Journal or Publishing Institution: Food Control
Study: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0956713512005841
Author(s): Viljoen, C.D. and Marx, G.M.
Article Type: Peer Reviewed Study
Record ID: 973
Abstract: The South African Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008 was passed into law, which among other things, mandates the labelling of genetically modified (GM) ingredients in packed goods. The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential impact of mandatory GM food labelling in terms of the Consumer Protection Act by determining what products currently on the market would be implicated. A total of 46 food products from different companies was selected and sampled randomly with an emphasis on those containing canola, maize and soybean, since GM varieties for these crops have been approved in South Africa in terms of the Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) Act of 1997. The products were screened for the presence of genetic modification and, if positive, quantified. Genetic modification was detected in 50% of products tested, including seven out of 14 (50%) products labelled to indicate an absence of genetic modification. The results from this study indicate that at a 5% GM labelling threshold, 19 out of the 46 products tested would need to be labelled for their GM content. Of the 14 products labelled to indicate an absence of GM, five exceeded the 1% threshold for non-GM labelling. Many companies are concerned about the cost effectiveness of mandatory labelling. However, the Consumer Protection Act makes a provision for a “may contain” clause that if used relieves the producer of the financial considerations to verify the GM content of a product. Although the Consumer Protection Act does not make any provision for monitoring, consumers or consumer groups have recourse against companies in contravention of the Consumer Protection Act through the provision of the National Consumer Commissioner (NCC).
Keywords: Mandatory, GM labelling, South Africa, Genetically modified, GMO
Citation: Viljoen, C.D. and Marx, G.M., 2013. The implications for mandatory GM labelling under the Consumer Protection Act in South Africa. Food Control, 31(2), pp.387-391.
