STAATSKOERANT, 21 OKTOBER 2011 
GOVERNMENT NOTICE 
GOEWERMENTSKENNISGEWING 
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH 
DEPARTEMENT VAN GESONDHEID No.34699 3 
No. R. 880 21 October 2011 
FOODSTUFFS, COSMETICS AND DISINFECTANTS ACT, 1972 
(ACT NO. 54 OF 1972) 
REGULATIONS RELATING TO THE USE OF SWEETENERS IN FOODSTUFFS 
AND RELATED MATTERS: DRAFT REGULATION 
The Minister of Health intends, in terms of section 15 (1) of the Foodstuffs, Cosmetics 
and Disinfectants Act, 1972 (Act No. 54 of 1972) to make the regulations in the 
Schedule. 
Interested persons are invited to submit any substantiated comments or 
representations on the proposed draft amendments to the regulations, to the Director­
General of Health, Private Bag X828, Pretoria, 0001 (for the attention of the Director: 
Food Control), within three months of the date of publication of this notice. 
SCHEDULE 
Definitions 
1. In these regulations "the Act'' shall means the Foodstuffs, Cosmetics and 
Disinfectants Act, 1972 (Act No. 54 of 1972), and any expression to which a 
meaning has been assigned in the Act shall bear such meaning and, unless the 
context otherwise indicates -
"Good Manufacturing Purposes (GMP)" means limited to such a maximum level 
that the product concerned will not be deleteriously affected or its compliance with 
legal requirements disturbed, it should be technologically efficacious and should be 
used at the lowest level necessary to achieve this effect, it should not conceal food 
Reproduced by Sabinet Online in terms of Government Printer’s Copyri ght Authority No. 10505 dated 02 February 1998 4 No.34699 GOVERNMENT GAZETTE, 21 OCTOBER 2011 
of inferior quality or adulterated food, and it should not create a nutritional 
imbalance; 
"maximum permitted level" means the maximum amount of a sweetener which 
may be present in the food as stipulated in the General Standard for Food Additives 
(GSFA) of the Codex Alimentarius Commission, unless otherwise stated. The 
doses specified refer to ready-to-eat foodstuffs only; 
"non-nutritive sweetener'' means a sweetener or a mixture of such non-nutritive 
sweeteners, of which an amount with the sweetening equivalent of 5g of sucrose 
does not have an energy value of more than BkJ; 
"sweeteners" means any substance listed as a sweetener in the General 
Standard for Food Additives (GSFA) of the Codex Alimentarius Commission, or a 
mixture of two or more thereof, which are added to the foodstuff before it is sold or 
which are used at the table; 
"sugars" means substances such as com syrup, deionised, deflavoured fruit 
concentrates and juices, dextrose, dextrose syrup, , glucose, glucose syrup, invert 
sugar, lactose, maltose, maltose syrup, sucrose, sucrose syrup, trehalose, xylose 
and isomaltulose. 
Requirements for the use of sweeteners in foodstuffs 
2. For the purposes of section 2(1)a)(iii) of the Act, to the extent that it is applied and 
applicable to foodstuffs, a sweetener shall comply with the standards of 
composition, strength and quality prescribed by these regulations and the Wor1d 
Health Organization's (WHO) Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA). 
Reproduced by Sabinet Online in terms of Government Printer’s Copyri ght Authority No. 10505 dated 02 February 1998 STAATSKOERANT, 21 OKTOBER 2011 No.34699 5 
3. No person may sell a sweetener, or a foodstuff containing a sweetener as an 
ingredient, other than a sweetener referred to in the General Standard of Food 
Additives (GSFA) of the Codex Alimentarius Commission. 
4. No foodstuff containing a sweetener as an ingredient shall exceed the maximum 
level as specified in the General Standard of Food Additives (GSFA) of the Codex 
Alimentarius Commission, in such a foodstuff. 
5. The food category descriptors provided in the Food Category System of the 
General Standard of Food Additives (GSFA) applied for assigning food additive 
uses in these Regulations applies to all foodstuffs; provided that it should not be 
applied for the purposes of legal product designations, nor are they intended for 
labelling purposes. 
6. Subject to regulation (3), the following shall apply regarding sweeteners, or a 
mixture thereof, when present in a foodstuff-
(a) In the case of the combined use of aspartame-acesulfame salt with individual 
acesulfame potassium or aspartame, not exceed the individual maximum levels 
for acesulfame potassium or aspartame in ready-to-eat foodstuffs. The reported 
maximum level can be converted to aspartame equivalents by dividing by 0.68. 
The reported maximum level can be converted to acesulfame potassium 
equivalents by multiplying by 0.68. 
(b) The sum of the fractions of a mixture of sweeteners referred to in sub­
regulation (a), which is obtained when the amount of each such sweetener 
used is divided by the maximum permitted amount of such sweetener when 
used alone, shall not exceed unity. 
