The regulation proposes that mandatory front-of-package warning labels are put on all unhealthy food products.The Healthy Living Alliance and Treatment Action Campaign have embarked on an awareness programme about the draft regulation on the labelling and marketing of foodstuff.
The civil society organisations said the draft regulation aligned with World Health Organisation recommendations for a healthy diet, which included limiting saturated fat consumption as well as daily salt and free or added sugar intake.According to the WHO, consumption of saturated fats, salt and sugar could lead to people being overweight or obese.
Speaking to News 24, HEALA's spokesperson, Zukiswa Zimela, said they were trying to get the public to support the regulation, adding South Africans have no idea what was in the food they consumed.The communities we have engaged with in the Ilembe District Municipality in KwaZulu-Natal, Kanyamanze in Mpumalanga and Vhembe District Municipality in Limpopo are calling for easy-to-understand warning labels on their food. Many don't realise that some food products we buy threaten our health.
"Understanding what is in the food we eat can be challenging. The nutrition labels on the back of food packaging are confusing and difficult to understand."