Foodstuffs have featured again in parliament in the last few months with some new regulations and proposed changes coming under the pen of Minister Motsoaledi.
How low can you go?
The reduction in sodium regulation R214 of 20 March 2013 got s small “nip and tuck” in October with some new definitions and dates of enforcement for further incremental reductions to the levels of sodium permitted. You have just over 2 years to reformulate recipes to further reduce the amounts of sodium…without being bland of course. Reda the fine print, in some cases the amount is HALVED. Interestingly the comments from industry have also been published.’
International antibiotic law
An amendment to the regulations governing the maximum limits for veterinary medicine and stock remedy residues that may be present in foodstuffs means that you know have to consult Codex for the maximum permissible levels of veterinary medicines in all imported foods.
http://www.fao.org/fao-who-codexalimentarius/standards/vetdrugs/en/
This international list only applies to imported food and you still need to consult our local legislation for domestic foodstuffs. If no level is given for a treatment there is a default lower limit of 0.01mg/kg.
Inported foods can also comply with the EU requirements but be warned - you will need to scan two decades of regulations to be sure.
https://ec.europa.eu/health/veterinary-use/maximum-residue-limits/regulations_en
Pesky pesticides
Please note that there is a proposed amendment to the pesticide regulations (Government Notice No. R. 246 of 11 February 1994, as corrected by Government Notice No. R. 1148 of 26 August 1994 and amended by the Government Notices No. R. 494 of 8 June 2001, No. R. 525 of 3 May 2002, No. R. 247 of 24 March 2005, No. R. 1047 of 20 October 2006, No. R. 548 of 17 June 2010 and No. R. 46 of 19 January 2012.). Some suggested housekeeping, consolidation and prohibitions based on last year’s promulgated changes. Should see this one before Christmas.
