NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
WRITTEN REPLY
QUESTION 1613
DATE OF PUBLICATION: FRIDAY 17 JUNE 2011 [IQP No 17 -2011] SECOND SESSION,
FOURTH PARLIAMENT
Question 1613 for written reply, National Assembly: Mrs S.V. Kalyan (DA)
to ask the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries:
1) Whether any trials and/or tests were conducted on a certain product
(name furnished), which is sold as cheese, before it was made
available to the public; if not, why not; if so, what are the
relevant details of such trials and/or tests;
2) (a) which authority authorised the trading license of this product
and (b) how is the term cheese allowed to be used for non bovine
products? NW1816E
REPLY:
1. The Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) is
responsible for the "Regulations relating to dairy products and
imitation dairy products" published by Government Notice No. R.
2581 of 20 November 1987, as amended, published in terms of the
Agricultural Product Standards Act, 1990 (Act No, 119 of 1990).
These regulations have quality standards that manufacturers have to
adhere to before products are marketed. The DAFF officials visited
the company in January 2011 based on reports received on the
operations of the company. During the visit, the officials from the
DAFF explained the requirements in terms of the prescripts of the
Agricultural Products Standards Act, 1990. The DAFF forwarded a
copy of the Regulation R.2581 to the company in February 2011. The
company then produced labels for the products that were produced
and these were shared with the DAFF and were rejected by the DAFF
in March 2011 as these did not comply with the labeling
requirements in terms of Regulation R. 2581. The company was
advised by the DAFF to rectify the deviations from labeling
requirements observed on the labels submitted. The company then
requested for a dispensation to deviate from the prescribed
labeling requirement by using the word âManufacturedâ instead of
âImitationâ to precede the word âcheeseâ on their labels. The DAFF
rejected this request for such a dispensation in April 2011. The
DAFF is intending on taking legal action against the company and is
still exploring options regarding this case.
2. (a) Which authority authorized trading license?
The Agricultural Products Standards Act, 1990 does not carry any
provision that prescribes the authorisation of trading licenses.
    (b) How is the term cheese allowed to be used on a non-bovine
product?
The Regulations relating to dairy products and imitation dairy
products, R2581 of 20 November 1987 makes provision for three
categories of products depending on the percentage content of dairy in
their ingredient list, namely Primary Dairy Products, Modified Dairy
Products and Imitation Dairy Products. Non-bovine products may be
labeled as imitation dairy products.
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