Apparent Consumption of Selected Foodstuffs, Australia

Apparent consumption in this analysis measures the amount of food and non-alcoholic beverages purchased from the food retail sector (major supermarkets and smaller outlets such as convenience stores, butchers, seafood shops, bakeries, delis and fresh food markets). The reporting periods in this analysis are years ending in June (from 2018-19 to 2023-24) and the calendar months within each financial year. 

Apparent consumption data does not include:

• food purchases from fast food outlets, cafes, restaurants or institutions utilising catering services that source from non-supermarket suppliers
• food obtained by other means such as home-growing, foraging, hunting or fishing.

Apparent consumption does not make any consumer adjustment for:

• amounts of food purchased for storage (or drawdowns of existing stocks)
• foods that are discarded, or otherwise not consumed by humans. 

Although the scope of the apparent consumption collection means that the apparent consumption data does not provide a complete picture of total dietary consumption or the consumption patterns of individuals or groups, it offers insights into the ‘average’ dietary intake based on the food sold in Australia’s retail sector and how that is changing over time. For more information on the scope and methods of this study, please refer to the Explanatory notes.

In 2023-24, an estimated 15.3 million tonnes of food and non-alcoholic beverages were sold across supermarkets, grocery stores, convenience stores, and specialty food stores in Australia. This represents a 3.5% increase (510,500 tonnes) over the previous 12-month period (2022-23).

In daily per capita terms, the apparent consumption in 2023-24 averaged just over 1.5 kg per day, reaching 1,550 grams per capita. This represents an increase of 11 grams (0.7%) from 1,539 grams in 2022-23. Despite this increase, the 2023-24 per capita consumption remained approximately 2% lower than the average consumption from 2018-19 to 2021-22.

Among the major food groups, the greatest increases in consumption by weight over the year to June 2024 compared to the previous year were recorded for:

• Non-alcoholic beverages (up 8.7 grams to 409.3 grams per capita, a 2.2% increase)
• Meat and poultry products (up 3.3 grams to 144.6 grams, a 2.3% increase).

Between 2022-23 and 2023-24, the greatest percentage increases in consumption by weight (per capita per day) among the major food groups were:

• Snack foods (up 0.7 grams to 15.6 grams, a 4.7% increase)
• Seed and nut products (up 0.7 grams to 16.2 grams, a 4.5% increase)
• Egg products (up 0.7 grams to 19.5 grams per capita, a 3.7% increase).

 The major food groups with the greatest decreases in consumption by weight per capita per day were: 

• Cereal based products (down 1.4 grams to 63 grams, a 2.2% fall)
• Confectionery (down 1.2 grams to 29.2 grams, a 3.9% fall)
• Fats and oils (down 0.9 grams to 20.4 grams, a 4.2% fall). 

The greatest percentage decline in consumption over the year to June 2024 was for soup, which fell 13% (0.6 gram) to 4.0 gram per capita per day.

Driving the per capita consumption increase of non-alcoholic beverages between 2022-23 and 2023-24 were: 

• Bottled water (up 5.4 grams to 145 grams per day, a rise of 3.9%)
• Soft drinks (up 3.6 grams to 169 grams per day, a rise of 2.2%)
• Electrolyte and energy drinks (up 2.1 grams to 24.6 grams per day, a rise of 9.3%).

These were slightly offset by a fall in fruit and vegetable juices and drinks (down 2.5 grams to 50 grams, a 4.8% fall). 

Among the non-alcoholic beverages, consumption trends over the six years from 2018-19 to 2023-24 were evident for several sub-major categories:

• Bottled water grew by 10.7 grams per capita per day (or 8.0%)
• Electrolyte and energy drinks grew by 9.4 grams per capita per day (or 61.8%)
• Fruit and vegetable juices and drinks declined by 5.3 grams per capita per day (a 9.6% fall).

The main contributors to the rise in per capita consumption of meat and poultry between 2022-23 and 2023-24 were:

• Poultry (up 1.7 grams to 51 grams per day, a rise of 3.5%)
• Beef, lamb and pork (up 1.7 grams to 48 grams per day, a rise of 3.7%)
• Poultry based mixed dishes (e.g. chicken nuggets and chicken kiev), which rose 0.4 grams to 12.4 grams per day (or 3.3%).

