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HEALA urges government to approve food warning labels and increase sugar tax to 20%
The Healthy Living Alliance (HEALA) has called on government to strengthen measures aimed at reducing diet-related diseases, urging Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana to increase the Health Promotion Levy to 20% and finalise regulations for front-of-pack warning labels on food products.
The call comes as Godongwana prepares to deliver the 2026 Medium Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) on Wednesday, 21 October, with the organisation warning that the country’s long-term health challenges also carry significant economic consequences.
HEALA wants government to approve Regulation R3337 by 10 December 2026, more than three years after the proposed regulations were published in draft form in April 2023.
What the proposed food warning labels would mean
Through its Front of Package Labelling 90 campaign, HEALA is pushing for prominent warnings on packaged foods that are high in sugar, sodium and saturated fat.
The proposed regulations also cover food marketing and health claims, including measures intended to protect children from the promotion of unhealthy products.
The organisation says warning labels would make it easier for consumers to identify products with high levels of nutrients associated with health risks, without having to interpret complicated nutritional information printed on the back of packaging.
HEALA believes the measures could also encourage manufacturers to reformulate products to meet healthier nutritional standards.
Its campaign argues that South Africans have a right to understand what is in the food they buy and feed their families.
HEALA calls for stronger sugar levy
The organisation is also calling for the Health Promotion Levy (HPL), commonly known as the sugar tax, to be increased to 20%.
The levy and front-of-pack warning labels serve different but complementary purposes. While warning labels provide consumers with information about the nutritional content of products, the levy uses taxation to discourage excessive consumption of sugary drinks.
HEALA chief executive Nzama Mbalati said government had a responsibility to prioritise public health when developing policies that affect consumers and the food industry.
“Public health is not commercial health. Government has a responsibility to protect the public interest, including regulating powerful commercial sectors. Industry participation in policy-making is legitimate, but it must not become a mechanism through which essential health protections are delayed indefinitely,” he said.
Concerns over delays
HEALA has raised concerns about the prolonged process of finalising Regulation R3337, including discussions at the National Economic Development and Labour Council (Nedlac).
The organisation acknowledges that consultation between government, business, labour and community representatives can help identify practical challenges and assess the economic implications of proposed regulations.
However, it argues that the consultation process should not result in indefinite delays.
HEALA wants greater transparency and public accountability regarding the reasons the regulations remain unfinalised, including whether the delays relate to technical concerns, implementation challenges, competing priorities or a combination of factors.
Health crisis carries economic costs
The organisation says the prevention of non-communicable diseases, including obesity, diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular disease, should be treated as an investment in South Africa’s long-term economic and social wellbeing.
These conditions can place financial pressure on households, affect productivity and increase demand on the public healthcare system.
According to HEALA, the Department of Health reported more than 44 million screenings each for high blood pressure and elevated blood glucose during the 2024/25 financial year.
While government continues to invest in screening and treating these conditions, the organisation argues that greater emphasis should also be placed on preventing them.
Mbalati said resources spent treating preventable diseases could otherwise support other public services and development priorities.
“Every rand spent treating preventable disease is a rand that could otherwise support stronger health services, education, infrastructure and social development. Prevention is fiscally responsible. Health is not separate from the economy: healthy people are more productive, healthier children are better positioned to learn, and healthier households are better able to withstand economic shocks,” he said.
Constitutional rights and the cost of living
HEALA’s appeal comes amid persistent poverty, inequality and pressure on household budgets, with the organisation calling for a coordinated approach to food and health policy.
Section 27 of the Constitution recognises everyone’s right of access to healthcare services and requires the state to take reasonable legislative and other measures, within available resources, towards progressively realising this right. Section 27 also recognises the right to sufficient food and water.
HEALA argues that finalising food-labelling regulations and strengthening prevention measures would contribute to creating a healthier food environment.
December deadline approaches
With its proposed 10 December deadline approaching, HEALA is urging National Treasury and the Department of Health to demonstrate concrete progress on Regulation R3337 and ensure that the Health Promotion Levy remains on the government’s public-health agenda.
The organisation maintains that economic considerations should be taken into account when developing policy, but should not overshadow public-health objectives and the state’s constitutional responsibilities.
Through its Front of Package Labelling 90 campaign, HEALA is calling for the regulations to be approved by the December deadline and for meaningful action to strengthen the levy.
The organisation says South Africans should not have to wait indefinitely for measures intended to help them make informed food choices and reduce the risk of preventable diseases.
Economy
The Scorpion Kings’ burgers are all sold out, but the Scorpion Kings Live are back tonight on SABC 1
Before DJ Maphorisa and Kabza De Small were filling FNB Stadium with Amapiano, there was the hustle – and for Maphorisa, part of that hustle involved food.
Long before the Scorpion Kings name became synonymous with some of South Africa’s biggest musical moments, Maphorisa was finding different ways to make money while pursuing his music career.
“I used to deejay on weekends and I opened a tuck-shop at home just to have a cash flow and at school I used to sell sweets and lollipops,” Maphorisa said.
