The Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development will abide by an interim order that provides a temporary reprieve from the seizure of plant-based products with meat-related names.
The ruling restricts the department and its designated assignee, Food Safety Agency (FSA), from seizing products deemed to not comply with the Agricultural Product Standards Act.
The assignee will hold off any seizure of thousands of plant-based meat products from retailers across the country for using product terms such as “burger”, “nugget” and “sausage” until November 17.
Weekend Argus previously reported that vegans were concerned that a prior ruling that prohibited companies from using meat-related names on their products would be detrimental for the industry and would cripple smaller businesses
The FSA published a notice on August 16, notifying all affected parties that it would be implementing the seizures from August 22, which triggered the Consumer Goods Council of South Africa to apply for the court interdict.
The court battle followed a directive issued in June to processors, importers and retailers of plant-based meat alternatives, giving them 30 days to remove their products from shelves for relabelling or face seizures.
The department’s spokesperson, Reggie Ngcobo, said they were adamant that the name change was necessary.
“The department accepts the interim order handed down by honourable Judge (Motsamai) Makume in the South Gauteng High Court (on Friday).
“The department is still of the firm legal view that prescribed product names reserved for processed meat products must only be used in connection with the sale of such products provided that concomitant standards and classes are complied with,” said Ngcobo.
ProVeg South Africa director Donovan Will said: “Although we welcome the decision by the court, we would like to reiterate our call for further dialogue as we still believe that this matter should be settled through discussion between the plant-based food industry, the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development and the meat industry.”