Reprieve for plant-based products in South Africa as ProVeg lawyers stop authorities seizing goods

22 Aug 2022 --- Today would have seen tens of thousands of plant-based products seized from retailers in South Africa if they contained now-banned meat-related words and phrases like “meatballs,” “burgers” and “nuggets.” But ProVeg lawyers stepped in to win a reprieve for plant-based producers.

The legal battle in Johannesburg High Court is not over yet, explains Donovan Will, country director of ProVeg South Africa, as the organization battles in the courts to push for a long-term solution.

However, the emergency legal efforts over the weekend have prevented the Food Safety Agency (FSA) from actioning the seizure of meat alternatives from retailers across the country.

“ProVeg South Africa is meeting with our legal council at Lawtons Africa tomorrow (23 August) to discuss all of the potential next steps. This matter is very complicated and new territory for our organization, but ProVeg and all our stakeholders will be looking at all potential legal remedies to ensure that anything possible is done to ensure that products are not seized,” Donovan tells FoodIngredientsFirst.

ProVeg South Africa is urging the authorities to stop the threat of seizures and start the process of drafting new and appropriate regulations.“ProVeg South Africa would like the Department of Agriculture to make good on their call for new regulations. Last year there was a request for comment on whether there should be new and specific regulations for meat analog products,” Donovan continues.

“ProVeg and many other stakeholders in the plant-based meat industry said yes. In fact, 87% of those contacted by the department agreed to the development of new regulations.”

However, nothing followed from these conversations. So ProVeg South Africa is urging the authorities to stop the threat of seizures and start the process of drafting new and appropriate regulations.

South African authorities did warn back in June that they would be moving swiftly to remove any product that breached the ban and carried a “misleading label.”

What will happen to products if they are seized?
This ruling prohibits the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD) and its designated assignee, FSA, from seizing any plant-based meat alternatives they deemed to be in breach of Regulation 1283 of the Agricultural Product Standards Act 199 of 1990, “the APS Act.”

However, ProVeg is still waiting for the Judge’s final and full decision.

This means that plant-based products on the shelves with labeling that includes meat-based words and phrases are still at risk of being seized.

“Many of the products would likely be destroyed as the cost to repackage them is incredibly high and in some cases not feasible,” Donovan continues. 

ProVeg argues that the directive, if implemented, would have a devastating effect on industry and consumers.“There are some brands that are able to just change the packaging. For example, On The Green Side’s product comes in a plastic container with a slip-over cardboard sleeve. The sleeve can be removed and replaced, but this is not the case for the vast majority of products, and chances are that they would be destroyed.”

“Although we welcome the decision by the court, we would like to reiterate our call for further dialogue as we still believe that this matter should be settled through discussion between the plant-based food industry, DALLRD and the meat industry,” Donovan adds.

“We are still in discussion with our legal counsel at Lawtons Africa on the best way forward as there are multiple avenues we could take,” he concludes. 

Background to the ban 
This matter follows a June directive from DALRRD to processors, importers and retailers of plant-based meat alternatives, giving them only 30 business days to remove their products from shelves for relabelling or face seizures.

According to the regulation, the FSA is the designated assignee in charge of product seizures in terms of section 8 (“Seizures”) of the APS Act.

ProVeg South Africa and numerous businesses sought multiple industry-wide discussions with DALRRD and the FSA to halt seizures and develop new and appropriate legislation for plant-based meat alternatives.

“Unfortunately, industry-wide discussions have not been possible, and all diplomatic efforts by the plant-based food industry have not led to amenable results,” stresses ProVeg.

The Agricultural Product Standards Act encompassed the classification, packing and marking of processed meat products in South Africa and was promulgated in 2019.

ProVeg argues that when these regulations were promulgated, it was decided that plant-based meat alternatives (also referred to as meat analog or meat analog products) were to be excluded and would be dealt with differently than processed meats. 

Section 2(2)(c) of the regulation specifically states that “[t]hese regulations shall not apply to . . . (c) Meat analog products or non-meat based products that in general appearance, presentation and intended use correspond to processed meat products (e.g., vegan or vegetarian type processed products).’’

“Therefore, plant-based meat alternatives are not currently covered by legislation and are also excluded from the scope of the processed meat regulations,” argues ProVeg.

ProVeg cites potential job losses as various companies may have to cut their workforce to account for the unforeseen costs of having to change their labels.In April, DALRRD issued a directive indicating that its executive officer would commence with “the development of new regulation for meat analog products.” This followed engagements with various stakeholders.

After that last communication, no further information was shared, according to ProVeg, and this process has not started despite the eagerness of businesses and organizations in the plant-based meat alternative sector to formulate new regulations.

Impact on the plant-based industry
ProVeg breaks down the directive that, if implemented, will have “a devastating effect on industry and consumers.” 

It means the labels which are currently in the market and/or already paid for production processes will have to change, and the costs involved in that change will impact suppliers and ultimately consumers, who are struggling in a post-COVID-19 environment, rising fuel costs, food price hikes and so on.

ProVeg also cites potential job losses – various companies may have to reduce their workforce to cope with the abrupt and unforeseen costs of having to change labels.

It also says that the decision to seize products using names such as “Plant-based Bratwurst,” “Mushroom Biltong” and “Vegan Nuggets” may result in consumers and the public losing trust in the quality of meat analog due to unexplained label changes.

By Gaynor Selby