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Category: Food Policy

OP-ED: Government must take steps to end hunger in SA

Posted on by Zukiswa Zimela

Last month we commemorated 25 years of the SA constitution – a document that was supposed to usher in a generation of South Africans living in dignity, equality and freedom.

However, we see a dangerous dualism in SA: while eight million children go hungry every day and a quarter of all children are stunted, we also see that one in eight children is overweight.

According to statistics, these children will grow into a cohort of adults where every second person is obese. Being overweight or obese is a well-known driver of diseases like cancer, heart disease, diabetes and high blood pressure.

More than half of South Africans are dying of these diseases each year, which Stats SA has termed a “looming health crisis”. At first glance, the idea of a society where half of the population is overweight, while severe hunger persists seems dystopian, akin to the Hunger Games, where the rich gorge themselves and the poor fight to survive.

READ MORE: This World Obesity Day We Urgently Need To Confront The Scourge Of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) In South Africa.

But the reality is that in individual households, both co-exist. Low income households are more likely to purchase energy dense, nutritionally poor food, which contributes to weight gain.

Strong evidence has emerged that food companies that sell low nutrition products target poorer families through marketing and retail outlet placement – the “double burden of malnutrition”.

Human rights are the idea that human beings are entitled to certain protections. After World War 2, the first modern international instrument setting out these rights was created – the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

This article was published on SowetanLive on the 4th of April 2024. Click HERE to read the full oped.

Press Statement: How we need to think about the right to food this Human Rights Day

Posted on by Zukiswa Zimela

Following 30 years of democracy, South Africans are facing a devastating crisis of under and over nutrition with staggering levels of non-communicable diseases. The health of the nation is tied to the ability of ordinary South Africans to realise their right to a healthy life. The Constitution recognizes the right to health and food, and incorporates principles from international treaties which places a duty on states to prevent non-communicable diseases.

A recent study found that South Africans are consuming an excessive amount of ultra-processed food, which is tied to poor health outcomes such as obesity, diabetes, and hypertension. The study shows troubling trends for low-income South Africans: unhealthy ultra-processed foods are a big part of their diets (40%) and younger populations are increasingly shifting towards more unhealthy food that are high in sugar, salt, and saturated fat.

The Healthy Living Alliance (HEALA) believes that South Africans have a right to know what’s in their food, and mandatory ront of package warning labels (FOPWL)  are one way to provide information on which products are high in nutrients of concern. Implementing FOPWL as soon as possible can help to reduce the portion of South Africans’ diets, which is ultra-processed.

“We need policies to help South Africans eat less unhealthy food. Interventions like the proposed front-of-pack warning label, which will give consumers information if the food they are eating contains too many ‘bad’ ingredients, are cost-effective and empowering ways to change eating habits. Taxes on products like sodas are a double win – more public funds and less sugar in our already diabetic-prone society,” says HEALA Programmes Manager Petronell Kruger.

HEALA has been calling for access to good nutrition. Policies are needed to guarantee fair access, availability, and affordability of healthy foods, such as fruits and vegetables, particularly for low-income populations to make sure more South Africans are not suffering from hunger. Revenue raised from the Health Promotion Levy (which target sodas) could be allocated to provide subsidies on healthy foods.

Because government policy forms a crucial part of South Africa’s food system, HEALA believes that hunger, food insecurity, and malnutrition are policy choices and government needs to play its part in protecting ordinary South Africans.

About HEALA: 

HEALA is a coalition of civil society organisations that advocates for equitable access to affordable and nutritious food for all in South Africa.

For interview requests please call 

Zukiswa Zimela, Communications Manager HEALA

Zukiswa[at]heala.org | +2710 825 4403

This World Obesity Day we urgently need to confront the scourge of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in South Africa.

Posted on by Zukiswa Zimela

Deaths from non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are surging worldwide. In South Africa, deaths from NCDs increased by almost 60 percent from 1997 to 2018. Urgent action is needed. We know that we can’t solve the problem of NCDs with isolated, small and convenient interventions in individual lifestyles. The Healthy Living Alliance (HEALA) is calling for a package of bold interventions with a systemic overview of the issue of obesity.

