Meeting South African labelling requirements

To comply to South African labelling requirements, the following information must appear on the product:

• Brand name
• Product name
• Manufacturer or packer or distributor name and street address
• A statement of origin “Product of (Country of origin)” if all ingredients are from that country or “Produced in (Country of origin)” if ingredients are from a different country than the country where the products were manufactured.
• Manufacture and expiry date
• Batch number
• Product size or weight
• List of ingredients with the word ‘Ingredients:’ at the start of the list.
• The names of any preservatives or colourants used. Both the name and the number can be used, but the number is not compulsory.

Other requirements:

• If a nutritional claim is made such as ‘enriched with vitamins’ then the label must contain a nutritional table. The table must give the quantity of nutrients per serving or per the size of the container. All quantities must be given in Standard International (SI) units.
• Label must be in English.
• Any product with healing or medical claims needs to be registered at the Medical control council (MCC).
• Any product with slimming or muscle enhancement claims needs to be registered at the MCC.
• Labels may not make claims that could be misleading to the consumer.
• Products may not contain any banned ingredients such as hydroquinone (used for skin lightening).