Over the same period, there were small declines in:

• Sausages and frankfurts (down 0.4 grams to 11.2 grams per day, a fall of 3.4%)
• Processed meat (down 0.3 grams to 18 grams per day, a fall of 1.6%).

Beyond the most recent annual changes for consumption of meat and poultry products, the notable trends over the six years from 2018-19 to 2023-24 were: 

• Poultry grew by 4.2 grams per capita per day (or 9.1%)
• Poultry-based mixed dishes grew by 2.9 grams per capita per day (or 30.5%)
• Processed meat consumption declined by 2.5 grams per capita per day (or 12.2%)
• Sausages and frankfurt consumption declined by 1.0 gram per capita per day (or 8.2%).

Following the large drop in per capita consumption of 13.5 grams (-6.8%) to 184.4 grams in the year to June 2023, vegetable products had a small decrease of 0.3 grams (-0.2%) to 184.1 grams per capita in the year to June 2024. 

The recent decrease in per capita consumption of vegetables came largely from declines in:

• Carrot and similar root vegetables (including beetroot and sweet potato), which declined by 1.1 grams (-4.7%) to 22.1 grams per day in 2023-24
• Peas and beans, which declined by 0.8 grams (-12.1%) to 5.8 grams per capita
• Tomato and tomato products by 0.2 grams (-0.9%) to 22 grams per day in 2023-24. 

Consumption of each of these vegetable groups has been trending lower since peaking in 2019-20. Over the four years to 2023-24, per capita consumption of:

• Carrot and similar root vegetables has declined by 4.1 grams per day (-15.6%)
• Peas and beans declined by 2.1 grams per day (-26.6%)
• Tomato and tomato products declined by 3.1 grams per day (-12.4%).

Offsetting the per capita decrease in consumption of these vegetables in the year to June 2024, some small increases were observed among other vegetables:

• Other fruiting vegetables (including avocado, capsicum, cucumber, zucchini, mushrooms), which increased 0.9 grams (2.3%) to 40.5 grams per day. However, this was still 4.5 grams (-10.0%) lower than the peak from 2021-22 (45 grams per day).
• Leaf and stalk vegetables (such as lettuce, spinach and celery), which increased 0.6 grams (5.0%) to 12.5 grams per day
• Cabbage, cauliflower and similar brassica vegetables, which increased 0.4 grams (3.1%) to 13.1 grams per day.

While per capita consumption of potatoes in the year to June 2024 remained unchanged at 40 grams per day, this was 2.7 grams (-6.3%) less than the peak of 42.7 grams which was recorded in 2021-22. 

While consumption of the major food group cereals and cereal products remained steady in the year from 2022-23 to 2023-24 (at around 129 grams per capita per day), the following changes in per capital consumption occurred among the sub-major constituents:

• Regular breads and bread rolls declined by 1.5 grams to 53.0 grams per day (-2.8%)
• Ready to eat breakfast cereals declined by 0.5 grams to 11.8 grams per day (-4.1%)
• Flours, rice and other grains increased by 1.3 grams to 31.6 grams per day (up 4.3%)
• Pasta and noodles increased by 0.3 grams to 16.8 grams per day (up 1.8%). 

Some of these changes appear to be a continuation of longer term consumption trends. Over the six years from 2018-19 to 2023-24:

• Per capita consumption of regular breads and bread rolls dropped by 4.4 grams per day (-7.7%)
• Per capita consumption of ready to eat breakfast cereals dropped by 1.7 grams per day (-12.6%)
• Per capita consumption of pasta and noodles increased by 1.6 grams per day (up 10.5%).

At the major group level, fruit products had a small increase from 137.2 grams to 138.1 grams per capita per day in the year to June 2024. However, changes at the sub-major level reveal some shifts in the per capita composition from:

• Other fruit (mainly melon and grapes) rose by 2.9 grams to 27.9 grams per day (a 11.6% increase)
• Berry fruit rose by 2.0 grams to 15 grams per day (a 15.4% increase)
• Stone fruit grew by 1.0 gram to 7.8 grams per day (a 14.7% increase)
• Citrus fruit fell by 2.6 grams to 19.2 grams per day (a 11.9% decrease)
• Tropical and subtropical fruit (manly bananas) declined by 1.5 grams to 39.8 grams per day (a 3.6% decrease)
• Apples and pears (pome fruit) declined by 0.9 grams to 22.6 grams per day (a 3.8% decrease).

