The document was gazetted by the Department of Health in April and can be accessed online.

The Healthy Living Alliance (HEALA), a civil society organisation that promotes healthy eating, has been supporting the department's initiative to introduce warning labels on food products that contain high amounts of sugar, salt, saturated fat and other harmful ingredients.

Angelika Grimbeek, Nutrition Programme Manager at HEALA, said the warning labels would help consumers make better choices and prevent non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, hypertension and obesity.

"We want consumers to have access to information that will enable them to put their health first. If the warnings are on the front of the packaging, they can easily see if the food is unhealthy and avoid it or consume it in moderation," Grimbeek said.

--SABC--