1. DR. P. VINCENT HEGARTY MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY
SOUTH AFRICA Pretoria February CONVERTING NUTRITION SCIENCE INTO NUTRITION LAWS AND REGULATIONS
DR. P. VINCENT HEGARTY
Founding Director and Professor Emeritus
INSTITUTE for FOOD LAWS and REGULATIONS
MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY

2. TAKEAWAY MESSAGES:
1. NATIONAL FOOD / DIETARY / NUTRIENT CONSUMPTION DATA --- Very important:
Nutrient deficiencies and excesses
Monitoring and Updating:
Nutrition labelling
Food hygiene
Food contaminants
Food additives
Pesticide residues
Veterinary drug residues
Allergens
Etc. etc. etc.
2. NUTRITION LABELLING --- Constantly evolving internationally
3. IMPROPER LABELLING --- International and national rejection of food

3. TAKEAWAY MESSAGES (Continued:
CODEX ALIMENTARIUS --- Important source of nutrition/health information. For example:
General Principles for the Addition of Essential Nutrients to Foods CAC/GL
Guidelines for Use of Nutrition and Health Claims CAC/GL
Codex Standard for the Labelling of and Claims for Foods for Special Medical Purposes CODEX STAN
Advisory Lists of Nutrient Compounds for Use in Foods for Special Dietary Uses Intended for Infants and Young Children CAC/GL
Guidelines for Vitamin and Mineral Food Supplements CAC/GL
Codex Standard for Formula Foods for Use in Weight Control diets CODEX STAN

4. SOUTH AFRICA: FOOD / DIETARY CONSUMPTION DATA
Food Consumption Changes in South Africa Since 1994
Ronquest-Ross, L-C, Vink, N and Sigge, G.O
South African Journal of Science, 111, No. 9/10, 2015
“Food consumption patterns in South Africa have changed
dramatically over the past decades and likely will continue
to change over the coming decades”

5. CODEX: GUIDELINES on NUTRITION LABELLING CAC/GL 2-1985 www. fao
CODEX: GUIDELINES on NUTRITION LABELLING CAC/GL
Adopted: 1985
Revision: and 2011
Amendment: 2003, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2012 and 2013
ANNEX:
Adopted: 2011
Revision: and 2015

6. CAC/GL 2-1985 (Continued: PURPOSE of the GUIDELINES
PRINCIPLES for NUTRITION LABELLING:
Nutrient declaration
Supplementary nutrition information
Nutrition labelling
1. SCOPE
2. DEFINITIONS
3. NUTRIENT DECLARATIONS
4.PRINCIPLES AND CRITERIA FOR LEGIBILITY OF NUTRITION LABELLING
ANNEX: GENERAL PRINCIPLES FOR ESTABLISHING NRVs

7. OUTSIDER’S VIEW ON SOUTH AFRICA’S AMENDMENTS TO FOOD LABELLING AND ADVERTISING (R429) August 22, 2014
“……the regulation lacks clarity on a lot of sections, and this could result in negative unintended consequences and would not fulfill the objectives of the regulation”
“The consequence of government’s lack of capacity could result in only larger and mainly international food companies complying with the regulation…….”
“….. The consequences of small and medium food businesses operating under the radar and not complying with the regulation could result in worse consequences for consumers.”

8. OUTSIDER’S VIEW (Continued:
“Media reports and post contacts raised concerns on whether government has the capacity to implement this regulation equitably.”
…..”contacts have raised concern on the scientific validity of some claims made by the regulation, and have also called on the South African government to undertake a scientific study relevant to South Africa before implementing this regulation, especially when the regulation deviates from internationally accepted standards such as CODEX.”
“The regulation provides a list of health and nutrition claims that can be used in labelling or adverts, but has no provision for the potential approval or assessment of any new health and nutrition claims in the event that valid and scientific claims are discovered in the future.”

9. GENETICALLY ENGINEERED (GE) CROPS IN SOUTH AFRICA - LABELLING: AN OUTSIDER’S VIEW July 14, 2015
“South Africa’s new Consumer Protection Bill came into effect in The new
act requires virtually every product label in South Africa’s food and beverage
industry to be changed to comply with mandatory GE labelling requirements.
However, strong criticism from stakeholders in the food chains, due to the
ambiguity and complexity of the issue, has resulted in the Department of Trade
and Industry (DTI) appointing a task team to address the conflicts and confusion
of the labeling regulation………However, new GE labelling regulations have not
yet been published and the issues is still lingering.”