Research shows that an estimated 1 in 8 South African children are overweight which is double the global average. Experts warn that children experiencing overweight and obesity in early childhood run the risk of experiencing obesity as adults. Obesity is associated with other dangerous diseases such as diabetes and heart disease.

One of the most urgent interventions needed to curtail the explosion of NCDs in South Africa is the regulation of the food environment. The government needs to strongly regulate the food environment in favour of consumers to curb the consumption of unhealthy food, which is often heavily marketed to South Africa’s poor.

HEALA is asking the government to urgently increase the Health Promotion Levy (HPL) on select sugar-sweetened beverages to 20 percent and include fruit juices in the HPL. Currently, the levy remains at a paltry 11% and has not seen a significant increase since it was introduced in 2018.

Secondly, the National Department of Health needs to speed up the adoption of effective front-of-package warning labels on unhealthy foods to help consumers make better choices and live healthier lives. Several studies have shown that people globally and in South Africa have trouble reading traditional nutritional labels.

“The food industry spends billions of rands every year to reach children with their product marketing. They also aggressively lobby against public health policies aimed at promoting good health. We know the food industry would not spend billions of Rands fighting public health interventions that are not effective,” says Acting Interim CEO Nzama Mbalati.

What we eat is one of the biggest contributors to obesity. According to this study, our modern diets of calorie-dense foods, sugar-sweetened beverages, and high-fat and high-carb foods have been linked to obesity.

“It is unfortunate that government perpetuates the notion that public health interventions should first and foremost have economic benefits. We believe that the people’s well-being and dignity should be enough of a reason to push forward with solid regulations,” Mbalati says.

Sporadic interventions on this issue will do nothing to bring us back from the brink of the NCD cliff, what we need are sustained, evidence-based actions that look at the entire food system and address all the systematic causes of obesity in the country.

ENDS

About HEALA:

HEALA is a coalition of civil society organisations advocating for equitable access to affordable, nutritious food in South Africa by building a more just food system.

For media interviews please contact 

Zukiswa Zimela Communications Manager HEALA

0745210652 | zukiswa@heala.org

HEALA is deeply disappointed with Finance Minister Enoch Gondwana’s failure to announce an increase of the Health Promotion Levy.

Posted on by Zukiswa Zimela

For years National Treasury has failed to increase the Health Promotion Levy (HPL), which not only contributes to the fiscus but also reduces the consumption of sugary drinks. This levy is a vital tool in South Africa’s fight against life threatening non communicable diseases.

Ordinary South Africans bear the burden of non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and cancer. Researchers have alerted us of the dangers of a high NCD burden. One study warns that “the implications for the current situation are widespread: a future population with deteriorated physical and mental health, presenting with co-morbidities that render these individuals more susceptible to infectious diseases”.

Treasury’s continued failure to act to protect ordinary South African’s against industry interest shows it’s lack of commitment to stopping and reversing the tsunami of non-communicable diseases in South Africa. The Finance minister has once again failed South Africans by refusing to increase the HPL to 20% or at least announce the implementation of annual inflation-related increases of this lifesaving intervention that has been shown to work.

HEALA believes that the government is doing a disservice to any efforts to curtail the avalanche of NCD’s in the country by allowing the sugar industry to use the HPL as a scapegoat for its ongoing failure. We will continue to hold treasury accountable in implementing pro-people policies that put people’s health at the forefront.

ENDS

 HEALA is a coalition of civil society organisations advocating for equitable access to affordable, nutritious food in South Africa by building a more just food system.

 For media interviews please contact

Zukiswa Zimela Communications Manager HEALA

0745210652 | zukiswa@heala.org

OPINION: Let’s be upfront on front-of-pack labelling

Posted on by Zukiswa Zimela

By Nzama Mbalati and Zukiswa Zimela

It is really difficult to read food labels. What is trans-fat? How is it different from saturated fat? Why is sodium in milligrams instead of grams? Is it good for me?

