South Africans have long struggled with confusing “nutritional information tables” on food packaging.
Health advocates say it allows big food brands to exploit a lack of consumer knowledge by slapping misleading claims like “high in vitamins” onto products secretly packed with sugar or salt. This deceptive marketing has fueled a massive health crisis, driving up rates of obesity, diabetes, and hypertension across Mzansi.
As a result, the department of health has updated regulations on the labelling and advertising of foodstuffs and has drafted Regulation R3337. It will include mandatory front-of-package warning labels (FOPWL) on all unhealthy food products and new marketing restrictions for foods carrying these labels.
According to the Healthy Living Alliance (Heala), all foods and beverages that have added salt, sugar or saturated fat and fall within “high in” thresholds or contain any non-sugar sweetener will have an FOPWL on them.
Addressing the health crisis
It is long overdue for South Africa to address this health crisis, which has documented such high rates of lifestyle diseases like diabetes, high blood pressure and obesity, says Mlise Maxongo from Worcester in the Western Cape.
As a food justice advocate, Maxongo feels that the failure started in vulnerable community schools, where scientific terms were never explained in a way that a black child could understand.
“For example, these nutritional information tables are written in scientific terms, with grams we don’t understand,” Maxongo explains.
“Who is going to count grams before adding sugar to food when they were never exposed to that kind of education from a young age?”
Maxongo says agroprocessors should explain package labels in simple language.
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Department of health explains R3337
The national department of health says the proposed new regulations are a necessary step to protect vulnerable citizens and ensure transparency.
Department spokesperson Foster Mohale clarifies that the front-of-pack label warnings are “an attempt to increase consumer awareness around foods that have negative nutrients known to predispose, especially vulnerable children, to diseases such as obesity, diabetes and heart disease”.
Responding to industry concerns regarding the financial strain and a “regulatory storm”, Mohale points out that these costs have not been made public or included in public consultations.
He notes that labelling changes are already part of normal business operations. “The industry continually develops new labels due to a number of reasons such as new or updated recipes, processes, sizes, as well as for marketing purposes and not just when regulatory changes mandate this.”
Furthermore, the department highlights that voluntary measures have failed in the past. According to Mohale, the industry committed to reformulation targets back in 2010, “but were unable to achieve these except in one sector.” Because of this, the government had to step in and mandate the changes.
Mohale explains that the regulations will only apply to processed, pre-packaged foods.
Instead of causing economic strain, he believes R3337 will open new doors on the ground. “We consider that it is unlikely to affect the agricultural sector as it will diversify the types of agricultural crops used and strengthen the demand and possibly cheaper locally grown, fresher produce or alternative ingredients.”
While the department works to finalise the massive volume of public feedback before officially gazetting the next iteration of the regulations, Mohale says the food industry will not be left in the dark.
Once the final law is officially signed, food producers will be granted a 24-month grace period to comply, giving local agroprocessors a two-year transition window to reformulate their recipes and roll out their new packaging smoothly.
Are local agro-processors ready for Regulation R3337?
Agripreneur Tshego Mputle, the founder of TshegoM Creations from North West, says, “I’ve reviewed Regulation R3337 and the proposed warning labels in full. I support the health intent, as consumers deserve transparency about what they eat.”
Mputle believes that understanding and applying these rules early will benefit agroprocessors and consumers.
She adds that it pushes businesses toward cleaner formulations and better labelling, which builds consumer trust and helps local brands compete in export markets where transparency is already standard.
“The main challenge for SMEs is cost, as packaging redesigns and reformulation aren’t cheap. However, with clear guidance and a realistic transition period from the government, I think R3337 will strengthen the sector in the long term.”
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