Foodstuffs, Cosmetics and Disinfectants Act, 1972 (Act No. 54 of 1972)

Regulations

Regulations relating to the Labelling and Advertising of Foodstuffs

16. - 49. Special Provisions
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Seasonal ingredients

 

16.Where, owing to the climatic or seasonal contingencies, it is not possible to comply with a list of ingredients as indicated on the label, the names of ingredients other than the main ingredient that might be present shall appear consecutively but not necessarily in descending order of mass or volume in the list of ingredients, preceded by the expression "and/or".

 

Order of list of ingredients

 

17.Ingredients of a blended, compounded or mixed foodstuff, including mixtures of herbs and spices sold as such and additives, shall be listed on any label in descending order of mass as present in the end product under the heading "Ingredients".

 

18.Subject to regulation 28, added water shall be declared in the list of ingredients in the appropriate order.

 

19.Where an ingoing concentrated or dehydrated ingredient is reconstituted or partially reconstituted for use in the manufacturing of a foodstuff, the ingredient shall be preceded by the appropriate descriptive words such as "reconstituted (name of ingredient) concentrate" or "reconstituted, dried (name of ingredient)" or whatever is applicable, in the list of ingredients.

 

20.Where a foodstuff consists of or contains mixed fruit, nuts or vegetables and no particular fruit, nut or vegetable predominates significantly with respect to mass, those ingredients may be listed in any order of mass if -
(a)in the case of a foodstuff which consists entirely of such mixture, the heading of the list of ingredients includes or is accompanied by the words "in variable proportions" or other words indicating the nature of the order in which the ingredients are listed; and
(b)in the case of a foodstuff, which contains such mixture, that part of the list where the names of the said ingredients appear is accompanied by the words "in variable proportions" or other words indicating the nature of the order in which those ingredients are listed.

 

21.The following ingredients of a foodstuff, may be shown in any order at the end of the list of ingredients:
(a)Herbs or spices not exceeding 2% by mass either singly or in combination
(b)vitamins; and
(c)minerals, subject to regulations 52(6 and 7).

 

Naming of ingredients

 

22.        The name used for an ingredient in a foodstuff in a list of ingredients on any label shall—

(a)be the name used for such ingredient when independently sold as a foodstuff; and
(b)in the case of a microbiological culture, indicated according to its purpose, such as butter culture or cheese culture or yoghurt culture or lactic acid producing culture or starter culture, or whatever the case may be.

 

23.Subject to the provisions of regulations 36 to 42, any additive which is added to or used in a foodstuff to perform the function of one of the categories of ingredients listed in Annexure 1, shall be indicated in the list of ingredients and may be indicated by the name of the category and if an additive is added to or used in a foodstuff to serve more than one such function, it shall be indicated by the name of the category that represents the principal function performed in that foodstuff, provided that flavourings shall be indicated as "flavouring" only and shall not be qualified further by either the word natural, synthetic, artificial or nature-identical or any other similar wordings.

 

24.Pectin-containing foodstuffs such as jelly and fruit jelly containing less than 0,6% added pectin or pectinaceous material and jams containing less than 0,3% of added pectin are exempted from the requirement to declare the presence of thickeners in the list of ingredients provided no other thickeners than pectin were used in the product.

 

25.Names such as "salt" or "sodium chloride", "vinegar" or "acetic acid", "brine", or "syrup" may be used in the list of ingredients.

 

Quantitative Ingredient Declarations (QUID)

 

26.

(1)Where the labelling places special emphasis on the presence of one or more valuable or characterising ingredients, or where the description has the same effect, the ingoing percentage of this ingredient at the time of manufacture, shall be declared—
(a)in accordance with the Guideline 3; and
(b)as the case may be, in parenthesis—
(i)in close  proximity  to  the  words,  illustrations  or  graphics  emphasising a particular ingredient or;
(ii)directly after the name or descriptor of the foodstuff; or
(iii)after each characterising, emphasised ingredient  listed  in the  list of ingredients.

 

(2)Notwithstanding the requirements of  regulation 26(1)(b), the Agricultural Products Standards Act, 1990 (Act No. 119 of 1990) and subject to Regulations 17 and 28(c), raw-processed meat products shall indicate the quantitative ingredient declaration as a percentage for the meat and water content on the main panel in bold capital letters at least 3 mm in height.

 

Compound ingredients

 

27.Subject to regulations 42 to 46, where a compound ingredient, including "milk solids" is used in a foodstuff, the names of the ingoing ingredients, additives and components of the compound ingredient shall be listed in parenthesis in descending order after the name of the compound ingredient in the list of ingredients.