That is, of course, if you even see the label on the back of the package.

On April 21, 2023, the National Department of Health published R3337, putting forward a draft regulation to introduce front-of-pack labelling in South Africa.

The draft regulation aims to provide easy-to-understand information on the front of packaged food to help consumers make healthy purchasing decisions.

This type of labelling has been incorporated successfully into several other countries and has been shown to help consumers better understand what they are eating.

The draft regulations also propose introducing restrictions on how foods can be marketed when those foods are deemed unhealthy.

The restrictions specifically aim to restrict techniques used to entice children to purchase and eat unhealthy food – an important measure as children are more vulnerable to persuasive marketing practices.

The draft regulation seems to be a no-brainer: more people will understand what is in food, and children will be less likely to be manipulated into making unhealthy eating decisions.

Especially in light of the worrying revelation early last week by Statistics South Africa that non-communicable diseases – diseases often associated with poor diets – have increased by 58 percent in the last two decades.

However, there has been staunch opposition from the food industry, and several red-herring arguments have been advanced.

We provide the following clarification to help the public understand the new proposed draft regulations.

Food producers will have fair use of their trademarks

The food industry argues that the restriction in the regulations aimed to remove misleading product descriptors “arbitrarily” deprive producers of their intellectual property rights.

First, the Trade Mark Act, the law regulating the protection of trademarks in South Africa, already contains a list of criteria limiting the use of trademarks, including allowing other laws to restrict trademarks or prescribing that marks which are confusing or misleading do not attract legal protection.

Second, food producers register multiple variations of their trademarks and will not face significant trade implications should a variation fall foul of the law.

As an example, we searched the Companies and Intellectual Property online database for trademarks affiliated with a popular soda brand in South Africa and found 60 different trademark results.

The regulations are deemed successful internationally The World Health Organization has called for front-of-pack labelling as a key consumer nutrition literacy intervention to promote healthy diets.

While it is very difficult to show how a policy intervention like a front-of-pack label can improve overall dietary choices, preliminary evidence exists (from Chile and more broadly), and strong evidence shows that the information-imparting objective is effective.

Additionally, the importance of the attached marketing restrictions to protect children has been proven, as studies show a strong link between unhealthy food marketing and childhood obesity.

Consumers should know that food contains ‘artificial sweeteners’

Evidence suggests that providing a warning label on excess sugar can lead consumers to unknowingly substitute sugar-sweetened beverages with alternative sweetened beverages (beverages containing artificial sweeteners).

The safety of artificial sweeteners is still debated.

The warning label is intended to be a consumer information intervention and warning consumers, especially parents, allows consumers to make a decision on appropriate artificial sweetener intake given the risk of allergic reaction, impact on diet for patients with diabetes, potential impact on long term food preferences and emerging evidence on the risk of cancer.

The label will not make it more difficult to import or export food

All countries have variations in food safety and labelling standards and require different procedures to meet local laws. There is a definite trend towards introducing front-of-pack labelling, and food producers seek regulatory harmonisation, endorsing FOPL policies to best achieve this goal.

The food industry will unfairly lose profits

Some food producers argue that they will lose profit because consumers will not buy foods with the warning labels – that is the point!

People will always eat – having people eat healthier foods should encourage food producers to make better alternatives available to the public. Corporate profits can never be more important than public health.

* Nzama Mbalati is the programmes manager at the Healthy Living Alliance (Heala).

* Zukiswa Zimela is the communications manager at Heala.

This oped was first published on IOL on the 9th of November 2023

This World Heart Day, the Healthy Living Alliance (HEALA) is calling on the government to take the health of South Africans to heart.

Posted on by Zukiswa Zimela

One in 3 South Africans suffer from some form of cardiovascular disease and heart disease and hypertension are in  listed in top ten causes of death in the country. A 2020 study  published in the European Heart Journal – Quality of Care and Clinical Outcomes journal highlighted poor diet as one of the leading contributors to heart disease deaths around the world.

