The government is consulting within the food industry on the reduction of salt content in food, the health department said on Thursday.
“This is important, to achieve the goals we want to achieve,” spokesman Fidel Hadebe said.
Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi has said the government wanted salt content in foods lowered as part of efforts to reduce non communicable diseases such as high blood pressure.
As soon as regulations on salt content were finalised, the laws on food labelling would also be amended, he explained.
On March 1, new regulations relating to the labelling and advertising of foodstuffs came into effect. These set out the ways in which food sellers must label their products, and regulate how claims about ingredients or the food's health benefits can be made.
The regulations do not appear to specifically set out guidelines on the labelling of salt content, or when a food product can be labelled “salt free”. - Sapa