Cape Town - The Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development’s (DALRRD) directive for producers to stop using meat-like names for nonmeat products was interdicted after objections from the plant-based food sector.
However, the department still believed that these names should be reserved for the sale of actual processed meat products.
What the directive meant was that all products that had names like “burger”, “nugget” and “sausage” on their packaging would have had to be removed from shelves across the country, if not an actual meat product in terms of the Agricultural Product Standards Act, by the Food and Safety Agency from this past Monday onwards.
This directive was met with major push-back from producers and consumers of plant-based foods, resulting in legal efforts headed by the Consumer Goods Council of South Africa (CGCSA) and ProVeg South Africa at the Johannesburg High Court wherein Judge Motsamai Makume temporarily interdicted this seizure.
The department said FSA would hold off any seizure of meat analogue products still using prescribed product names of processed meat products until November 17, as per the court’s judgement.
“Any person who might be aggrieved by the decision or direction of the assignee (FSA) in this respect, is called upon in terms of section 10 of the act to appeal against such a decision or direction,” DALRRD spokesperson Reggie Ngcobo said.
Welcoming the interdict, the CGCSA said it was imperative that all stakeholders worked together to formulate regulations applicable to meat analogue products to ensure that no unauthorised action could be taken against any of its members in the plant-based sector.
ProVeg South Africa director Donovan Will said the issue impacted a broad range of South Africans from different backgrounds, not just higher-end meat analogues and the companies that made them, but also local manufacturers of other vegetarian products like butternut and beetroot burgers that did not even attempt to replicate the taste and texture of meat.
“It also places added risk to the job security of the workers of the companies that make or import these products.
“Lastly, it also impacts consumers from multiple backgrounds,” Will said.
Will hoped that the department would reconsider its stance in order to have formal, industry-wide discussions about new regulations for plant-based products.
