Plant-based products with meat-related names could soon disappear from supermarkets in South Africa
Plant-based meat products could be removed from South African supermarkets very soon.
As reported by Times Live, the state’s Food Safety Agency (FSA) will seize products labeled with processed meat-related names, like meatballs, sausages, biltong, and so on, from next Monday (August 22).
The FSA is acting on behalf of the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform, and Rural Development. The latter passed a ban on plant-based brands using meat-related terms earlier this year.
However, Fry Family Food (known widely as Fry’s) launched an objection to the ban in July. The brand is the country’s largest plant-based producer.
It maintains that, because of the objection, its products cannot be confiscated.
The brand argued that the department would instead have to “convene a tribunal to evaluate our objection.”
A formal objection to the ban
The LIVEKINDLY Collective owns Fry’s. It released a statement that reads: “In response to the direction issued to Fry’s in early July, LIVEKINDLY Collective Africa (on behalf of Fry’s) lodged a formal objection.”
“We followed the procedure set out in the Agricultural Products Standards Act which required we lodge the objection within 10 days of receiving the direction.”
It added that, according to the Act, the department had to convene a tribunal to evaluate the objection. The Collective continued: “No legal action, including product seizures, can be taken against Fry’s or LIVEKINDLY Collective Africa in terms of (the) FSA’s direction until that process had been completed.”
“It is therefore business as usual for all our brands, products, and customers until our objection has been finalized. To ensure that this is the case, today we will also send a formal reminder to the assignee that any action against our products would be premature and unlawful.”
Other plant-based companies, however, could still see their products seized on Monday.
A letter outlining the FSA’s plan to confiscate the products, which is dated August 16, said that, under the Agricultural Product Standards Act, the agency will seize plant-based foods which use names “prescribed” for processed meats.
The Consumer Goods Council of South Africa (CGCSA) said that it was “aware of the directive issued by the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform, and Rural Development” to “seize meat analogue products using product names prescribed for processed meat products.”
It added that meat analogues are not currently covered by current legislation. They are “also excluded from the scope of processed meat regulations.”
South African-based Garth Tavares, known as Cape Town Vegan, told Plant Based News that the decision to seize the vegan meat feels like a “witch-hunt against the plant-based and vegan sectors.”
He added: “I have absolute faith in the vegan community and their ability to stand up to the meat and dairy ‘giants’. Seeing how deeply this will affect an already decimated economy is incredibly shortsighted.”
The rise of plant-based meat
Vegan meat substitutes have seen a staggering rise in popularity over the last few years.
Globally, total consumption grew from 133 million kilograms in 2013 to 470 million kilograms in 2020.
Many meat producers maintain that labeling these products with “meat” terms is confusing for consumers. But plant-based brands state the opposite.
Fry’s marketing director Tammy Fry said earlier this year: “Our product descriptions play an important role in helping our consumers understand how to use our products.”
Plant-based meat is widely acknowledged by experts as more sustainable than its animal-based counterpart. A recent University of Oxford study of 57,000 food products, for example, suggested that veggie sausages and burgers are up to 10 times better for the planet than meat.
Animal agriculture drives deforestation. Plus according to the United Nations, it is responsible for 14.5 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions.
The campaign against plant-based meat labels
South Africa isn’t the first place to attempt to crack down on plant-based meat.
In 2020, the EU ruled that plant-based companies could label their products with terms like “burger” or “sausage.” This was after some animal agriculturists and meat producers brought forth a measure aiming to ban them from doing so.
In November of last year, Spain rejected proposals to ban such labels after a campaign from a far-right group.
Like South Africa, France also voted to ban plant-based brands from using “meat” words earlier this year. However, the ban was temporarily overturned by the country’s highest court.
