Agricultural Product Standards Act, 1990 (Act No. 119 of 1990)Regulations2025 RegulationsRegulations relating to Meat Analogues intended for sale in the Republic of South Africa - effective 18 July 2026Part I: Definitions, Scope and Restrictions1. Definitions |
Any word or expression in these regulations to which a meaning has been assigned in the Act shall have that meaning, and unless the context otherwise indicates—
means a physical address and includes the street or road number or name and the name of the town, village or suburb and, in the case of a farm, the name or number of the farm and of the magisterial district in which it is situated;
means non-animal ingredients derived from algae, including microalgae and macroalgae, that are cultivated and processed to replicate the taste, texture, or nutritional properties of animal-derived products prepared for human consumption;
means a person, undertaking, body, institution, association or board designated under section 2(3)(a) of the Act;
means non-animal ingredients derived from microbial fermentation processes involving bacteria, designed to replicate the taste, texture, or nutritional properties of animal-derived products prepared for human consumption;
means a definite quantity of meat analogues produced essentially under the same conditions and which do not exceed 24 hours;
means in the immediate vicinity of or nearest/ closest/ next to, and which shall not be interrupted or separated by for example any wording, symbols, figures, lines, depictions, etc.;
means the immediate packaging manufactured from any suitable material in which a meat analogue is presented for sale, and includes wrappers, gift packs and hamper packs when such is offered to the consumer;
means a name which describes the meat analogue and, if necessary, its use, and which is sufficiently clear to enable consumers to determine its true nature and distinguish it from other products which it might be confused with;
means the name as defined in the regulations relating to the protection of geographical indications and designation of origin used on agricultural products intended for sale in the Republic of South Africa published under the Act;
means the European Union and Southern African Development Community Economic Partnership Agreement signed on 10 June 2016 between the member states of the European Union and the Southern African Development Community region of which the Republic of South Africa forms part;
means the officer designated under section 2(1) of the Act;
means a permitted substance as defined in the regulations published under the Foodstuffs, Cosmetics and Disinfectants Act, 1972 (Act No. 54 of 1972);
means a foodstuff as defined in the Foodstuffs, Cosmetics and Disinfectants Act, 1972 (Act No. 54 of 1972);
means any non-food substance not intentionally incorporated into meat analogues which may include but is not limited to metal, plastic, glass, wood or other extraneous matter introduced during production, processing, packaging or distribution but excludes the presence of food additives and/ or foodstuffs intentionally incorporated in a meat analogue;
means non-animal ingredients derived from any edible part of organisms in the kingdom of fungi, including the fruiting body or other edible parts of mushrooms, mycelium (the vegetative part of the fungus), or fungal fermentation processes designed to replicate the taste, texture or nutritional properties of animal-derived products prepared for human consumption;
"geographical indication"
(GI) means the name as defined in the regulations relating to the protection of geographical indications and designation of origin used on agricultural products intended for sale in the Republic of South Africa published under the Act;
means the leafy, seed or flowering parts of a plant used for, amongst others, flavouring and culinary purposes and could be fresh, dried or the extract thereof;
means an officer under the control of the Executive Officer, or an assignee or an employee of an assignee;
means any tag, brand, mark, pictorial, graphic or other descriptive matter, which is written, printed, stencilled, marked, embossed, impressed upon, or permanently attached to a container of a meat analogue, and includes labelling for the purpose of promoting its sale;
also means figures and symbols;
means the ingredient(s) in a foodstuff which by weight or volume, whatever is applicable, contributes the highest percentage mass, excluding water;
means that part(s) of the container, outer container or label that bears the brand name or trade mark of the product in greatest prominence, or any other part of the container, outer container or label that bears the brand or trade name in equal prominence;
means any establishment which processes or prepares or produces meat analogues;
means the clean, sound and wholesome skeletal musculature and fatty tissue of any animal species, including bird or wild game species, used as a foodstuff, together with any connective tissue, residual/intrinsic blood, bone, fat and cartilage that occurs naturally in the skeletal musculature of the dressed carcass and head, excluding the musculature of the lips, snout, scalp and ears;
(also known as meat substitute or imitation meat) means a product that—
| (a) | subject to regulation 4(1)(d), is made from non-animal ingredients (e.g., plant-based, algae-based, bacterial-based, mushroom-based and/or fungi-based) and is available in different forms (e.g., coarse ground, emulsified and loose fill); |
| (b) | approximates the sensory qualities (primary texture and flavour) and/or nutritional or chemical characteristics of a specific type of meat product and/or in general appearance, presentation and intended use corresponds to meat or a product made from meat; and |
| (c) | may be presented for sale in an ambient, chilled or frozen state; |
means non-animal ingredients derived primarily from the fruiting body or other edible parts of mushrooms (organisms in the kingdom Fungi) designed to replicated the taste, texture or nutritional properties of animal-derived products prepared for human consumption;
means a carton or any other suitable packaging in which more than one container of meat analogues are packed, irrespective whether it completely or partially encloses the containers, (but excludes any type of open outer container in which the products are transported [e.g. crates, etc.]);
means—
| (a) | a person or establishment dealing in the course of trade with meat analogues by packing such products for sale; or |
| (b) | a person or entity on behalf of whom the meat analogues have been packed for sale; |
means non-animal ingredients derived from the fruiting body or other edible parts of plants (organisms in the kingdom Plantae), designed to replicate the taste, texture or nutritional properties of animal-derived products prepared for human consumption;
means the name of the agricultural product prescribed by regulations under the Act;
means the combination of the prescribed name and descriptive name for a meat analogue as specified in regulation 7;
means a substance as defined in the regulations published under the Foodstuffs, Cosmetics and Disinfectants Act, 1972 (Act No. 54 of 1972);
means a label that is printed by an electronic (weighing machine) mainly for the purpose of indicating the weight and price of the product, but which may also include other information about the product concerning such as e.g. abbreviated description of the product or/and date marking;
means dried, pungent or aromatic substances of edible plant origin (i.e. from the fruit, root, stem, bulb, bark or seeds) primarily used for flavouring, colouring or preserving of foodstuffs;
means the Agricultural Product Standards Act, 1990 (Act No. 119 of 1990);
means a trade mark as defined in the Trade Marks Act, 1993 (Act No. 194 of 1993); and
in relation to containers and outer containers, means that an area of at least a 25 percent continuous portion of the main panel or back panel, or across any two adjacent panels, of a container or outer container is transparent;