
*The NSW Healthy School Canteen Strategy is a collaborative initiative with the NSW Department of Education and NSW Health.
Email your enquiries to healthyfood@health.nsw.gov.au or call the Healthy Food Information Service on 1800 930 966 (Monday-Friday 9.00am-5.00pm) and you will be put in touch with the most appropriate person to answer your query.
The criteria have been developed for, and are only applicable to, NSW. This is the same with the Healthy Food Finder – Products are identified as 'meets criteria/does not meet criteria' based on the NSW Food and Drink Criteria and they do not apply to policies in other states or territories. We encourage you to consult your respective Government’s equivalent food provision guidelines or criteria.
One in two adults and more than one in five children in NSW are overweight or obese. Excess weight is associated with a wide range of chronic health conditions including Type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, stroke and some cancers. Providing healthier food and drink options in NSW school canteens and in food outlets in NSW Health facilities is part of a range of initiatives that the NSW Government is introducing to make healthy normal. One such initiative is creating a healthy food and drink environment where people find it easy to make healthy choices.
No, the Healthy Food Finder is only made accessible to canteen staff and volunteers from NSW Government, Catholic and Independent schools, retailers, suppliers and product manufacturers of school canteens and NSW Health facilities, NSW Department of Education employees, Association of Independent Schools of NSW employees, Catholic Schools NSW employees and NSW Health employees (including volunteers).
It is great to hear that you are interested in learning more about healthy eating! We recommend you visit the Healthy Eating and Active Living website where you will find an abundance of digital tools, information and free NSW Health initiatives to help make healthy normal and tackle overweight and obesity.
To keep up with the growing and changing food supply, small changes have been made to the way Health Star Ratings are calculated. In July 2020, Food Ministers from Australia and New Zealand agreed to improve the Health Star Rating System. One of these improvements was a change to the way the Health Star Rating is calculated. Food manufacturers were given two years (until 15 November 2022) to update the Health Star Ratings on their product labels with the new calculation. For more information on the changes, visit: Health Star Rating - Formal review of the system after five years of implementation (June 2014 to June 2019)
Some healthy foods like frozen and canned vegetables or fruit, and drinks similar to water will receive more stars. Less healthy foods - like those high in salt and sugar - will receive fewer stars. You may already see these changes on products in supermarkets and stores. Remember, not all food or drink requires a Health Star Rating under NSW Health policies. You can check if a product requires a Health Star Rating by searching the product in Healthy Food Finder.
Health Star Ratings will change for a small number of products. Fewer than 2% will no longer meet the criteria. Most products in Healthy Food Finder will not be impacted. Products that do not require a Health Star Rating of 3.5 stars or more to meet the Food and Drink Criteria will not change.
Healthy Food Finder always displays the Health Star Rating found on a product’s packaging. If there is no Health Star Rating on a product package or the manufacturer has not provided a Health Star Rating, Healthy Food Finder calculates it. Only the products calculated by Healthy Food Finder will be updated on 15 November 2022.
When ordering new stock or re-ordering old stock, check if the Health Star Rating has changed. If there is no Health Star Rating on the pack, you can check in Healthy Food Finder.
If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact the Healthy Food Information Service on 1800 930 966 (9am-5pm, Mon-Fri) or email healthyfood@health.nsw.gov.au
To register as a user, select the Sign in/Register button on the homepage:
Once selected, you will be taken to the Sign In page. You will need to select the “New Users” tab in order to begin the registration process.
Food composition data available on the Healthy Food Finder has been supplied by SP Health Co. Pty Ltd trading as Digital Wellness. Your personal information is required because NSW Health has an obligation to Digital Wellness to ensure that the key users of the data are:
• NSW school canteen staff and volunteers (Government, Catholic and Independent schools)
• NSW Health food and drink suppliers and retailers
• NSW Department of Education employees
• Association of Independent Schools of NSW employees
• Catholic Schools of NSW employees
• NSW Health staff and volunteers
• Staff of other NSW Government organisations.
