GS1 South Africa t/a Consumer Goods Council of South Africa (CGCSA) has partnered with Coca-Cola Beverages South Africa (CCBSA) to raise awareness on food safety and quality at a workshop held today in Mangaung, Bloemfontein. Also participating in the workshop was the Free State Department of Economic, Small Business Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs (DESTEA) and Mangaung Metro. The workshop is aligned with the World Consumer Day which is celebrated annually on 15 March, to raise awareness about consumer rights to access information on the quality, purity, price and standard of goods and service they purchase. CGCSA used the workshop
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The Johannesburg High Court has reviewed and set aside the decision to seize meat analogue products from retail outlets. The Consumer Goods Council of South Africa (CGCSA) was forced to urgently seek an interdict to stop the assignee the Food Safety Agency (FSA) from seizing meat analogue products from the shelves of retailers around the country, which it successfully did pending the outcome of the review of the decision. The matter related to the treatment of meat analogue products (being products which approximate the aesthetic qualities of meat, but which are made from non-meat ingredients) by the FSA, the Executive
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The Chief Executive of the Consumer Goods Council of South Africa (CGCSA) Zinhle Tyikwe has called for collaboration between the government, organised business and other stakeholders to overcome the country’s economic challenges. Speaking at the CGCSA’s annual summit in Sandton, Tyikwe said the low economic growth in South Africa has been worsened by load shedding at a time when the country was beginning to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic, which severely disrupted social and economic life. The theme of this year’s summit is “Reshaping the Future Together: Prepare, Build, Grow & Sustain”. “The CGCSA believes in collaboration with stakeholders to
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The co-chairman of the Consumer Goods Council of South Africa (CGCSA) Gareth Ackerman today said the private sector cannot longer wait for government to solve the country’s worsening infrastructure crisis because the state is failing to deliver. Addressing the annual summit of the CGCSA in Sandton, Ackerman said businesses will have to provide solutions than wait for the government to step in. Ackerman questioned why the government is not dealing with alleged corruption at Eskom where there have been allegations of the utility being supplied with low quality coal for its power stations. “We need to ask ourselves what is going
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The Consumer Goods Council of South Africa (CGCSA) has criticised the decision by the government to increase the sugar levy by 2.31 cents per gram saying it will result in unintended consequences of job losses and further contribute to many sustainable farmers losing their livelihoods. CGCSA was responding to the announcement by the Minister of Finance that the government has after three years of no changes, decided to increase the health promotion levy on sugar sweetened beverages. The CGCSA said there was no consultation prior to the decision to increase the levy, neither was there sufficient consultation when the government
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The Consumer Goods Council of South Africa (CGCSA) has appealed to the government to urgently provide effective protection to its retail, manufacturing and services sector members, and to provide for the safe passage of delivery vehicles and employees, in restoring the supply food, pharmaceutical and medical supplies to areas affected by looting. The CGCSA is particularly concerned about the impact of the disruptions on food security across the country, and is calling on government’s support to avert an emerging humanitarian crisis. The appeal comes following the widespread destruction of, and damage to, food and other manufacturing facilities, supermarkets and grocery
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The Co-Chairman of the Consumer Goods Council of South Africa (CGCSA) Gareth Ackerman has called on the government to remove restrictions limiting alcohol sales to four days, saying the financial losses to retailers have become unsustainable. Jobs were also under threat said Ackerman.   “Currently, retailers selling liquor for responsible consumption at home are restricted to operating from Monday to Thursday. However, those selling liquor for on-site consumption, like bars and taverns can trade for a full seven days. This makes no sense for a sector that accounts for only 30% of the total liquor throughput. If the reason to
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The Consumer Goods Council of South Africa (CGCSA), the Liquor Traders Association of South Africa (LTASA) and their respective retail members have noted the decision by the Government to reimpose restrictions on the sale of alcohol for off-site consumption, as part of measures to control the further spread of Covid-19. These restrictions, which have taken immediate effect, are a reversal of the concession given to liquor retailers to sell liquor products for off-site consumption from Monday to Sunday. While we acknowledge the broader aim of the restrictions announced by President Ramaphosa, we are nevertheless concerned with the inconsistent approach by
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Today marks World Food Day, an international day celebrated in over 150 countries to create awareness and action for the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2, to end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture.   The 2020 World Food Day comes as the world continues to battle against the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic which is throttling many economies and threatening the already volatile food systems, where millions go to bed hungry. Hunger is still a universal problem confronting the greater part of humanity.   This calls for collective action towards growing a variety
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