South Africa’s Food Safety Agency will start taking mock meat products off South African shelves from next week.
A representative of the Food Safety Agency confirmed to Food For Mzansi that it had sent a letter to industry stakeholders, dated 16 August 2022, in which it says it will start seizures of imitation meat products on Monday, 22 August 2022. The agency is assigned by government to inspect and ensure food standards and safety across the country.
Its latest letter follows a notice from South Africa’s department of agriculture, land reform and rural development in June this year that it would prohibit companies from using product names prescribed for processed meat products, in terms of section 8 of the Agricultural Product Standards Act 119 of 1990, in the marketing of plant-based foods.
Any of these products can now be seized from any point of sale in South Africa.
Furore broke out in June
In an earlier article published by Food For Mzansi, departmental spokesperson Reggie Ngcobo said that the ban on meat analogues – meat substitutes, mock meat, faux meat or imitation meat – was to shield consumers from substandard or misleading products. He responded to a furore that had broken out among plant-based food producers about the government’s planned clampdown.
The controversy extends to names such as vegan or veggie biltong, mushroom biltong, plant-based meatballs, vegan nuggets, vegan BBQ ribs, plant-based bratwurst chorizo, red pepper vegetarian sausages and plant-based chicken-style strips, which have now all been banned.
“The ultimate objective of the regulations is to ensure that there is fair trade practices by ensuring that producers, manufacturers, importers and sellers of processed meat products adhere to the same applicable minimum standards,” Ngcobo told Food For Mzansi.
“It’s also to ensure that consumers are protected against the sale of substandard products or misleading products that may purport to be genuine processed meat products as to the nature, substance, quality or other properties.”
Anyone who needs to contact the agency about seizures can contact Palesa Mpana, manager for processsed meat products or Nicole Bergh, manager for compliance at the Food Safety Agency.
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