11 Brine-injected Poultry Portfolio Committee on Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries 22 March 2011

2 Outline oNature of the concern oPolicy Tools available oUnderlying ‘problem/s’ oConclusion

3 Nature of the Concern 1.Consumer safety? Brine is an allowable additive. In regulated quantities poses few specific health risks. 2. Consumer welfare? From a DTI perspective, this is a major concern. If brine concentrations are above allowable limits, consumers are not receiving value for money. 3.Consumer awareness? Consumers may be purchasing products without knowing all of the facts. For example, a consumer – in any LSM – may choose to purchase reworked chicken or may prefer not to. Key issue is that consumers are able to make an informed choice…

4 Policy Tools Available 1.Consumer Protection Act Section 25 (1) Disclosure of reconditioned or gray market goods: A person who offers or agrees to supply, or supplies, any goods that –have been reconditioned, rebuilt or remade; and –that bear the trade mark of the original producer or supplier, must apply a conspicuous notice to those goods stating clearly that they have been reconditioned, rebuilt or remade, as the case may be.

5 Policy Tools Available 1.Consumer Protection Act Section 55 (2) Consumer’s rights to safe, good quality goods: Every consumer has the right to (inter alia) goods that: –are of good quality, in good working order and free of any defects; and –comply with any applicable standards set under the Standards Act, 1993, or any other public regulation.

6 Policy Tools Available 2.‘Watch list’ Proactive inspection of facilities and goods to ensure compliance. 3. Consumer Awareness Interventions Work with consumer bodies to educate consumers about products consumed. Undertake specific awareness campaigns to educate consumers at shopfloor level.

7 Underlying ‘Problems’ This isolated case highlights latent deficiencies in SA’s food safety system. Food Safety Environment Large number of different pieces of legislation. Mandate spread across 3 National Departments and Agencies. Enforcement and compliance takes place at different tiers of Government. Food safety Units generally under-resourced. Significant degree of duplication of effort and resources. Compliance on export products is rigorously enforced, domestic food receives less attention.

8 Conclusion Need for focus on Food Safety more necessary now than at any other time: Key objective of IPAP2 is to ‘lock-in’ exports and ‘lock-out’ unsafe imports. Mechanism to promote local value-addition. At global level a number of high profile product recalls have taken place in last 5 years. In SA, pineapple industry still bears scars of cadmium case. Imports of processed food substantial in SA, risks attached to this trend.

9 Thank You