 With the exception of berry fruit, which had a per capita increase of 2.9 grams per day (24.0%) over the six years from 2018-19 to 2023-24, consumption of fruit has generally been in decline, led by:

• Citrus fruit, which fell by 3.7 grams per capita per day (-16.2%)
• Apples and pears, which fell by per 3.4 grams capita per day (-13.1%)
• Other fruit, down 3.3 grams per day (-10.6%)
• Stone fruit, down 2.3 grams per day (-22.8%)
• Tropical and subtropical fruit, down by 1.1 gram per day (-2.7%).

Between 2022-23 and 2023-24, consumption of milk products increased 0.6 grams to 269.4 grams per capita per day (0.2%). This slight increase occurred despite drops in: 

• Dairy milk, a 0.8 grams decline to 175.9 grams per capita per day (down 0.5%)
• Flavoured milk, which declined 0.3 grams per capita per day to 19.7 grams (down 1.5%)
• Custard, with a 0.2 gram fall to 2.8 grams per capita per day (down 6.7%).

 The offsetting consumption increases occurred in: 

• Yoghurt, rising 1.3 grams per capita per day (up 5.7%)
• Frozen milk products, rising 0.4 grams per capita per day (up 2.6%). 

 Over the six years from 2018-19 to 2023-24, the clearest trends in consumption of milk products were evident for:

• Dairy milk, which declined 14.9 grams per capita per day (down 7.8%)
• Flavoured milk, which declined 0.9 grams per capita per day (down 4.4%)
• Custard, which dropped by 0.5 grams per capita per day (down 15.2%).

Between 2022-23 and 2023-24, consumption of cereal-based products decreased 1.4 grams to 63.0 grams per capita per day (-2.2%). With the exception of sweet biscuits which saw a small increase in daily consumption in the year to June 2024 (up 0.1 gram to 13.8 grams per capita per day), all other products underwent a drop in consumption. The two main product categories driving this decline were:

• Cakes and muffins, down 0.6 grams to 8.5 grams per capita per day (-6.6%)
• Savoury biscuits, down 0.4 grams to 8.0 grams per capita per day (-4.8%).

The recent (year to June 2024) annual declines in consumption were the largest over the six years from 2018-19 to 2023-24 for these two respective products. Other cereal-based products which had small drops in the year to June 2024, had more significant declines in consumption in earlier periods. These were:

• Pastries, which fell 0.2 grams (-0.2%) to 14.8 grams per capita per day in the year to June 2024, but underwent a 1.4 gram per capita per day per day fall (-8.5%) in the year to June 2023
• Mixed dishes where cereal is the major ingredient (e.g. pizza, lasagne), which declined 0.2 grams (-1.5%) to 13.0 grams per capita per day in the most recent year, fell 0.5 grams (-3.6%) in the year to June 2023 from the peak of 13.7 grams per capita per day in 2021-22
• Batter based products (mainly crumpets, doughnuts and pancakes), which declined 0.1 grams (-2.0%) to 4.9 grams per capita per day in the year to June 2024, fell 0.3 grams (-5.7%) in the year to June 2023. 

Between 2022-23 and 2023-24, consumption of products within the major group Fats and oils decreased by an overall 0.9 grams to 20.4 grams per capita per day (-4.2%). With the exception of butters, which had an increase in daily consumption in the year to June 2024 (up 0.1 gram to 3.8 grams per capita per day), all other fats and oils had a drop in consumption. These included:

• Plant oils, which fell 0.6 grams (-6.0%) to 9.4 grams per capita per day
• Margarine and table spreads, which dropped 0.2 grams (-4.8%) to 4.0 grams per capita per day
• Dairy blends, which dropped 0.1 grams (-3.2%) to 3.0 grams per capita per day.

Consumption of plant oils and margarine and table spreads have each been in decline since 2019-20. Over the four years to June 2024, per capita consumption of:

• Plant oils dropped 2.2 grams per day (-19%)
• Margarine and table spreads dropped 0.8 grams per day (-16.7%).