10. GENERAL PRINCIPLES FOR THE ADDITION OF ESSENTIAL NUTRIENTS TO FOODS CAC/GL
1. SCOPE
2. DEFINITIONS
3. GENERAL PRINCIPLES
PRINCIPLES FOR SPECIFIC TYPES OF ADDITION OF ESSENTIAL NUTRIENTS
Mandatory Addition of Essential Nutrients to Address a Demonstrated Public Health Need
Addition of Essential Nutrients for Restoration
Addition of Essential Nutrients for Nutritional Equivalence

11. GUIDELINES FOR USE OF NUTRITION AND HEALTH CLAIMS CAC/GL 23-1997 www
GUIDELINES FOR USE OF NUTRITION AND HEALTH CLAIMS CAC/GL
SCOPE DEFINITIONS
NUTRITION LABELLING
NUTRITION CLAIMS
NUTRIENT CONTENT CLAIMS
COMPARATIVE CLAIMS
NON-ADDITION CLAIMS
HEALTH CLAIMS
ANNEX: RECOMMENDATIONS ON THE SCIENTIFIC SUBSTANTIATION OF HEALTH CLAIMS
SCOPE DEFINITIONS
SCIENTIFIC SUBSTANTIATION OF HEALTH CLAIMS
SPECIFIC SAFETY CONCERNS
RE-EVALUATION

12. EU HEALTH CLAIMS 222 Health Claims ALLOWED
As of December 2012:
222 Health Claims ALLOWED
1500+ Health Claims REJECTED
EU Register of Nutrition and Health Claims available at:

13. CODEX STANDARD FOR THE LABELLING OF AND CLAIMS FOR FOODS FOR SPECIAL MEDICAL PURPOSES CODEX STAN
SCOPE
DESCRIPTION
GENERAL PRINCIPLES
LABELLING:
Nutrition Labelling
Date Marking
Additional Information
Information to be Included in the Labelling

14. ADVISORY LISTS OF NUTRIENT COMPOUNDS FOR USE IN FOODS FOR SPECIAL DIETARY USES INTENDED FOR INFANTS AND YOUNG CHILDREN CAC/GL
PREAMBLE
CRITERIA FOR THE INCLUSION AND DELETION OF NUTRIENT COMPOUNDS FROM THE ADVISORY LISTS
OPTIONAL INGREDIENTS
ADVISORY LIST OF FOOD ADDITIVES FOR SPECIAL NUTRIENT FORMS

15. GUIDELINES FOR VITAMIN AND MINERAL FOOD SUPPLEMENTS CAC/GL 55-2005 www
GUIDELINES FOR VITAMIN AND MINERAL FOOD SUPPLEMENTS CAC/GL
PREAMBLE
SCOPE
DEFINITIONS
COMPOSITION
Selection of Vitamins and Minerals
Contents of Vitamins and Minerals
PACKAGING
LABELLING

16. CODEX STANDARD FOR FORMULA FOODS FOR USE IN WEIGHT CONTROL DIETS CODEX STAN
SCOPE
DESCRIPTION
ESSENTIAL COMPOSITION AND QUALITY FACTORS
Energy Content
Nutrient Content
Protein
Fat and linoleate
Vitamins and Minerals
Ingredients
FOOD ADDITIVES

17. CODEX STAN 181-1991 (Continued:
CONTAMINANTS
Pesticide Residues
Other contaminants
HYGIENE
PACKAGING
FILL OF CONTAINER
LABELLING
The Name of the Food
List of Ingredients
Declaration of Nutrient Value
Date Marking
Storage Instruction
Additional Provisions

18. SCIENTIFIC ACCURACY IN REGULATORY DEFINITIONS --- NOT EASY
‘NATURAL’ December 2015: FDA asked for information and public comment on questions such as:
Whether it is appropriate to define the term “natural”
If so, how the agency should define “natural,” and
How the agency should determine appropriate use of the term on food labels.
on/ucm htm
To-date, the FDA got 3,300 replies --- and the replies are still coming!
‘GLUTEN-FREE’ “‘Gluten-free’ Now Means What It Says’”

19. THANKS
GO RAIBH MAITH AGAIBH (Irish)
TO:
YOU IUFoST SAFFoST