South Africa was set to remove plant-based foods labeled using meat terminology such as “vegan burger,” but a court order stopped the process.
A 2019 order by the South African Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development outlawed the use of meat product names on packaging. The department announced it would begin to seize products that were not properly labeled beginning on Aug. 22.
The Consumer Goods Council of South Africa obtained a temporary interdict against the seizures a few days before the ban was set to go into effect, which halted the forcible removal of products. The South African Vegan Society said the government’s ban “will have catastrophic consequences on many stakeholders, namely, producers of plant-based food products, retailers, and consumers.”
