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Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008

Product Labeling RegulationsPresentation to the Portfolio Committee of Trade and Industry by –1.Mr. MacDonald Netshitenzhe (Chief-Director, Policy and Legislation)

2.Mr. Andisa Potwana (Director : Consumer and Competition Law and Policy)

3.Mr. Tshifhiwa Mavhuthugu (Director: Legislative Drafting)

Purpose

To brief the Portfolio Committee on Trade

and Industry on product labelling as outlined

in the Consumer Protection Act (“CPA”) and

its regulations in particular the labelling of

genetically modified organisms

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Background

The measures were introduced to – Make consumers aware of the origins and the content of

goods Promote the consumption of local content and support

“Proudly South African” initiative. Re-introduce the Merchandise Marks Act 1941 ( Act No.

17 of 1941) provisions and notices which were repealed by the CPA.

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Section 24 (4) of the Consumer Protection Act

 Section 24 (4) of the CPA, empowers the Minister to

prescribe –

(a) Categories of goods that are required to have trade descriptions applied to them as contemplated in subsection (5);

(b) the rules to be used in accordance with any international agreement for the purpose of determining the country of origin of any goods or components of any goods; and

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Section 24 (4) of the C P A cont.

(c) the information that is required to be included in any trade description from among the categories of information contemplated in the definition of trade description in section 1.

Section 1 defines a ‘trade description” as –

(a) any description, statement or other direct or indirect indication other than a trade mark, as to -

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Definition of a trade description cont.

(i) the number, quality, measure, weight or gauge of any goods ;

(ii) the name of the producer of any goods;

(iii) the ingredients of which any goods consist, or material of which any goods are made;

(iv) the place or country of origin of any goods;

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Definition of a trade description cont.

(v) the mode of manufacturing or producing any goods; or

(vi) any goods being the subject of any patent, privilege or copyright; or

(b) Any figure, work or mark, other than a trade mark, that, according to the custom of the trade, is commonly understood to an indication of any matter contemplated in paragraph (a).

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Section 24 (5) of the C P A

In terms of section 24 (5) the producer or importer of

any goods that have been prescribed in terms of

subsection (4) must apply a trade description to those

goods, disclosing -

(a) the country of origin of the goods; and

(a) any other prescribed information.

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For purposes of Section 24(5) and Regulation 6 the

importation into or the sale in the Republic of the specified

goods (textile, leather and footwear) is prohibited unless

a

trade description meeting the requirements of Section 22

(plain, simple and understandable language) of the CPA is

applied to such goods in a conspicuous and easily legible

manner stating clearly-

Section 24 (5) of the C P A cont.

• the country in which they were manufactured

or produced (Country of Origin)

• Fibre content

• Care instructions.

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Section 24 (6) of the C P A

Section 24 (6) provides that-

“ Any person who produces, supplies, imports or packages any prescribed goods must display on, or in association with the packaging of those goods, a notice in the prescribed manner and form that discloses the presence of genetically modified ingredients or components of those goods in accordance with applicable regulations”.

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Regulations on labelling of Genetically Modified Organisms

For purposes of Section 24(6) , the Minister promulgated

regulation 7 which applies to all goods approved for

commercialisation by the Executive Council for Genetically

Modified Organisms established by section 3 of the

Genetically Modified Organisms Act,15 of 1997.

Regulations on labelling of Genetically Modified Organisms cont.

Currently, the approved products are- Maize ,

Cotton,

Imported Canola Oil, and

Soya

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What are Genetically Modified Organisms ?

According to the GMO Act –

"genetically modified organism" means an organism the

genes or genetic material of which has been modified in a

way that does not occur naturally through mating or

natural recombination or both, and "genetic modification“

shall have a corresponding meaning”.

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Background on labelling of G M Os

The CPA requires the labelling primarily for purposes of

making consumers aware of what they eat or use as

package or clothing in the case of cotton.

Stakeholders were consulted widely and in all nine

provinces and sometimes repeatedly.

Regulations on labelling of G M O cont.

The team conducted an intensive international

comparative study and benchmarking exercise.

Numerous comments and inputs were studied closely.

A balancing act was conducted to accommodate

interests of all stakeholders.

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Thresholds in G M O labelling

Only where goods, components or ingredients contain less than 1 % GMO material can a producer or importer claim that such a good, component or ingredient does not contain GMO.

If the good, component or ingredient contains less that 5% it may be so labelled.

If the good (good, component or ingredient) contains above 5% it MUST be labelled as containing GMO.

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CONCLUSION

30 months passed between the President’s assent and the effective date of GMO regulations.

Only persons wishing to claim the absence of GMO are really compelled to test.

Parliament upheld the consumer’s right to be informed.

The regulations will not unintentionally introduce barriers to trade and the WTO notice was served and no comments were received.

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THANK YOU!