Over the period between 2022-23 to 2023-24, consumption of confectionery products decreased by 1.2 grams (-3.9%) to 29.2 grams per capita per day. This decrease resulted from declines in:

• Chocolate (including chocolate-based confectionery) which declined by 1.0 grams (-5.7%) to 16.6 grams per capita per day
• Other confectionery (mainly lollies) which declined by 0.2 grams (-2.5%) to 7.9 grams per capita per day.

The decline in chocolate consumption in the year to June 2024 marks a shift from the preceding five years (2018-19 to 2022-23) in which daily per capita chocolate consumption grew by 1.9 grams per day (12.1%). 

Per capita consumption of both muesli bars and fruit/nut/seed bars in 2023-24 was unchanged from 2022-23. However, both have relatively strong growth over the six years from 2018-19 to June 2024, with per capita consumption of:

• Muesli bars increasing 0.6 grams to 4.2 grams per day (up 16.7%)
• Fruit, nut and seed bars increasing 0.2 grams to 0.6 grams per day (up 50.0%).

Over the period between 2022-23 to 2023-24, the daily per capita consumption of seed and nut products grew by 0.7 grams to 16.2 grams per day (4.5%). The growth in this major group can be attributed to coconut water, which is classified within nut products.

• Consumption of coconut water grew by 0.8 grams (19%) to 5.0 grams per capita per day over the year.
• Over the six years from 2018-19 to 2023-24, per capita consumption of coconut water grew by 1.9 grams per day (64%). 

Between 2022-23 and 2023-24, the daily per capita consumption of snack food grew by 0.7 grams (4.7%) to 15.6 grams per day. This increases was driven by: 

• Potato snacks, which increased 0.8 grams (10.3%) to 8.6 grams per capita per day
• Corn snacks, which increased 0.1 grams (2.6%) to 4.0 grams per capita per day.

Dietary energy is required by the body for metabolic processes, physiological functions, muscular activity, heat production and growth and development. The energy requirement for an average adult is about 8,700 kJ/day, however energy requirements vary with age, sex, body size and physical activity, so the amount of energy consumed would be expected to vary considerably throughout the population[1].

In 2023-24, per capita dietary energy from food and non-alcoholic beverage sales in the food retail sector averaged 8,667 kJ per day, similar to the previous 12-month period and down 1.2% (or 103 kJ) from 2018-19.

Similar to all previous 12-month periods since 2018-19, the majority of dietary energy in 2023-24 came from four major food groups:

• Cereals and cereal products (19% of dietary energy)
• Milk products (14%)
• Meat and poultry products (13%)
• Cereal based products (10%).

While total dietary energy was relatively stable between 2022-23 and 2023-24, there were several notable shifts in energy coming from some sub-major food groups. The largest per capita increases in dietary energy from sub-major food groups compared to the previous 12-month period were seen for:

• Beef, lamb and pork (increase of 24 kJ to 388 kJ per day)
• Flours and other grains (increase of 18 kJ to 473 kJ per day)
• Potato snacks (increase of 16 kJ to 182 kJ per day)
• Poultry (increase of 10 kJ to 323 kJ per day).

In contrast, the largest decreases in per capita dietary energy compared to the previous 12-month period were seen for:

• Plant oils (decrease of 24 kJ to 347 kJ per day)
• Chocolate (decrease of 19 kJ to 347 kJ per day)
• Bread (decrease of 15 kJ to 541 kJ per day)
• Savoury biscuits (decrease of 8 kJ to 153 kJ per day).

Between 2018-19 and 2023-24, total dietary energy decreased 1.2% or 103 kJ per capita per day. The sub-major food groups driving the decrease in per capita total dietary energy over the six-year period were:

• Plant oils (-46 kJ to 347 kJ/day)
• Bread (-46 kJ to 541 kJ/day)
• Dairy milk (-35 kJ/day to 471 kJ/day)
• Infant formula (-32 kJ to 19 kJ/day)
• Ready to eat breakfast cereals (-27 kJ to 182 kJ/day).

Despite total energy decreasing between 2018-19 and 2023-24, there were increases in per capita energy for several sub-major food groups over this period: 

• Poultry-based mixed dishes (+30 kJ to 124 kJ/day)
• Pasta products (+25 kJ to 235 kJ/day)
• Poultry (+22 kJ to 323 kJ/day)
• Potato snacks (+21 kJ to 182 kJ/day)
• Chocolate (+19 kJ to 347 kJ/day).