 

Added Water

 

28.        Subject to regulation 18, water that is added as an ingredient of a foodstuff shall be declared in the list of ingredients of such foodstuff unless—

(a)it is used in the manufacturing of the foodstuff solely for the purpose of wetting a dry additive or ingredient; or
(b)it is part of brine or syrup and declared as "brine" or "syrup" in the list of ingredients; and
(c)the water, which is added, does not exceed 5% of the finished product, excluding raw-processed meats.

 

Fats and oils

 

29.        

(1)In  relation  to  fats  and  oils  (single or  in combination)  which  have  been  used  in foodstuffs, and additional to the requirements of Regulations 16 and 27—
(a)the class names of ingoing fats and oils shall be indicated in the list of ingredients as "vegetable", "animal", "fish" or "marine"; provided not only the class names are specified, but each class name is further qualified by an indication of all of its ingoing type(s) of fats and oils, in parenthesis after the class name;
(b)in the case of vegetable fats and oils, the particular part of the plant from which the fat or oil is derived, shall be specified; and
(c)such fats and oils shall be qualified by the term "hydrogenated" when applicable.

 

(2)No oil or oil blend from plant origin shall claim "cold-pressed", "mechanically pressed" or any other words with a similar meaning unless it complies with the requirements as per definition of "cold pressed" in these regulations.

 

Bulk stock

 

30.

(1)Where a foodstuff is sold from bulk stock, such bulk stock container shall be labelled in accordance with all the labelling requirements for individually packed foodstuffs, and the lettering shall be of such a size and so displayed that it is easily legible, unless the contents of the bulk container are individually packed and labelled.

 

(2)In cases where a foodstuff which is sold in bulk other than by retail and which is accompanied by relevant trade documents reflecting all particulars required by these regulations to appear on the label of a pre-packed foodstuff; those foodstuffs need not be labelled with a list of ingredients.

 

Small packages

 

31.The packaging of a pre-packed foodstuff that has a total exterior area of 2000mm 2 or less, including single once-off use 10g or less sized packages of herbs and spices, are exempted from the requirements of labelling, except for the declaration of the name, the address of the manufacturer, an appropriate date, the declaration of common allergens, if applicable and the declaration according to Regulation 49 that the product has undergone irradiation.

 

Storage instructions

 

32.

(1)Subject to the requirements in  Regulation  8, words  that  indicate the  appropriate storage instruction before and after opening, shall appear in bold font, upper-case letters not less than 3,0 mm in height on the label.

 

(2)The manufacturer shall determine the appropriate storage instruction relevant to the nature of the foodstuff, to ensure that any specific quality attributes for which tacit or express claims have been made, are retained and preserved.

 

Food vending machines

 

33.The front of a food vending machine from which any foodstuff is sold shall have a notice indicating the name of the foodstuff, except where such name appears on the label of the foodstuff in such a manner as to be easily visible and legible to a prospective purchaser from the outside of the machine.

 

Pictorial  representation

 

34.The pictorial representation on the label or any advertisement of a foodstuff may not be presented in a manner that is false, misleading or deceptive or is likely to create an erroneous impression regarding the contents of the container or its character, origin, composition, quality, nutritive value, nature or other properties in any respect.

 

Labelling of pre-packed food additives

 

35.The label of any pre-packed food additive or blend of food additives shall—
(a)bear the words "for use in foodstuff' or "for use in food" or "food additive" or "blend of food additives";
(b)in  the  case  of  sulphur  dioxide  compounds,  state  the  maximum  and  minimum percentage of sulphur dioxide the contents will yield;
(c)state its common chemical name where applicable;
(d)in the case of a food colourant or a blend of food colourants, bear the words "food colourant" or "food colouring" or "food colour" and the common chemical name or names as well as the Colour Index Number(s) or INS (International Numbering System) number;
(e)in the case of food additives with a shelf-life not exceeding 18 months, indicate the date of maximum durability using such words as "Use before X", where "X" is the latest recommended date for use; and
(f)when available, indicate the INS number.

 

Indication of food additives

 

36.

(1)All additives shall be indicated in the list of ingredients.

 

(2)Subject to regulations 37 to 40 additives may be indicated by their category names as listed in Annexure 1.

 

(3)Subject to Regulation 8(3) and regulations published  in terms of the Agricultural Products Standards Act, 1990 (Act No. 119 of 1990), where a foodstuff contains a flavouring of an ingredient, but not the real ingredient itself, the words "flavouring" or "flavoured" shall accompany the name or the descriptor of the product to clearly indicate that only a flavouring was used and not the real ingredient itself.

