Consumer body pushes for unambiguous labels

THE South African National Consumer Union (Sancu) has slammed a loophole in legislation that allows retailers to mislead consumers on the origins of the meat they sell.

A Department of Agriculture regulation allows a retailer to label the country of origin as “and/or”, such as “South Africa and/or Namibia”.

“This just isn’t good enough‚” the union’s vice-chairwoman, Ina Wilken‚ said yesterday.

“We are aware that the container coming in from a foreign country should indicate the country of origin but the consumer does not see the container – what the consumer gets is the repackaged product on the shelf.”

The regulation was applicable to single-ingredient agricultural commodities imported in bulk.

It allowed the retailer leeway on the wording used on the final pre-packaged foodstuff.

“To have an ambiguous indication of origin is unacceptable to consumers for many reasons,” Wilken said.

“It does not support Proudly South African‚ it creates leeway for abattoirs and retailers to mislead the consumers of South Africa, and it creates the illusion that the traceability aspect of the retail chain is not up to standard.”

Sancu has urged the department to amend the rule to ensure accurate labelling for consumers to be able to make an “enlightened choice“when buying pre-packaged meat.

“This is one of our basic rights as consumers and is entrenched in the Consumer Protection Act . . . in the meantime‚ consumers should support those retailers that choose not to use the ‘and/or’ labelling of origin,” Wilken said.