The over consumption of an unhealthy diet is one of the leading causes of death for millions of people around the world.  Now more than ever, South Africa needs strong evidence based regulations to protect us from life threatening noncommunicable diseases such as cardiovascular disease.

Pre-packaged foods and beverages, high in salt, sugar and saturated fat have increasingly become readily available in virtually every community around the world, with South African shops inundated with these pre-packaged foods that are processed with high levels of added sugars, salt, and saturated fats. Research has found these nutrients are connected to increased obesity and chronic nutrition-related diseases.

“More than six million deaths [globally] could be avoided by reducing intake of processed foods, sugary beverages, trans and saturated fats, and added salt and sugar, “researchers found.

Front of pack warning labels are among the tools recommended by the World Health Organisation aimed at reducing the consumption of foods high in salt, sugar and saturated fat. Earlier this year the National Department of Health (NDoH) released for public comment draft regulations on the implementation of mandatory front of pack warning labels. According to the proposed regulations, all foods and beverages that have added salt, sugar or saturated fat and fall within “high in” thresholds or contain any non-sugar sweetener will have a black and white triangle warning on them to alert consumers.

The country cannot afford a delay in the implementation of the mandatory front of pack warning labels regulations. HEALA is calling on key decision makers to prioritise the health of South Africans.

“We calling on the National Department of Health to lead by its own mission “to improve health status through the prevention of illness, disease and the promotion of healthy lifestyles, and to consistently improve the health care delivery system by focusing on access, equity, efficiency, quality and sustainability”,” says Nzama Mbalati, Programmes Manager at HEALA.

The consumption of sugar sweetened beverages has also been linked to an increased risk of heart diseases. In a bold move by the South African government, the country blazed a trail as the first African country to legalise a tax on sugary drinks, in order to reduce the consumption of these products. However, in a series of decisions which favour the sugar industry, including putting a moratorium on an increase of the tax until 2025, National Treasury has threatened the efficacy of the regulation and put people’s health at risk.

“Industry often uses its economic power, lobbying and marketing machinery, and manipulation of the media to discredit scientific research and influence government inaction in order to propagate the sale and distribution of its deadly products. We cannot allow the continuation of putting profits over people,” Mbalati says.

END

About HEALA’s advocacy work in South Africa:

HEALA is a coalition of civil society organisations advocating for equitable access to affordable, nutritious food in South Africa by building a more just food system. Because government policy forms a crucial part of the South Africa’s food system, HEALA believes that hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition are policy choices.

HEALA advances the right to food by advocating for more just food systems in South Africa. We do this by acting as a platform for organisations and communities to organise around the realisation of the right to affordable and nutritious food. Through our campaigns, we help amplify the voices of people on the ground to ensure that they are heard by those in power at a local, provincial and national level.

HEALA’s vision is a South Africa in which all people have equitable access to healthy food to unlock their full potential.

For more information about HEALA’s advocacy work, please visit: www.heala.org

Media Contact
Zukiswa Zimela, Communications Manager
zzimela@heala.org; 0745201652

Healthy Living Alliance steering conversations about healthy food and healthy living

Posted on by Zukiswa Zimela

The Healthy Living Alliance (HEALA) held its quarterly panel discussion at the Clico Boutique Hotel. HEALA advocates for communities to organize and mobilize around policy and the right to affordable, nutritious food.

The discussion presented the media with an opportunity to learn about the role the big food plays in frustrating the implementation of lifesaving health policies and thwarting HEALA’s goal of ensuring “equitable access to healthy food” for all South Africans. The panel, led by HEALA’s programme manager Nzama Mbalati, legal researcher and PHD candidate Petronell Kruger, and Policy and Research Manager Angelika Grimbeek, was facilitated by Newzroom Afrika news anchor, Michelle Craig.