Dietary energy from food and beverages is sourced from macronutrients which include carbohydrate, protein, fat, dietary fibre and alcohol. 

In 2023-24, the relative contribution of each macronutrient to the total dietary energy available from all food and non-alcoholic beverages sold in the food retail sector was:

• 43.6% from carbohydrate, including 20.0% from sugars
• 39.1% from fat, including 16.0% from saturated and trans fats
• 15.4% from protein
• 1.9% from dietary fibre
• 0% from alcohol (Note, alcoholic beverages are not in scope for this data. See Explanatory notes for more information).

The relative contributions of each macronutrient to total dietary energy were stable between 2021-22 and 2023-24. Between 2018-19 and 2023-24, the proportion of energy from total sugars decreased from 20.8% to 20.0%, while the proportion from starch increased from 22.0% to 22.4%.

An imbalance among relative proportions of macronutrients is considered a risk factor for nutrient deficiencies and chronic disease[2]. Recommendations known as Acceptable Macronutrient Distribution Ranges (AMDR) specify the proportion of total energy from each macronutrient that is recommended. The proportion of energy available from protein was within the relevant AMDR, while the proportion of energy from carbohydrate and fat were below and above of their relevant AMDRs, respectively.

The Australian Dietary Guidelines (ADG) recommend Australians “enjoy a wide variety of nutritious foods from the five food groups every day”[3]. The five food groups are: 

• Grain (cereal) foods
• Vegetables and legumes/beans
• Fruit
• Milk, yoghurt, cheese and alternatives
• Lean meat and poultry, fish, eggs, tofu, nuts and seeds and legumes/beans (lean meats and alternatives).

The ADG include minimum recommended daily serves of the five food groups. The recommendations reflect the different nutrient requirements across the life course so they vary by age, sex and life stages such as pregnancy and lactation. The 'serves' are defined by the weight or volume of a particular food, based on nutrient and energy density. For example, in the grain / cereals group, a serve of cooked rice is around 75 grams, which is considered equivalent to a serve of bread weighing 40 grams[4]. 

In this analysis, the ADG average recommended serves for each of the five food groups are compared with the daily per capita serves available from non-discretionary foods[3]. The recommended amount for each food group was derived from an average of recommended serve values for each food group, where the Estimated Resident Population by age and sex was used to 'weight' the ADG serve recommendations for different age and sex groups. See Glossary for more information.

It is important to note that apparent consumption data in this analysis is based on sales data rather than consumption data, and only reflects a proportion of the total food supply (the food retail sector). Furthermore, the per capita values are derived from a national total value (rather than based on individual intakes). As a result, comparisons between per capita apparent consumption and average recommended serve values are not a reliable indicator of the proportion of the population meeting the ADG minimum recommended serves and should be interpreted with caution. See Explanatory notes for more information.

Compared to the average recommended serves per day, the apparent daily consumption per capita per day for all Australians in 2023-24 was:

• 3.9 serves of grains and cereals (average recommendation 5.5 serves)
• 2.2 serves of vegetables and legumes/beans (average recommendation 5.0 serves)
• 1.3 serves of fruit (average recommendation 2.0 serves)
• 1.5 serves of milk, yoghurt, cheese and alternatives (average recommendation 3.0 serves)
• 1.8 serves of lean meats and alternatives (average recommendation 2.5 serves).

Compared with 2022-23, there was decrease in the per capita consumption of fruit (down 0.02 of a serve or 1.5%) and an increase in the consumption of lean meats and alternatives (up 0.04 of a serve or 2.2%). The increase in lean meats and alternatives was of the same magnitude as the reduction which occurred over the year earlier (2021-22 to 2022-23). Consumption of all other food groups remained at the same level as the year earlier, which, in all cases was the lowest throughout the six-year period. 

For the grains and cereals food group, the ADG recommends these foods be mostly wholegrain or high fibre, rather than refined or low fibre. In 2023-24, 30.6% of apparent consumption serves from the grains and cereals food group were wholegrain or high fibre. This proportion has trended downwards since 2018-19, when 34.3% of serves were wholegrain or high fibre. 

