The regulations also define what product names can be used.

South Africa’s Department of Agriculture has officially published new regulations for meat analogue products.

These rules, released in Government Gazette Notice R. 6436 on 18 July 2025, aim to bring clarity and consistency to the sale, labelling, and marketing of plant-based and other non-meat alternatives across the country.

The regulations are the result of thorough consultations with all relevant stakeholders, including those in the red meat industry. They set clear minimum standards for meat analogues, covering how products should be labelled and what they must contain to meet requirements.

According to the department, any product that uses terms such as “meat replacer,” “meat substitute,” “meat alternative,” or “plant-based protein” on the main label must contain at least 9% protein.

“The meat analogue products, also known as meat substitutes, mock meat, faux meat, or imitation meat, were initially defined in the Processed Meat Regulations as a product that approximates the aesthetic qualities (primary texture, flavour and appearance) and/or chemical characteristics of a specific type of meat,” the department said in a statement.

“These products are derived from non-meat ingredients, sometimes without dairy products and are available in different forms (coarse ground meat analogues, emulsified meat analogues and loose fill, etc.).”

The regulations also define what product names can be used. Names such as hot dogs, burgers, patties, sausages, schnitzels, and mince will be allowed for meat analogues, as long as the labelling clearly identifies the product as non-meat and helps consumers understand its true nature. Descriptive terms like frikkadel, nuggets, rounds, wheels, and sizzlers are also permitted.

However, the use of names or references that suggest a specific animal, such as “chicken-style,” “beef-style,” “chick’n,” or “b*con,” is not allowed under the Agricultural Product Standards Act of 1990.

Enforcement of the new rules will be managed by departmental inspectors, as no specific assignee has been appointed yet. The Food Safety Agency will oversee labelling compliance, and the Border Management Authority will ensure imported products follow the same regulations.

The department said the new rules should be welcomed by all industry players and consumers alike. “Consumers will enjoy the protection from the sale of misleading products. Furthermore, the publication of the Meat Analogue Products Regulations will foster confidence in the sale of meat analogues and meat products in South Africa.”

Sudan, the Philippines and Malawi made notable contributions to the Svalbard Global Seed Vault. (Image source: Adobe Stock)

More than 14,000 seed samples from 21 genebanks were deposited in the Svalbard Global Seed Vault last month

These samples included essential varieties of sorghum and pearl millet from Sudan’s crop genebank; a collection of velvet beans from Malawi; and critical food crops from a Philippine gene bank that is being destroyed by typhoons and fires. Brazil, the host of this year’s global climate negotiations, also deposited a major collection of more than 3,000 varieties of rice, beans and maize.

Following the deposit ceremony, the first-ever Svalbard International Dialogue brought together high-level government officials, crop experts and global thought leaders to discuss the challenge of safeguarding crop diversity amid increasing environmental pressures and escalating global conflicts.

Sudan’s contribution 

Sudan made its sixth deposit of seed samples of 15 species, including many varieties of sorghum, a crop that is deeply tied to Sudanese cultural heritage, and is also a lifeline for food security in the country. With the help of the Emergency Reserve for Genebanks, hundreds of seed samples that were impacted during the civil war, were transported to NordGen to be sorted catalogued, packed and documented as part of the Sudanese deposit. These were then transported to the Svalbard Global Seed Vault. 

The Philippines’ contribution 

After several seed stocks were destroyed by natural extreme events like typhoons and fires, partners from the Philippines with support from the BOLD Project, visited Svalbard to deposit seeds of eggplant, rice bean, lima bean and sorghum.

Malawi’s contribution 

Being another BOLD partner, Malawi deposited velvet beans, a crop that enables farmers to boost production and keep their soils healthy, while also offering important medicinal benefits. Velvet beans are a nitrogen-fixing legume that when used as a fertiliser can more than double maize yields. The species, which is also used in traditional medicine, boasts high levels of levodopa, a compound used to treat the symptoms of Parkinson's disease. 

“This moment is a powerful reminder that securing our food future requires collective action,” said Stefan Schmitz, executive director of the Crop Trust. “Through our partnerships, including the BOLD project, we’ve worked with institutions around the world to safeguard vital crop diversity.”  He further highlighted how the deposited seeds represented not only biodiversity, but also the knowledge, culture and resilience of the communities that steward them. “We must find a way to protect this crop diversity for generations to come,” Schmitz added. 

