South Africa’s new meat analogue regulations are here. Learn what they mean for plant-based products, and how FACTS can help you comply. In July 2025, the long-awaited meat-analogue regulations were published, giving the plant-based industry guidance on the naming of their meat-alternative produc...
Have you ever wondered who the faces are behind the regulatory and nutrition team at FACTS? Gabrielle Jackson, Karen Horsburgh and Roxanne McCaffrey are a team of three dietitians with 40 years of combined experience, and refer to themselves good-humouredly as #regulatorynerds. This team loves deep-...
Compositing – the practice of combining multiple subsamples to create a single sample – is widely used in food testing to provide a more comprehensive view of, for example, a batch of product. While compositing is a useful tool, it can present unique challenges and risks when applied to allergen...
Preservatives and antioxidants play a vital role in keeping food safe and extending shelf life by preventing spoilage from microorganisms. It is common to use more than one preservative or antioxidant in a single product to achieve the optimum desired effect. However, it is important that product de...
Testing for the presence or absence of allergen residues on surfaces using swabs is well established. However, accurately quantifying allergenic residues on surfaces using swabs is far more complex — and not currently considered scientifically reliable. Experts caution against quantitative alle...
“I want to test my product to ‘certify’ it as gluten-free.” It’s a common request in the food industry— and while testing is an essential component in determining gluten content, testing alone does not automatically ‘certify’ a product as gluten-free. Certification involves a bro...
Herbs and spices are consistently among the top adulterated food categories worldwide. Their high value, global demand, and powdered or fragmented form make them particularly vulnerable to fraud. Learn more about herb and spice fraud here: 2023 Webinar on fraud in Herbs & Spices In this ar...
This is Part 3 of a three-part series on sugar alternatives. Previous parts covered the following. This last part of the series focuses on other factors to consider when using sugar alternatives. PART 1 PART 2 PART 3 • What sugar alternatives are out there? • What sugar ...
We recently published part 1 of a three-part series on sugar alternatives, which covered the topics ‘What sugar alternatives are out there?’ and ‘What sugar alternatives are permitted in South Africa?’ Read more here. In this second episode you will find information on: Labelling su...