The ADG recommends that for the fruit food group, fruit juice and dried fruit should only be consumed occasionally as a substitute for fresh, frozen or canned fruit[5]. In 2023-24, just over two-thirds (68.1%) of fruit serves came from fresh, frozen or canned fruit products. This was greater than for all previous years and reflects a reduction in per capita consumption of both dried fruit and fruit juice rather than an increase in consumption of fresh or canned fruit.

Discretionary foods (such as biscuits, confectionery, pastries, processed meats, salty snack foods and sugar-sweetened beverages) are discouraged in the ADG as they are not necessary for a healthy diet[6]. Discretionary foods are typically low in essential nutrients and high in energy, saturated fat, added sugar and/or added salt. 

In 2023-24, 38.5% of dietary energy from food and non-alcoholic beverage sales in the food retail sector came from discretionary foods. This was a slightly below the level of the previous three years, but higher than in 2018-19 (38.0%) and 2019-20 (38.1%).

The major food groups that contributed most to discretionary energy in 2023-24 were:

• Cereal based products (20.7%)
• Confectionery (16.2%)
• Snack foods (9.6%)
• Non-alcoholic beverages (8.8%)
• Meat and poultry products (8.6%)
• Sugar products (8.0%).

The largest percentage point increase among major food groups contributing to total discretionary energy from the previous 12-month period (2022-23) was snack foods, which increased by 0.6 percentage points from 9.0% to 9.6%. On the other hand, confectionery had a 0.6 percentage point decline from 16.8% to 16.2%. 

Over the longer term (from 2018-19 to 2023-24), the largest percentage point changes were in contribution to total discretionary energy were:

• A decrease of 0.9 percentage points from meat and poultry products, from 9.5% to 8.6%
• A decrease of 0.7 percentage points from cereal based products, from 21.4% to 20.7%.
• A decrease of 0.7 percentage points from sugar products, from 8.7% to 8.0%
• An increase of 0.7 percentage points from snack foods, from 8.9% to 9.6%.

Within sub-major food groups, leading contributors to energy available from discretionary foods in the year to June 2024 were:

• Chocolate (10.4%, and decreasing 0.5 percentage points from 2022-23)
• Sweet biscuits (8.1%, increasing 0.1 percentage points)
• Sugar, honey and syrups (6.0%, unchanged from 2022-23)
• Potato snacks (5.4%, up 0.5 percentage point from 2022-23)
• Pastries (4.9%, unchanged from 2022-23)
• Processed meat (4.6%, declining 0.1 percentage point).

Over the longer term, from 2018-19 to 2023-24, the sub-major food groups with the largest percentage point change in contribution to total discretionary energy were:

• Potato snacks, with an increase of 0.6 percentage points (from 4.8% to 5.4%)
• Chocolate, with an increase of 0.6 percentage points (from 9.8% to 10.4%)
• Sugar, honey and syrups, which decreased 0.7 percentage points (from 6.7% to 6.0%)
• Processed meat, which decreased 0.6 percentage points (from 5.2% to 4.6%).

The volumes of non-alcoholic beverages presented in this publication are derived solely from the food retail sector (i.e., excluding restaurants, fast-food outlets, and cafes). Additionally, these estimates do not account for tap water consumed either as plain water or added to other beverages such as tea and coffee, which implies a significant underrepresentation of total beverage consumption by the population.

In 2023-24, the per capita apparent consumption of selected non-alcoholic beverages was 387.1 mL per day, an increase of 8.9 mL (2.4%) from 378.2 mL per day in 2022-23. This latest annual increase followed a 6.5 mL decrease (-1.7%) over the preceding year. Over the longer term, there has been an overall increase of 19 mL (5.2%) per capita over the six years to June 2024.

In 2023-24, the daily per capita volume of non-alcoholic beverages comprised:

• Soft drinks: 164.8 mL (43%)
• Packaged water: 144.6 mL (37%)
• Fruit and vegetable juices: 32.5 mL (8.4%)
• Fruit and vegetable drinks: 15.3 mL (4.0%)
• Energy drinks: 13.1 mL (3.4%)
• Electrolyte drinks: 10.5 mL (2.7%)
• Cordials: 6.2 mL (1.6%).