The X-ray inspection system Dylight S combines a compact design with precise foreign body detection and efficient quality control. (Image source: Minebea Intec)

One of the world's leading industrial weighing and inspection technologies, Minebea Intec has introduced the new Dylight S, an X-ray inspection system that enables manufacturing companies to guarantee the highest product safety and quality at an affordable price 

The evolving needs of the food and pharmaceutical industries makes advanced technologies crucial to ensure sustainability, while maintaining high product quality, safety and affordability. Regulations such as the pre-packaging ordinance or supplier audits require complete documentation. At the same time, sustainable packaging materials make the use of advanced X-ray technologies essential. This is where the new X-ray inspection system Dylight S comes in. 

Featuring sideshooter technology, this compact system has been specially developed to ensure the quality of products in upright containers. It enables more precise detection of foreign bodies in products with light and complex packaging. The X-ray inspection system not only enables reliable detection of metallic and non-metallic foreign bodies—including glass, rubber, stones or plastic parts—in containers such as PET bottles, liquid food cartons or plastic cans, but also offers functions for completeness checks and fill level inspections. Thanks to a wide range of interfaces, Dylight S can be seamlessly integrated into digital production environments. 

"The X-ray inspection system Dylight S is characterised by its extremely compact design. This enables easy integration into existing production lines," said product manager at Minebea Intec, Mengqi Liang. "Another key advantage of the Dylight S is using the monoblock generator without an external transformer, which reduces technical complexity and simultaneously lowers the total cost of ownership (TCO)."

Furthermore, to boost production efficiency and improve accuracy, Minebea Intec is introducing another innovative feature with the X-ray inspection system Dylight S: autonomous parameter adjustment. This function optimises the product set-up process and inspection process by automatically adjusting the settings to reduce false rejects. Another notable feature is the image acquisition function that uses innovative software technology to generate a second X-ray image from an acquired image, enabling the operating personnel to subsequently optimise brightness, contrast and scaling and to detect the foreign bodies that have been missed in the original images. 

Strict regulations such as the HACCP, ISO 2200 AND nsf have been implemented to ensure product quality and reduce significant risk. (Image source: Adobe Stock)

The food industry has strict hygiene and product quality requirements which it expects food manufacturers to follow through the use of reliable and accurate technologies   

Leading global provider of weighing and inspection technologies, Minebea Intec offers customised solutions designed to meet food production challenges. According to reports by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the EU RAPEX database, foreign bodies in food account for up to 23% of all recalls in industrialised countries, depending on the region. 

Strict regulations such as the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP), international standard (ISO) 22000 and National Sanitation Foundation (NSF) have been implemented to ensure product quality and reduce significant risk, thereby preventing contamination along the entire production chain.

HACCP system

The HACCP system, which is used in the food industry worldwide, is a preventive management system for ensuring food safety and is considered a mandatory requirement for food production in the European Union (EU) and other countries around the world. Minebea Intec technologies, such as the Mitus metal detector, are ideally suited for monitoring and controlling such critical points. In addition to metal contaminant detection, Minebea Intec offers solutions with its X-ray inspection systems that detect not only metallic foreign bodies but also glass, stones, some plastics and bones. 

ISO 22000

The international standard ISO 22000 defines uniform requirements worldwide for management systems for food safety, covering all stages of food production from production to delivery. The precise and reliable weighing and inspection systems of Minebea Intec help food producers to meet the requirements of ISO 22000. These include dynamic checkweighers, which monitor product weight in real time during the production process. 

NSF certification

The NSF certification is an internationally recognised seal that ensures that production systems, such as weighing and inspection technologies, meet the highest hygiene and safety standards. This certification plays a particularly crucial role in the food industry, where strict regulations apply to avoid contamination and ensure compliance with hygiene requirements. The Weighing Platform MiNexx 3000 of Minebea Intec is NSF certified, which makes it particularly ideal for the food industry. Thanks to its hygienic design, it is easy to clean and thus minimises the risk of cross-contamination. 

In addition to installation, Minebea Intec experts ensure to provide comprehensive service and support to enable smooth and efficient production. This helps food producers to shift their focus from crisis management to boosting sales.