OnTap Magazine

CRAFTED Content ontapmag.co.za 210mm 0% ABV SPRING SAISON PRODUCT OF SOUTH AFRICA APIWE NXUSANI-MAWELA I t often puzzles me how breweries would spend thousands of rands on designing and printing their labels with no consideration of what must legally be included. These breweries end up with attractive but non-compliant labels which do not serve their full purpose. This is unfortunately a very common phenomenon within our industry, so let’s take a look at some of the laws that brewers need to be aware of when it comes to labelling their beers. Labelling of foodstuffs/beverages is regulated under Regulation R146 (2010) of the Foodstuffs, Cosmetics and Disinfectants Act. This regulation states that “No person shall manufacture, sell, import, or offer any pre-packaged foodstuff for sale unless the foodstuff container or the bulk stock from which it is taken is labelled in accordance with these regulations”. According to this regulation, a label should be applied in such a manner that it cannot be separated from the container at point of sale. It should be in English as a minimum language, but the other official languages can also be used. The label should be clearly visible and if a picture is used, the picture must be representative of what is inside the container and not mislead the consumer. THE MINIMUM INFORMATION ALLOWED BY LAW WITHIN A PRODUCT’S LABEL IS: and description if necessary. The description should be a true description of the product. For example, if you have added fruit flavourings to a beer then it should be called a fruit-flavoured beer rather than a fruit beer. The product name should be at least 4mm in height, with all other information being at least 1mm in height. Should be bold and easy to read. Can either be in words (litres) or symbols (L). You can indicate: “Product of….” if all the main ingredients, processing and labour used are originating from one country. Or indicate: “Produced in……..” “ Processed in……” “ Made in……..” or “ Manufactured in………” when the foodstuff is processed in another country which changes its nature. This is surprisingly not a specified requirement under the labelling regulation but specified under the Customs and Excise Act. LABELLING YOUR BEER: THE LEGALITIES GOING PRO PRODUCT NAME NET CONTENT COUNTRY OF ORIGIN ALCOHOL CONTENT (% ABV) 44 | Spring 2018 | ontapmag.co.za