It turns out that British food isn't that terrible, after all. A global survey has found that when it comes to having the healthiest packaged foods and drinks, the UK tops the charts, with the United States in second place and Australia coming in third.

The George Institute for Global Health analyzed more than 400,000 food and drink products from 12 countries and territories around the world. The survey highlights the high levels of sugar, saturated fat, salt, and calories/kJ in many of our favorite food items.

The countries were ranked using Australia's Health Star Rating system— which measures the levels of the nutrients such as energy, salt, sugar, and saturated fat, as well as protein, calcium, and fibee and assigns a star rating from ½ (least healthy) to 5 (the most healthy).

It found that the UK had the highest average Health Star Rating of 2.83, followed by the United States at 2.82, and Australia at 2.81. India got the lowest rating of just 2.27 followed by China at 2.43 with Chile coming in third from bottom at 2.44. The results were published in Obesity Reviews.

Lead author Dr. Elizabeth Dunford said the results were concerning because packaged foods and drinks are driving a double burden of diet-related diseases in many low- and middle-income countries.

"Globally we're all eating more and more processed foods and that's a concern because our supermarkets' shelves are full of products that are high in bad fats, sugar, and salt and are potentially making us sick. Our results show that some countries are doing a much better job than others. Unfortunately it's the poorer nations that are least able to address the adverse health consequences that have the unhealthiest foods."

Key results

• China's drinks were some of the healthiest in the survey with an average Health Star Rating of 2.9, but packaged foods scored low at just 2.39
• South Africa, on the other hand, scored low with its drinks at an average 1.92 Health Star Rating while its foods came in at 2.87
• Canada topped the list for unhealthy salt levels in foods and drinks with an average of 291 mg/100 g of sodium, with the United States coming in second at 279 mg/100 g.
• The UK scored best for sugar at just 3.8 grams per 100 g, with Canada second best at 4.6 grams per 100 g
• China's packaged foods and beverages had the most harmful levels of saturated fat. They also scored worst for average sugar levels at 8.5 grams per 100 g (more than twice the UK's average)—with India in second place at 7.3 grams per 100 g
• India's packaged foods and drinks were the most energy dense (kilojoule content 1515 kJ/100 g) and South African products were the least energy dense at an average of just 1044 kJ/100 g

Co-author, professor Bruce Neal, acting executive director of The George Institute, Australia, said with packaged foods progressively dominating the world's food supply there was real cause for concern.

"Billions of people are now exposed to very unhealthy foods on a daily basis. The obesity crisis is just the first ripple of a tsunami of dietary ill health that is coming for us. We have to find a way that the food industry can profit from selling rational quantities of quality food, rather than deluging us with unhealthy junk. There are few greater priorities for human health.''

The report notes that many of the world's major food and drink manufacturers have signed up to the International Food and Beverage Alliance and made pledges to reduce levels of salt, sugar, and harmful fat and that these findings could provide an impetus for companies to improve the healthiness of their product ranges.