With South Africa under threat from the proliferation – and preference – for Ultra Processed Foods (UPFs) packaged and marketed by major food industry players, it is critical for organizations like HEALA to redirect the conversation to the dangers posed by noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) including obesity, diabetes, hypertension, and other risk factors associated with unhealthy food choices.

Some of these include consuming an unhealthy diet high in sugary meals, salty foods, and fatty foods. The World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended that countries implement interventions for Front of Package Labels (FoPL), strict marketing restrictions, and taxation as a means of fostering a culture of responsible food production and processing by large food producers, marketing institutions, and government agencies in order to steer consumers towards adopting healthy food choices and avoid NCDs.

Big Food Producers and marketing

According to Zukiswa Zimela, Communications Manager at HEALA, most of the non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, and some cancers can be attributed to the overconsumption of foods high in salt, sugar and saturated fat.

However, attempts to reduce the overconsumption of these foods are made difficult due to the proliferation of these foods in our supermarkets and the persuasive nature of the media and brand marketing strategies employed by the food and beverage industry through “sleek” marketing.

Angelika Grimbeek, manager of policy and research, says that a lot of people are unaware that common foods may in fact be harmful to their health.

For years, adverts and “health” claims have been utilized by large food corporations to sway consumer choices. Big bucks have been generated off of selling consumers foods and drinks loaded with sugar, salt, fat, and artificial sweeteners. Diseases like Type-2 diabetes and high blood pressure, which can lead to stroke or heart disease, are becoming increasingly common in our communities, added Grimbeek.

“Big food businesses have used adverts and health claims to influence what we eat for years. Massive profits have been made selling us products high in sugar, salt, fat and added sweetener. We are seeing more and more people in our communities suffering from diseases like Type-2 diabetes and high blood pressure that can lead to stroke or heart disease,” she said.

Healthy living is expensive: truth or myth?

For Patronell Kruger, the notion that a diet high in unhealthy foods is more expensive than one rich in nutritious foods is false.

“We must face the high cost of unhealthy diet and the consequences of noncommunicable diseases. The monetary burden of caring for noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) like diabetes has both immediate and far-reaching consequences. The cost of insulin is high. South Africans lose an average of R2,700 per year due to NCD, according to a study done by Wits University. That’s an eight-month COVID-19 award,” Kruger calculated.

South Africa became the first African nation to tax suger sweetened beverages on April 1, 2018. This regulation has caused beverage corporations to lower sugar-sweetened drink intake, but it will take more to shift behaviours.

The WHO studies demonstrate that a correctly planned tax that raises retail prices by 20% or more can reduce consumption proportionally and encourage healthier alternatives.

Mbalati noted that the food and beverage industry historically resisted new regulations and policies since major corporations are profit-driven. This makes advocacy a battleground between big industry, the government, and organizations like HEALA that advocate good policy.

Mbalati said the government sometimes speaks alone and the big industry sometimes misrepresents information to deceive consumers.

HEALA said that a South African HPL study indicated that the food and beverage industry misrepresents evidence and confuses the public by changing packaging.

Mbalati has urged media to present genuine and practical stories of persons recovering from terrible dietary choices.

“More human stories are needed. We must cease intellectualizing the problem with scholarly opinion pieces. I want to read about a diabetic. I want to know about her problems, food, transportation, and medication. “We need to humanize these stories,” Mbalati says.

Ends

OP-ED: Aggressive advertising of unhealthy food targets children, but we can do something about it now

Posted on by Zukiswa Zimela

Growing up I watched the annual Christmas adverts made by a popular global sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) brand with amazement. Their trickery added to the festive magic and convinced me that Christmas would not be complete without their products being part of the family feast.

As an adult, I know better. Their not-so-sweet intentions of making a profit at the expense of people’s health leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. As a dietitian I have spent countless hours counselling some of South Africa’s overweight and obese, of whom 31% are men and 68% women – advising them on how to lose weight and avoid falling victim to the country’s top noncommunicable killer diseases such diabetes and heart problems, which are rapidly growing and posing a health threat to our society.