He explained that the money helped him save for his first car and travel between Pretoria and Johannesburg while working towards his music career.
So, years later, seeing the producer put his name to a burger collaboration feels like a rather delicious full-circle moment.
The Scorpion Kings – Maphorisa and Kabza De Small – teamed up with RocoMamas in September for the limited-edition King’s Feast, a menu inspired by their personalities, their music and plenty of South African flavour.
The collaboration ran until 30 September, meaning the burgers have now officially left the menu – but having tasted them, there is plenty to talk about.
Madumane Double – big, saucy and properly Mzansi
The DJ Maphorisa-inspired Madumane Double did not arrive quietly.
The burger featured a 200g double beef smash, chakalaka, chorizo and cheese, all packed into a brioche bun. RocoMamas positioned it as the “main drop” of the collaboration.
The first bite was very much about the beef, but then the chakalaka came through with that familiar South African kick.
Spicy, savoury and gloriously messy, it was the sort of burger that requires you to abandon any plans of eating neatly.
And there was something particularly kasi about that combination.
Chakalaka was not there as a gimmick. It gave the burger a distinctly South African personality, taking the familiar smashburger format and throwing in a flavour many Mzansi households know very well.
RocoMamas described the collaboration as burgers built by the two artists “the way they build a track – layer on layer until it hits.”
That description actually makes sense.
Papta Sting brings the heat
Then came Kabza De Small’s Papta Sting – and this one was for the spice chaser.
The burger combined southern-fried chicken with atchar and jalapeños on a brioche bun. RocoMamas summed it up neatly: “Sweet on the way in, sting on the way out.”
And that is pretty much the assignment.
The chicken brings the crunch, the atchar delivers that sweet-sour South African flavour, and then the jalapeño arrives with a little extra attitude.
It is the kind of burger that makes you pause after the first bite and ask yourself whether you really want another one.
Naturally, you do.
Kabza’s association with the burger also made sense because the collaboration was built around flavours that feel familiar to South African palates rather than trying too hard to reinvent the wheel.
It tasted like the kasi – with a RocoMamas twist
The King’s Feast was at its most interesting when it leaned into flavours that South Africans already know.
Chakalaka. Atchar. Pap balls. Big portions. Messy eating. Food made for sharing.
RocoMamas itself described the campaign as being inspired by the “grootmans of the yanos”, while its promotional material leaned heavily into the idea of bringing South African flavour to the menu.
That made the collaboration feel like more than simply putting two famous names on burgers.
Amapiano has always been closely connected to place, community, language, fashion, dance and everyday South African life. The King’s Feast borrowed from that same cultural vocabulary and put it on a plate.
And yes, chakalaka on a burger works.
There, we said it.
The timing was perfect
The RocoMamas collaboration formed part of the build-up to Scorpion Kings Live at FNB Stadium on 19 September.
RocoMamas was an official activation partner for the massive concert, alongside brands including SABC1, which was the official broadcast partner.
The King’s Feast was available throughout September before ending on 30 September.
So if you were planning to rush to RocoMamas today for a Madumane Double or Papta Sting, unfortunately, you have missed the boat – or in this case, the burger.
But there is another Scorpion Kings moment waiting tonight.
From the burger to the big screen
Scorpion Kings Live is making its television debut on SABC1 today, Saturday, 3 October, at 20:00.
The concert, which was staged at FNB Stadium on 19 September, will be broadcast for the first time on television, with a simultaneous broadcast on SABC Plus. SABC1 confirmed the broadcast as part of its partnership with the event.
For viewers who were not inside FNB Stadium, tonight is the chance to experience the scale of the show from home.
SABC Video Entertainment Marketing Manager Dichaba Phalatse described the concert as “more than a concert” and “a defining South African cultural moment”, saying SABC1 wanted to bring the energy of FNB Stadium to audiences across the country.
The Scorpion Kings themselves said: “Scorpion Kings Live was too special to be experienced for one night only.”
They added: “Now, for the first time, people across South Africa can relive that experience from wherever they are.”
And that is where the RocoMamas collaboration comes full circle.
The burgers may have disappeared from the menu, but the music is still very much on.
So, what was the foodie verdict?
The Madumane Double was the heavyweight – beefy, saucy, cheesy and carrying enough chakalaka to remind you that this was never meant to be just another burger.
The Papta Sting was the cheekier one – crispy chicken, atchar and jalapeño bringing the sweet-and-sting combination promised in the name.
Neither needed to pretend to be fine dining.
They were burgers.
Big, messy, youthful burgers with a distinctly South African accent.
And perhaps that was the point.
Maphorisa went from selling sweets and running a tuck shop to becoming one of the biggest names in Amapiano. Now his name has been attached to a burger loaded with chakalaka.
Not a bad journey.
The King’s Feast may have left RocoMamas on 30 September, but the Scorpion Kings are back on screen tonight.
So get your snacks sorted, turn up the volume and settle in for FNB Stadium from your sofa.
Just don’t blame us if watching Kabza and Maphorisa perform makes you hungry.
That part is on you.
