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GM labelling issue not clarified

19 Mar 2012

The Consumer Goods Council of South Africa (CGCSA), an industry body representing over 12 000 member companies in retail, wholesale, manufacturing within the FMCG industry, believes it is of great importance that the industry, consumers and consumer bodies have a clear understanding of the events surrounding the Consumer Protection Act (CPA) and its genetically modified (GM) labelling requirements.

Genetic modification has been used in the global forefront for decades and these modifications are essential to assist globally in sustainable food supply. GM products have been used and are approved by the South African government as being safe for human consumption.

In June 2011, CGCSA formally requested clarification on this issue from the National Consumer Commissioner (NCC) to ensure industry compliance with the regulation. Clarity is being sought on whether only the four commodities, maize, cotton, soybean and canola have to be labelled according to the provisions of the regulations or whether labelling is also required where the four commodities are present in product. No formal response has been received and further attempts to clarify this issue have been unsuccessful.

The Consumer Goods Council of South Africa will continue in its efforts to obtain clarity from the NCC to ensure consumers are informed.