Agricultural Product Standards Act, 1990 (Act No. 119 of 1990)RegulationsClassification, Packing and Marking of Dairy Products and Imitation Dairy Products intended for sale in the Republic of South AfricaPart IV : Marking Requirements26. Marking of containers and outer containers |
| (1) | Except where specifically prescribed, all other marking requirements as specified by these regulations shall be clearly legible and be indicated at least in English, in a letter or figure size of at least 1mm for lower case vowels. |
| (2) | The container of a dairy product or an imitation dairy product shall be marked with the following particulars: |
| (a) | The class designation and, where applicable, the additions to the class designation, as specified in regulations 27 and 28 respectively, in letters of the same type, size, colour and font, prominently on at least one main panel in a letter size of at least 2mm for lower case vowels: Provided that— |
| (i) | the following particulars may be indicated in one different colour only: |
| (aa) | The fat class (e.g. "medium fat", "high fat", "full cream", "skimmed", etc.) in the class designation or alternate class designation; or |
| (bb) | The name of the added foodstuff (e.g. "chives", "peach") or the name of the flavourant (e.g. "strawberry flavoured", "chocolate flavoured", etc.) when used in the additions to the class designation; and |
| (ii) | in the case of small or mini serving containers, a minimum letter size of 1mm for lower case vowels shall apply. |
| (b) | The additional particulars on the main panel, where applicable, as specified in regulation 29. |
| (c) | The name and address of the manufacturer, packer, importer or seller of that dairy product or imitation dairy product: Provided that in the case where it is not possible to use the physical address a postal address with a telephone number may be used. |
| (d) | The date marking (i.e. "best before" or "best quality before" or "use by" or "expiration" date) or batch code or batch number for the purpose of traceability, as specified in regulation 30. |
| (e) | The additional particulars on the container, where applicable, as set out in regulation 31. |
| (f) | The country of origin, which shall be declared as follows: |
| (i) | "Product of (name of country)" if all the main ingredients, processing and labour used to make the foodstuff are from one specific country; or |
| (ii) | "Produced in (name of country)", "Processed in (name of country)", "Manufactured in (name of country)", "Made in (name of country)" or similar words when a foodstuff is processed in a second country which changes its nature: |
| (iii) | Provided that the words "Packed in (name of country)" may be used in addition to the requirement of sub-paragraph (i) or (ii) above. |
| (3) | The particulars referred to in sub-regulation (2)(a), (c) and (d) shall be marked on an outer container in which more than one container of a dairy product or an imitation dairy product is packed. |
| (4) | If a primary dairy product known as milk or cultured milk is sold from a tank into the container of the buyer, the tank from which such milk or cultured milk is sold shall be marked in the immediate vicinity of the tap with the applicable class designation and the manner of heat treatment, e.g. "pasteurised” or if not heat treated, the expression "raw" or "unpasteurised", in letters and figures of which the minimum vertical height is at least 50mm. |
(5)
| (a) | In the case of a multipack, only the particulars prescribed in sub-regulation (2)(a) shall be indicated on the individual containers: Provided that such individual containers may not be sold loose and that the outer container or the foil lid is marked with all the prescribed marking requirements. |
| (b) | In the case of a small or mini serving container, only the particulars prescribed in sub-regulation (2)(a) shall be indicated on the individual containers: Provided that— |
| (i) | small or mini serving containers shall be exempted from having to indicate these particulars in instances where it is technically not practical to print on the type packaging material used due to the nature thereof; and |
| (ii) | the outer container containing the small or mini serving containers shall be marked with all the prescribed marking requirements and in the prescribed letter sizes. |
| (6) | If a primary dairy product known as cheese is cut and packed in the retail trade, the container or wrapper thereof shall be provided with a label indicating the particulars referred to in subregulation (2)(a), (c), (d) and (f). |
| (7) | No word or expression may be bigger than the class designation unless it is— |
| (a) | a registered trade mark or trade name; |
| (b) | the name that is used in connection with the sale of the cheese specified in Table 11: Provided that the difference in letter size may not exceed 5 mm; |
| (c) | words communicating to the consumer that a particular product is new, has been produced according to a new recipe and/or is on promotion for a limited period (i.e. a maximum of 12 months). E.g.: "new", "try me I'm new", "new recipe", "on promotion", "on sale", etc.; |
| (d) | an expression or wording indicating the nett and/or drained mass, or volume as prescribed by the Legal Metrology Act, 2014 (Act No. 9 of 2014); |
| (e) | words, figures or expressions used to communicate the allocated flavour strength linked to the maturity of a particular type of cheese indicated on their own or when appearing as part of e.g. an emblem or icon; or |
| (f) | a GI designation (e.g. "Protected Designation of Origin", "Protected Geographical Indication", etc.) and/or its corresponding acronym (e.g. "PDO", "PGI", etc.) used to indicate that the dairy product concerned is a registered and protected GI in the country of origin concerned. |