South Africa to make changes to food labelling | East Coast Radio

South Africa to make changes to food labelling

The Department of Health is set to change up the way food is labelled in Mzansi.

Big changes for chips, cereals, sodas and other popular snack foods in South Africa.
The Department of Health has taken another step towards making sweeping changes to food labelling in South Africa, including warnings signs on unhealthy foods. Image: Unsplash

Unhealthy foods are really damaging to our bodies.

So the government has decided to make some changes in order to improve our food choices.

Read more: eThekwini targets ‘dirty, unhealthy’ food outlets in Pinetown CBD

According to Business Tech, the Department of Health has taken a step towards making sweeping changes to food labelling in South Africa. This includes warnings signs on unhealthy foods.

The proposed changes would reinforce many rules already in place for product packaging in South Africa. 

This would include things such as ingredient lists and sell-by dates, but also introduce a host of changes for more modern changes in food advertising.

The department wants mandatory front-of-package labelling (FOPL) to be present on any pre-packaged foodstuffs.
Image: Business Tech

According to the department, the Foodstuffs, Cosmetics and Disinfectants Act - which was gazetted on 14 April 2023 - proposes changes to reinforce product packaging in South Africa.

Read more: DA: Several issues behind KZN feeding scheme debacle

As part of the changes, the department wants food items that are high in sugar and fat content to come with large warning labels.

A mandatory front-of-package labelling (FOPL) would need to be present on any pre-packaged foodstuffs. 

Some of the examples of these foodstuffs would be saturated fat, added sugar, and added sodium - and when they exceed recommended amounts.

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Main image attribution: Unsplash

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