Health Star ratings are supposed to help us make better choices at the supermarket - the more stars, the healthier the food.
However, the system is voluntary and led to puzzlingly high ratings for sugary cereals and juices, while other healthier options were rated lower.
After eight years, the system is getting a revamp to better reflect a food's salt and sugar content.
Food Safety deputy general Vincent Arbuckle said they were trying to fix the problem.
"Products with higher sugar and higher salt will end up with a lower star rating," Arbuckle said.
Health Coalition Aotearoa chair Professor Boyd Swinburn added: "Things like juices have been dropped down some notches, things like fruit and vegetables are getting five stars."
But when shopping, do people even pay attention to the Health Star rating?
One shopper told Newshub "sometimes yes", while another said "not really no".
A third shopper said: "Yeah I do."
Professor Swinburn said even if you do keep an eye out for the rating, it's "only on 25 percent of the foods".
The rating system is voluntary as it's the food industry's effort to self-regulate.
Professor Swinburn said the system needed to be adapted.
"They put it on the healthier products [but] they don't put it on the unhealthier ones. It's essentially a heel-dragging affair from the ultra-processed food industry."
Food Safety New Zealand hopes at least 70 percent of manufacturers will get on-board by 2025.
"We're seeing producers starting to reformulate their products to achieve greater stars," Arbuckle said.
When Newshub asked people if they would buy something with a low rating, one person said: "I'd be reluctant to buy something if it had a low star rating."
Another person told Newshub: "You'd go in there expecting to get the biggest Health Star rating, pretty happy when you do and I feel like I'm doing good for myself as well."
Hoping when it comes to stars, what you see is what you'll get.