 

37.No person shall sell any foodstuff containing the colourant Tartrazine, also known as E 102 or Yellow No. 5, unless the word "Tartrazine", appears in the list of ingredients.

 

38.

(1)The presence of any preservative shall be indicated on any label by the common chemical name of the preservative, preceded by the word "preservative" and followed by the listed preservatives in parenthesis or, in the case of sodium or potassium nitrite and sodium or potassium nitrate used in shelf stable cured meat products, preceded by the words "curing agent" and followed by the listed curing agents in parenthesis.

 

(2)When the preservative sulphur dioxide or  related  compounds  such  as  sodium sulphite, sodium hydrogen, sulphite (sodium bisulphite), sodium metabisulphite, potassium metabisulphite, calcium sulphite, calcium hydrogen sulphite or calcium bisulphite, is used at a level of less than 10mg per kilogram foodstuff as packed or ready to eat, the preservative sulphur dioxide or related compounds needs not be declared.

 

39.An  anti-oxidant  as  an  additive  shall  be  indicated  by  the  common  chemical  name  or abbreviation as appropriate in the list of ingredients.

 

40.The addition of monosodium glutamate (MSG) shall be indicated in the list of ingredients as monosodium glutamate or the abbreviation MSG followed by the word "flavour enhancer".

 

41.With the exception of preservatives, anti-oxidants, and the colourant Tartrazine, it shall not be necessary to refer in the list of ingredients to any food additive that is present in the foodstuff solely because it was a constituent of an ingredient of such foodstuff: Provided that the food additive does not perform the same technological function in the final foodstuff to which it was added, as it had in the original foodstuff of which it was a constituent.

 

42.Notwithstanding the requirements of regulations 36 to 41, any additive or carrier for an additive, which is derived from or contaminated with a common allergen, shall indicate the origin of the common allergen in parenthesis after the name of the additive in the manner [name of additive (name of a common allergen)].

 

Allergens

 

43.Where a product or its packaging material contains any common allergen, its presence shall be indicated, as the case may be:
(1)
(a)in parenthesis after the name of such ingredient in the list of ingredients, if it is not self evident from the name of the ingredient; and/or
(b)in close  proximity to  the  ingredient  list in a  list or  block with  the  words

"Contains: (allergen(s))".

 

(2)in the case of significant cereals, the name of the specific significant cereal species shall be specified in the name of the ingredient in the list of ingredients with the word "gluten" indicated in parenthesis.

 

Uncommon allergens

 

44.

(1)The presence of uncommon allergens in or on the foodstuff or its packaging material has to be disclosed  by manufacturers upon request by a consumer, inspector or the Department based on the information contained in the Supplier Ingredient Information File provided in Guideline 6 which shall be kept on record.

 

(2)The presence of goat's milk in a foodstuff shall be labelled in the same manner as for common allergens as indicated in regulation 43.

 

Allergen cross contamination

 

45.If there is a risk for cross-contamination of a common allergen in a food processing facility:
(a)due diligence shall be exercised to prevent the occurrence of such contamination and an allergen control policy (ACP) shall be implemented in accordance with the guidelines; and
(b)in the case where  precautionary  labelling  is utilised,  this  shall  not be utilised to circumvent the implementation of GMPs and an effective allergen control policy (ACP); and
(c)in the case where precautionary labelling is utilised, the risk, the manner of assessing the risk, and the steps taken to avoid the risk of allergen cross-contamination, shall be documented.

 

Allergen-related claims

 

46.

(1)Gluten-free and naturally gluten-free
(a)The claim "gluten-free" shall only be permitted on a foodstuff if the foodstuff does not contain any of the following:
(i)an ingredient that is any species of the significant cereals;
(ii)an ingredient that is derived from any of the aforementioned significant cereals and that has not been processed to remove gluten;
(iii)an ingredient that is derived from any of the aforementioned significant cereals which has been processed to remove gluten so that the use of that ingredient results in the presence of more than 20 mg/kg (ppm) gluten in the end product; or
(iv)More than 20 mg/kg gluten,  where the level of gluten is determined by the R5 Mendez Enzyme-Linked lmmunosorbent Assay (ELISA) for gluten (as described in the Guidelines), or other Codex recommended methods.
(b)A cereal which, by its nature, is suitable for use as part of a gluten-free diet, shall not be designated "special dietary'', "special dietetic" or any other equivalent term, but may bear a statement on the label that  "this cereal product is by its nature gluten-free" provided that it complies with Regulation 47(1)(a) and such a statement does not mislead the consumer.