As a nutrition policy advocate, I have read numerous reports and research which show how the very powerful and well-resourced food and beverage industry will stop at nothing to market their products, intentionally targeting children.

Research has found that SSB manufacturers have spent close to R4-billion on advertising in six years, with most of these adverts targeting children and family viewing times. Even though these SSB manufacturers have signed various self-regulation pledges to do otherwise, nothing has changed. Children are highly susceptible to adverts for unhealthy foods. As a mother, I have experienced the power of cleverly child-crafted adverts. Nobody can blame a child for choosing the treat advertised by a celebrity or cartoon over their mother convincing them about healthy food.

For far too long the industry has been given free rein to convince us consumers that these manufactured products are what we should be eating.

As families and society we all experience the constant bombardment of advertising – from billboards on busy highways and local shops and schools covered with branding, to soundbites on radio and constant promotions at supermarkets. We don’t even get a break when we log on to social media, where we see influencers promoting unhealthy products. The cravings we get from these adverts are difficult to escape. Our food environment is also flooded with cheap products that are energy-dense and nutrient-poor, making it very difficult to eat healthily. In the past 20 years, due to the commercialisation of food production and aggressive marketing, South Africans have started consuming more and more ultraprocessed products that are putting their health at risk, affecting their lives and placing a burden on our health system.

Realistically, unhealthy food products will always be around. The food and beverage industry is a business that needs these products to make money. However, for far too long it has been given free rein to convince us consumers that these manufactured products are what we should be eating. This has to stop.

Warning labels

The government has a responsibility to protect the health and nutrition of its citizens, as outlined in the Constitution. This can be done by enforcing national regulations that can protect households and individuals from predatory marketing practices. Among them is the proposed Draft Regulations Relating to the Labelling and Advertising of Foodstuffs (R3337), which was gazetted for public consultation on 21 April 2023. The last day for public comment is 21 July 2023.

In this draft, the Department of Health puts forward the introduction of mandatory front-of-package warning labels to be placed on packaged foods and drinks that are high in added sugar, salt and saturated fat or contain any artificial sweeteners. As a further proactive measure to especially protect our children from the harmful effects of unhealthy food marketing, the department has included marketing restrictions of all products carrying these labels. This regulation is a step towards helping consumers understand what is in the food we eat so we are better equipped to achieve our consumer responsibility of making healthier food choices for ourselves and our families.

Similar mandatory regulations have been implemented in many countries. In Chile, the combination of front-of-package warning labels, marketing restrictions and banning school sales of these products has led to a drop in the purchase of unhealthy products with no effect on employment, wages or profits for the food and beverage industry.

As a parent, I welcome any help in ensuring our children are protected from the pervasive marketing of unhealthy food by big food and beverage companies. To comment on this draft regulation go to Amandla.mobi and join me in supporting this crucial regulation. DM

Angelika Grimbeek is the Policy and Research Manager at HEALA. She is a registered dietitian that has a Master of Science in Community Paediatrics, giving her the skills and passion needed to be a nutrition advocate fighting for Food Justice in South Africa.

This oped was published in the Daily Maverick on the 19th of July 2023

Activists call for more restrictions on marketing of unhealthy foods and drinks to children

Posted on by Zukiswa Zimela

With one day to go before the 21 July closing of the public comment period for new draft legislation on mandatory food labelling and restrictions on marketing of unhealthy foods and drinks, the Healthy Living Alliance (Heala) is calling on government to strengthen the proposed marketing restrictions – specifically, to place tougher restrictions on advertising and marketing to children.

The new draft regulations, called R3337, include long-awaited, mandatory front-of-pack warning labels for foods high in added sugars, fats and salt, and on any product containing artificial (non-sugar) sweeteners, to reduce the risks of obesity and non-communicable diseases such as type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

The draft regulations also propose long-awaited restrictions on the marketing and advertising of foods and drinks to children, who are particularly vulnerable to the influences of marketing, and are often the targets of “aggressive food and beverage advertising campaigns”, Heala says.

Read the whole article here: https: Daily Maverick