For more information please see our Privacy Statement
Check the following:
(i) In your email account, check your ‘Junk’ folder for an email from ‘Healthy Food Finder’. Please note it may take up to 5 minutes for you to receive a verification email.
(ii) In the Healthy Food Finder tool (website) go to Profile and then select the ‘Confirm email’ button in blue.
(iii) If you still do not receive an email, contact us (or call 1800 930 966, Monday-Friday 9.00am-5.00pm)
To register as a user to the Healthy Food Finder you will require a strong password. A strong password consists of:
(i) A minimum of 8 characters
(ii) Includes at least one uppercase letter
(iii) Includes at least one lowercase letter
(iv) Includes at least one special character (for example: ! @ # etc.)
(v) Includes at least one numeral (0 through 9)
We are sorry for any inconvenience caused. Please wait 5 minutes and refresh your page. If the error still occurs, please take a screenshot of the error message and send the screenshot, a description of the issue and the device you are using (PC, iPad, smartphone (iPhone/Android) and your browser type (Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Safari etc.) to healthyfood@health.nsw.gov.au. Alternatively, call the Healthy Food Information Service on 1800 930 966 (Monday-Friday 9.00am-5.00pm) and you will be put in touch with the most appropriate person to answer your query.
Check your search term:
(i) Is there a spelling error?
(ii) Is the search term too specific? Try a more generalised search, such as searching for a product category, e.g. “muesli bars”, “muffins”, “flavoured milk”.
(iii) Is the product made up of multiple components, such as sandwiches with different fillings, or yoghurt with fruit and muesli? Try using search terms such as “sandwich with” or “yoghurt with” to see different varieties of these types of products.
No, the data structure of Healthy Food Finder is based on food categories, not menu-type categories. We recommend you try an alternate search strategy, such as searching for a food category. For example, you can search for “soup”, as typical food category that is considered to be a “hot meal”. Additionally, you can search for the term “popcorn” and select the following from the Advanced Search filters: “Meets Criteria” “≥3.5 stars” and “Everyday”. Using this search method you will identify all popcorn products that can be sold in your food outlet or school canteen.
Yes. You can narrow your search results by applying the Advanced Search filters. Filters include: Meets Criteria; Everyday; Occasional; ≥3.5 stars; Gluten free and Lactose free. Multiple filters can be selected at any one time. Additionally, you may choose to sort the column headings on the search results page (product, serving size, classification etc.). Re-ordering can be either A-Z or Z-A. For serving size, it is smallest - largest or largest - smallest.
In order to apply the Advanced Search filters you will need to:
(i) Tick/check the checkboxes of interest, then
(ii) Select “Apply Filters”. Only when “Apply Filters” is selected will the advanced search activate.
The food and drink composition information available on the Healthy Food Finder has been developed by SP Health Co. Pty Ltd trading as Digital Wellness
The food and drink composition data has been developed and reviewed by nutritionists and is accurate to the best of their knowledge. Please check our Disclaimer for more information.
The Healthy Food Finder is a dynamic tool – we are continuously making improvements, including adding and updating product information. If you can’t find what you’re looking for you can tell us about a missing product through the Item Request feature on the Search results page by clicking on the blue ‘Let us know’ button as per the screenshot below:
We will investigate and update the data as soon as possible. Data in the Healthy Food Finder is refreshed on a weekly basis.
Check you have selected the correct serve size of the product. If the serve size is correct and the product information does not match, report this through the Item Request feature on the Search page by clicking on the blue ‘Let us know’ button as per the screenshot below:
We will investigate and update the data as soon as possible. Data in the Healthy Food Finder is refreshed on a weekly basis.
Contact us at here (or call 1800 930 966, Monday-Friday 9.00am-5.00pm) and we will put you in touch with our data provider.
Healthy Food Finder User Guide