Bottled water and soft drinks saw the largest increases in daily per capita volumes between over the 12 months to June 2024:

• Packaged water: up 5.4 mL (3.9%)
• Soft drinks: up 3.6 mL (2.2%).

Energy drinks and electrolyte drinks had the largest percentage increases in per capita volumes over the most recent year and also the fastest growth over the six years to June 2024:

• Electrolyte drinks: up 9.4% (0.9 mL per capita) over the latest year and 64% (4.1 mL per capita) over the six years to June 2024
• Energy drinks: up 9.2% (1.1 mL per capita) over the latest year and 60% (4.9 mL per capita) over the six years to June 2024.

The only category of non-alcoholic beverages to undergo a reduction in consumption in the year to June 2024 was fruit and vegetable juices, which declined by 2.5 mL (-7.1%) to 32.5 mL per capita per day.

The most recent increase in non-alcoholic beverage consumption appeared steeper for intense-sweetened (or zero sugar) beverages which grew 5.5% compared with 1.5% among the sugar sweetened varieties. The increase in per capita consumption of intense-sweetened beverages in 2023-24 continues the trend over the previous five years in which the sugar-free beverages went from making up 29.6% of volume of these beverages in 2018-19 to 36.2% in 2023-24. 

The proportion of apparent consumption that was intense-sweetened differed by beverage type. In 2023-24:

• 43.1% of soft drink apparent consumption was intense-sweetened (compared with 42.1% in 2022-23)
• 22.6% of cordial apparent consumption was intense-sweetened (up from 20.0% in 2022-23)
• 16.0% of energy drink apparent consumption was intense-sweetened (similar to 15.8% in 2022-23)
• 15.2% of electrolyte drink apparent consumption was intense sweetened (up from 14.6% in 2021-22).

Consumption by month shows: 

• A strong seasonal pattern for both types, but a sharper December peak for sugar-sweetened beverages
• Diet beverages grew steadily (comparing each month with same month in previous year) until 2023-24. 

Added sugars are defined as sugars that have been added to foods during their processing or preparation[7]. Free sugars include all added sugars as well as the sugar that is naturally present in juice and honey. The sugar naturally present in unrefined foods, such as whole fruit or unflavoured milk, is not considered free sugar. 

In 2023-24, per capita apparent consumption of free sugars was 66.4 grams per day, equivalent to 12.3% of all dietary energy available from sales of food and non-alcoholic beverages. This proportion was similar to 2022-23 (12.4%) and 2021-22 (12.3%) and exceeds the World Health Organisation’s recommendation that free sugars make up less than 10% of dietary energy[8].

The vast majority (92% or 61.3 grams) of free sugar apparent consumption in 2023-24 came from added sugar with the balance (7.7% or 5.1 grams) derived from fruit juice or honey. Most of the free sugars (89%) came from discretionary foods. 

The sub-major food groups contributing most to apparent consumption of free sugars in 2023-24 were:

• Sugar, honey and syrups (18.5%)
• Soft drinks (14.2%)
• Chocolate (10.8%)
• Other confectionery (6.7%)
• Sweet biscuits (6.1%)
• Fruit and vegetable juices and drinks (6.0%).

The sub-major food groups with the greatest increases in percent contribution to total free sugar apparent consumption over the year to June 2024 were:

• Electrolyte and energy drinks (increased from 2.6% to 2.9%)
• Soft drinks (increased from 14.0% to 14.2%).

The greatest decreases in percent contribution to total free sugar apparent consumption were seen in:

• Chocolate (decreased from 11.4% to 10.8%)
• Fruit and vegetable juices and drinks (decreased from 6.2% to 6.0%)
• Other confectionery (decreased from 6.9% to 6.7%).

Of the total dietary energy available from food and non-alcoholic beverages sold in 2023-24, 15.3% came from saturated fat and 0.7% from trans fatty acids. This was similar to 2021-22 and 2022-23, and exceeds the recommendation in the Nutrient Reference Values for Australia and New Zealand (NRVs) that saturated fat and trans fatty acids together make up less than 10% of dietary energy[9]. The 0.7% of total dietary energy coming from trans fatty acids in 2023-24 meets the World Health Organisation recommendation that no more than 1% of daily energy intake come from trans fatty acids. 