 

(2)        Hypoallergenic, non-allergenic or allergen-free claims

 

No claim shall be made that a foodstuff—

(a)neither a single ingredient foodstuff nor a compound foodstuff, is "hypoallergenic " or "non-allergenic" or similar wording, unless the foodstuff is modified by chemical or genetic means so as to reduce the quantity of endogenous allergens in such a way that it is not possible to detect the presence of any possible allergen with testing suitable for the specific allergen; or
(b)is free from any common or uncommon allergen or similar wording, unless the foodstuff has been tested to confirm the absence of the particular allergen(s), using suitable testing for the specific allergen(s).

 

Misleading descriptions

 

47.

(1)Any word, statement, phrase, logo or  pictorial  representation  which  implies  a message of being healthy or healthier or additive-free or veterinary medicine-free or which indicates the more humane treatment/rearing of food animals, such as, but not limited to, "grain fed", "grassfed", "Karoo lamb", "natural lamb", "country reared", "free range", "pure", "organic", which are linked to specific protocols which are registered with the Department of Agriculture or regulations in terms of the Agricultural Products Standards Act, 1990 (Act 119 of 1990) or National Regulator for Compulsory Specifications Act, 2008 (Act 5 of 2008), will be permitted on the prepackaged labelling and advertising of these products.

 

(2)In the case of foodstuffs that are not regulated in terms of the Agricultural Products Standards Act, 1990 (Act 119 of 1990) or National Regulator for Compulsory Specifications Act, 2008 (Act 5 of 2008), statements to the effect of being "fresh", "natural", "nature's", "pure", "traditional", "original",  "authentic",  "real",  "genuine",   "home  made",  farmhouse",   "hand-made",   "selected", "premium", "finest'', "quality", or "best",or any other any words, statements, phrases, logos or pictorial representations which convey or imply similar concepts, shall be permitted if compliant with the criteria stipulated in Guideline 8.

 

(3)In the case of fish and other marine foodstuffs that are regulated in terms of the National Regulator for Compulsory Specifications Act, 2008 (Act 5 of 2008), the statement "wild" shall not be permitted unless it is qualified as "wild caught".

 

(4)Food products that were frozen and then thawed for subsequent sale—
(a)shall not be labelled "fresh"; and

(b)        shall indicate the words "PREVIOUSLY FROZEN"—

(i)on the label of pre-packaged foodstuffs in bold upper-case letters not less than 3 mm in height; or
(ii)on a poster placed in close vicinity of where the foodstuff is offered for sale, in clear view of and easily legible to the consumer, in black, bold letters of which the size is suitable for easy legibility on a poster, where such foodstuffs are not pre-packaged but exhibited for sale in bulk.

 

Vegetarian claims

 

48.        

(1)Claims that a foodstuff is suitable for vegetarians shall specify  the  category  of vegetarian by adding one or a combination of the following prefixes to the word "vegetarian":
(a)"Lacto (milk)" - means milk and milk products are included but products in which animal rennet is used during preparation are excluded.
(b)"Ovo (egg)" - means unfertilised eggs (preferably free-range) and egg products are included.
(c)"Honey" - means honey is included.
(d)"Strict vegetariam" or "vegan" means ingredients of multicellular plant, fungal, algal and bacterial origin are included but all ingredients and additives derived from animal origin are excluded

 

(2)When a foodstuff is manufactured for the "strict vegetarian" or "vegan" market and a claim in respect of "strict vegetarian" or "vegan" is made on the label and it is not possible to conclude from the name of the ingredient or additive that they are derived from non-vegetarian origin, any additive (refer to Annexure 1) or ingredient (refer to Guideline 9) derived from non-vegetarian origin which is added to the foodstuff shall be declared as "non-vegetarian origin" or in words that specify the source in parenthesis after the name of the additive or ingredient.

 

Irradiation

 

49.

(1)The label of a foodstuff which has been treated with ionizing radiation shall  carry a written statement indicating the treatment in close proximity to the name of the food.

 

(2)The use of the international recognised food irradiation symbol as illustrated by the Codex General Standard for the Labelling of Prepacked Foods, is optional, but when it is used, it shall be in close proximity to the name of the food.

 

(3)When an irradiated foodstuff is used as an ingredient in another foodstuff, this shall be so declared in the list of ingredients.

 

(4)When a single ingredient foodstuff is prepared from a raw material which has been irradiated, the label of the foodstuff shall contain a statement indicating the treatment.