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Agricultural Product Standards Act, 1990 (Act No. 119 of 1990)

Regulations

Regulations regarding the Classification and Marking of Meat intended for sale in the Republic of South Africa

Marking of Meat

21. Imported and treated meat

 

(1) Each outer container of meat which is imported into the Republic of South Africa shall be marked with the following particulars —
(a) the country of origin of the meat;
(b) the species (e.g. beef, mutton, pork); and
(c) the type of cut, date of packing and net weight of the meat.

 

(2) When imported meat destined for sale in the retail trade is packed in containers, every container shall be marked with the expression "product of followed by the name of the country of origin, or countries of origin separated by and/or.

 

(3) The container of each quantity of imported meat that is sold in the retail trade may only be marked with a corresponding indication of the age class if the carcass of origin has been classified according to these regulations or according to similar classification regulations of the country of origin.

 

(4) The particulars referred to in subregulations (1), (2) and (3) shall be indicated in detached letters —
(a) that are clearly legible; and
(b) of which the vertical height is at least 2 mm.

 

(5) When imported meat destined for sale in the retail trade is displayed individually/loose, the expression "product of", followed by the name of the country, or countries of origin separated by and/or, shall be indicated in clearly legible letters with a vertical height of at least 10 mm on a notice board in the immediate vicinity of such meat.

 

(6) A carcass of a bovine, sheep and goat which is imported into the Republic of South Africa may only be marked with a corresponding indication of the age class and/or fatness class if the carcass has been classified according to these regulations: Provided that—
(a) such indications are applied by means of a roller-mark, as determined by regulations 17, 18 and 19; and
(b) the country of origin be indicated at least twice in the roller-mark.

 

(7) Treated meat shall indicate as part of the product description the chemical solution the meat was subjected to (e.g. "...with brine", "...with brine based mixture", etc.): Provided that —
(a) a maximum of 10% weight gain shall be allowed for quality enhancement purposes;
(b) water on its own shall not be injected;
(c) meat shall not be treated for the sole purpose of increasing the mass of the product; and
(d) the packaging shall clearly indicate the quantitative ingredient declaration as a percentage for the meat and water content on the main panel in bold capital letters at least 3 mm in height as required by the labelling regulations for raw-processed meats under the Foodstuffs, Cosmetics and Disinfectants Act, 1972 (Act No. 54 of 1972).