Per capita apparent consumption of saturated fat was 35.8 grams per day in 2023-24, 0.6% higher than in 2022-23, but 3.0% less than in 2021-22 (39.6 grams per capita per day). Discretionary and non-discretionary foods each contributed around half of the available saturated fat in 2023-24 (49.5% and 50.5%, respectively).

In 2023-24, just under one-third (31.5%) of saturated fat came from milk products, with the sub-major food group contributors led by:

• Cheese (10.9%)
• Dairy milk (9.2%)
• Chocolate (7.8%)
• Beef, lamb and pork (6.6%)
• Butter (5.6%)
• Cream and sweet biscuits (each 4.5%).

Food and non-alcoholic beverages sold by the food retail sector in 2023-24 provided the equivalent of 3,066.9 milligrams of sodium per capita per day. This was a small increase (0.2%) from 2023-23 (3,059 mg per day) but a 3.9% decrease from 2021-22 in line with a 3.6% reduction in per capita dietary energy between 2021-22 and 2023-24. 

More than half of sodium apparent consumption (57.1%) came from discretionary foods.

Per capita apparent consumption of sodium in 2023-24 was 1.53 times higher than the adult Suggested Dietary Target of 2,000 milligrams per day, an NRV set with the aim of reducing the average population blood pressure in Australia[9]. Foods purchased from outlets such as fast food, takeaway and restaurants can be high in sodium and do not contribute to the apparent consumption amounts in this publication.

The proportion of salt purchased for non-food uses is unknown, so apparent consumption of sodium from sales of salt may be an overestimation (see Explanatory notes). 

Just over one-fifth (21.3%) of the sodium consumed in 2023-24 came from the sub-major food group herbs, spices and seasonings (which includes salt and stock products). The next greatest contributions at the sub-major food group level came from: 

• Regular breads and bread rolls (8.1%)
• Gravies and savoury sauces (7.7%)
• Processed meat (7.3%)
• Cheese (5.3%).

Over the six years from 2018-19 to 2023-24, the contribution of processed meat to sodium consumption has reduced from 8.3% to 7.3%. This is associated with the 12% reduction in the consumption of processed meat over the same period. 

1. National Health and Medical Research Council, ‘Nutrient Reference Values for Australia and New Zealand: Dietary energy balance’, https://www.eatforhealth.gov.au/nutrient-reference-values/nutrients/dietary-energy; accessed 13/03/2025.
2. National Health and Medical Research Council, ‘Nutrient Reference Values for Australia and New Zealand: Macronutrient balance’, https://www.eatforhealth.gov.au/nutrient-reference-values/chronic-disease/macronutrient-balance; accessed 13/03/2025.
3. National Health and Medical Research Council, ‘Australian Dietary Guidelines’, https://www.eatforhealth.gov.au/food-essentials/five-food-groups; accessed 13/03/2025.
4. National Health and Medical Research Council, ‘Grain (cereal) foods’, https://www.eatforhealth.gov.au/food-essentials/five-food-groups/grain-cereal-foods-mostly-wholegrain-and-or-high-cereal-fibre; accessed 13/03/2025.
5. National Health and Medical Research Council, ‘Fruit’, https://www.eatforhealth.gov.au/food-essentials/five-food-groups/fruit; accessed 13/03/2025.
6. National Health and Medical Research Council, ‘Discretionary food and drink choices’, https://www.eatforhealth.gov.au/food-essentials/discretionary-food-and-drink-choices; accessed 13/03/2025.
7. Food Standards Australia New Zealand, 'Determining the amount of added sugars and free sugars in foods listed in the AUSNUT 2011-13 dataset', https://www.foodstandards.gov.au/science-data/monitoringnutrients/ausnut/foodnutrient/Determining-the-amount-of-added-sugars-and-free-sugars-in-foods-listed-in-the-AUSNUT-201113-dataset; accessed 13/03/2025.
8. World Health Organisation, ‘Guideline: sugars intake for adults and children’, https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789241549028; accessed 13/03/2025.
9. National Health and Medical Research Council, ‘Nutrient Reference Values for Australia and New Zealand: Summary’, https://www.eatforhealth.gov.au/nutrient-reference-values/chronic-disease/summary; accessed 13/03/2025.