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Put warning labels on unhealthy packaged food

Put Warning Labels on unhealthy packaged food

Why is this important?

Many of us don’t realise that some food products we buy threaten our health [1]. Some big businesses are making a lot of money selling us products with a lot of sugar, salt, fats and added sweeteners. We are seeing more and more people in our communities suffering from diseases like type-2 diabetes and high blood pressure that can lead to stroke or heart disease [2]. The good news is that the government is listening to public health experts and considering regulations that would force businesses to put warning labels on their unhealthy products [3]. This will help us to identify unhealthy foods.

We only have until the 21 September 2023 to send in enough public comments to show the health department that we support warning labels on all unhealthy food and regulating advertising aimed at children and misleading health claims.

Click here to support the regulation
Click here to support the regulation. 
  • Why is this important?

    Many of us don’t realise that some food products we buy threaten our health [1]. Some big businesses are making a lot of money selling us products with a lot of sugar, salt, fats and added sweeteners. We are seeing more and more people in our communities suffering from diseases like type-2 diabetes and high blood pressure that can lead to stroke or heart disease [2]. The good news is that the government is listening to public health experts and considering regulations that would force businesses to put warning labels on their unhealthy products [3]. This will help us to identify unhealthy foods.

    We only have until the 21st of September 2023 to send in enough public comments to show the health department that we support warning labels on all unhealthy food and regulating advertising aimed at children and misleading health claims.

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South Africa needs front-of-package warning labels (FoPL) to help consumers make better choices and live healthier lives.

Put a warning on

If the product contains excessive amounts of total sugar, total sodium, total saturated fat, and/or non-sugar sweeteners, it must receive a FoPL. Each symbol on the package will correspond to the excessive nutrient making it easy to understand.

If it has a FoPL label the product cannot:

Be marketed to children, carry a health or nutrition claim, carry an endorsement logo

Benefits of FoPL

Front-of-package warning labels on foods will provide consumers with a quick and easy way to understand what is in their food – helping them make healthier food choices by avoiding these unhealthy food products.  

Industry specialist discussing the need for warning labels.

Joanne Joseph (Moderator – Business Day), Makoma Bopape (Lecturer: Department of Human Nutrition and Dietetics at the University of Limpopo), Petronell Kruger (Researcher: SAMRC/ Wits Centre for Health Economics and Decision Science (Priceless SA)), Mikateko Mafuveka (Researcher SAMRC/ Wits Centre for Health Economics and Decision Science (Priceless SA)), Angelika Grimbeek (Policy and Research Manager HFALA) Video recorded by BusinessLIVE. Hosted by Arena Events.
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