Reproduced by Sabinet Online in terms of Government Printer’s Copyri ght Authority No. 10505 dated 02 February 1998 6 No.34699 GOVERNMENT GAZETTE, 21 OCTOBER 2011 
7. Sweeteners may not be used in foods intended for infants and young children, 
including foods intended for infants and young children who are not in good health, 
unless otherwise stipulated in specific provisions. 
8. Sweeteners used should be of appropriate food grade quality and should at all 
times conform to the applicable Specifications of Identity and Purity recommended 
by the Codex Alimentarius Commission. In terms of safety, food grade quality 
shall be achieved by conformance of additives to their specifications as a whole 
(not merely with individual criteria) and through their production, storage, 
transport, and handling in accordance with GMP. 
Labelling 
9. (a) Subject to section 3 of the Act and the Regulations Relating to Labelling and 
Advertising of Foodstuffs published in Government Notice No. R.146 of 1 March 
2010, as amended, a foodstuff referred to in these regulations shall conform to 
the requirements set out in the regulations. 
(b) The label of a ·sweetener or a mixture of sweeteners intended for table use shall 
not contain the phrases "low energy"; "low joule"; "non-nutritive" or "artificial", or 
words of a similar meaning, unless the energy value of a quantity of the 
sweetener which has the sweetening equivalent of 5g of sucrose is not more 
than 8kJ. The energy value shall be indicated on the label. 
(c) Where a mixed, compounded or blended foodstuff contains a sweetener-
(i) such sweetener shall be indicated by its common name in the list of 
ingredients, provided that in the case of a non-nutritive sweetener, the 
words "non-nutritive sweetener" shall appear in brackets immediately 
following the name of the sweetener; and 
Reproduced by Sabinet Online in terms of Government Printer’s Copyri ght Authority No. 10505 dated 02 February 1998 STAATSKOERANT, 21 OKTOBER 2011 No. 34699 7 
(ii) in the case of the sweetener is steviol glycosides, it shall be described as 
"steviol", 
(d) A foodstuff that normally contains added sweeteners may be described as 
"unsweetened" on the label thereof if no sweeteners are added to the foodstuff 
and a foodstuff that normally contains no added sweeteners shall be described 
as "unsweetened" on the label thereof if no sweeteners are added to the 
foodstuff. 
(e) A foodstuff containing sugar alcohols or polyols (eg. lsomalt, Lactitol, Maltitol, 
Erythritol, Mannitol, Sorbitol, Sorbitol syrup or Xylitol) and/or aspartame, singly or 
in combination in the final product, must bear the following warnings: 
(i) polyols: "over-consumption may have laxative effects"; 
(ii) aspartame and aspartame-acesulfame salt: "contains phenylalanine"; 
(f) A foodstuff that usually contains sugar may be described as "sugar free" or with 
the words "contains no sugar'' on the label thereof if no sugars are present. A 
foodstuff that normally contains no sugars shall not be described as "sugar free" 
or with the words "contains no sugar'' or other words with a similar meaning on 
the label thereof, notwithstanding that no sugars are present. 
(g) The claim "no sugar added" or "no added sugar'' or other words with a similar 
meaning shall not be made on the label of a foodstuff that contains added 
sugars as defined by these regulations. 
Repeal 
10. The Regulations published under Government Notice No. R.3128 of 20 December 
1991 as amended by Government Notice No. R.662 of 28 February 1992; Government 
Notice No. R.2064 of 2 December 1994; Government Notice No. R.1568 of 28 
Reproduced by Sabinet Online in terms of Government Printer’s Copyri ght Authority No. 10505 dated 02 February 1998 8 No.34699 GOVERNMENT GAZETTE, 21 OCTOBER 2011 
November 1997; and Government Notice No. R.125 of 8 February 2008, are hereby 
repealed. 
Commencement 
These regulations shall come into operation on the date of the publication of the final 
regulations. 
DR. A MOTSOALEDI, MP 
MINISTER OF HEALTH 
Printed by and obtainable from the Government Printer, Bosman Street, Private Bag X85, Pretoria, 0001 
Publications: Tel: (012) 334-4508, 334-4509, 334-4510 
Advertisements: Tel: (012) 334-4673, 334-4674, 334-4504 
Subscriptions: Tel: (012) 334-4735, 334-4736, 334-4737 
Cape Town Branch: Tel: (021) 465-7531 
Gedruk deur en verkrygbaar by die Staatsdrukker, Bosmanstraat, Privaatsak X85, Pretoria, 0001 
Publikasies: Tel: (012) 334-4508, 334-4509, 334-4510 
Advertensies: Tel: (012) 334-4673, 334-4674, 334-4504 
Subskripsies: Tel: (012) 334-4735, 334-4736, 334-4737 
Kaapstad-tak: Tel: (021) 465-7531 
34699-1 
Reproduced by Sabinet Online in terms of Government Printer’s Copyri ght Authority No. 10505 dated 02 February 1998