New food code bans smoking and flavouring agents in traditional cured meats, mandates transparent döner labelling
Turkey’s Agriculture and Forestry Minister İbrahim Yumaklı has announced new standards for meat products aimed at protecting the integrity of traditional foods, saying the rules would stop producers from adulterating dishes such as sucuk and pastırma with additional ingredients, while requiring döner to be transparently labelled by its production method.
The new regulation, the “Turkish Food Codex Communiqué on Meat, Prepared Meat Mixtures and Meat Products,” was published in the Official Gazette and has now come into force. It sets out requirements for the production, packaging and marketing of raw meat, minced meat, minced poultry, prepared meat mixtures, mechanically separated poultry meat and other meat products.
Under the new rules, products will be barred from including protein or nitrogen sources other than meat, milk, eggs and yoghurt. Traditional products such as sucuk, pastırma and kavurma will no longer be permitted to use smoking processes or flavouring agents such as pistachios or cheese. Burger products have also been given a formal definition and must now meet the same criteria as köfte (Turkish meatballs).
Döner must now be labelled according to its production method, using the terms “yaprak döner” (sliced döner), “yaprak-kıyma döner” (sliced and minced döner) or “kıyma döner” (minced döner). The permitted fat content in prepared poultry meat mixtures and poultry döner has been reduced from 20% to 15%, while new restrictions aim to prevent fillers such as starch and soy being used to artificially increase product weight.
Food businesses already operating before the communiqué’s publication have been given until 31 March 2027 to bring themselves into compliance with the new rules.
