An Overview of Food Law in Turkey

In the food industry, farmers, processors, and consumers are guaranteed by legislation, and those legislations are as old as the history of humankind. Comprehensive food regulations and efficient food inspection are undeniable two main factors to ensure food safety. The legislations were more detailed and qualified in Turkey.[1]

1. What is Food Law?

Food Law is the collection of laws and regulations that manage food production, distribution, and consumption. The main purpose of the Food Law is to protect consumers and provide for the efficient growth and use of food.[2] Also, protecting humans’ health is ensuring safety so it is the main principle of the Food Law.

2. Food Law Regulations in Turkey

Two important laws in Turkey govern food sector: “Food and Feed Law” and “Biosafety Law”. These laws have detailed definitions and guidelines to follow on the issues they regulate. They also describe the legal liabilities of those who fail to comply with these guidelines. Legal liabilities usually refer to tort liabilities. However, even though it is not explicitly stated, strict liability is defined in Biosafety Law.[3]

3. Food and Feed Law

The purpose of Law no.5996[4] is stipulated in its first article as; “to protect and ensure food and feed safety, public, plant, animal health, and animal breeding and welfare taking into account the interests of consumers and the protection of the environment”. On the other hand, the scope of Law no.5996 includes:

• Feed,
• All stages of the production, processing, and distribution of food that contact with substances, materials, and feeds,
• Control of plant production products and veterinary medicinal product residues, other residues, and contaminants,
• Epidemic and contagious animal diseases,
• Struggling with the harmful organisms in plants and herbal products,
• The welfare of farm and experimental animals with pets, and ornamental animals,
• Zootechnical issues,
• Products of veterinary health and protection of plants,
• Services of veterinary and health of plants,
• The entry and exit procedures of live animals and products into the country and official controls and sanctions regarding these issues.

Primary production for personal consumption and foods prepared for personal consumption are not included in this Law.

Under article 21 of Law no.5996, the definition of ‘unsafe food’ is determined as that is dangerous for human health and unsuitable for consumption. In case of non-compliance with the conditions in the article regulating reliability, those who do not comply with the conditions will be subject to legal liability. In determining whether the food is safe, production, processing, and distribution stages, label information, health warning information, and daily normal usage conditions by people are taken into consideration.[5]

Even if the food complies with the conditions determined by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (“the Ministry”), if there is sufficient doubt or reason that the food is not safe, the Ministry may restrict the supply of the food in question to the market or have it recalled.

4. Turkish Food Codex Regulation

The purpose of the Turkish Food Codex Regulation is to determine the standards of food production and good manufacturing practices to protect consumer health and for fair internal and international trade.

The Ministry is responsible for draft and publishing the food codex determining the necessary the minimum technical and hygiene criteria related to food and materials and articles in contact with food, plant protection products, and veterinary medicinal residues, additives, contaminants, principles for sampling, packaging, labeling, transport, storage, and methods of analysis.

1. Purpose and Scope

• The purpose of this Regulation is to regulate minimum technical and hygiene criteria for food and food contact substances and materials, pesticide residues and veterinary drug residues, food additives, flavorings, and food components with flavoring properties, contaminants, packaging, labeling, sampling. arranging analysis methods. Also to regulate the principles regarding the horizontal and vertical food codex related to transportation and storage, and the rules for determining the special provisions regarding geographical indication.
• This Regulation includes; minimum technical and hygiene criteria for food and food contact substances and materials, pesticide residues and veterinary drug residues, food additives, flavorings, and flavoring food components, contaminants, packaging, labeling, sampling, analysis methods, transportation, and the rules regarding the horizontal and vertical food codex regarding storage and the determination of special provisions regarding geographical indication.

 

2. Controls

The Ministry is in charge to perform controls with respect to verification of compliance with the specifications of agricultural products and foodstuffs which are protected geographical indications and protected designations of origin or protected as traditional specialties guaranteed.

Official controls are performed by the Ministry without prior notice, except for cases that require a prior notification, and at an appropriate frequency in an objective and transparent manner; in conformity with the principles of professional secrecy on the basis of risk.

3. Sanctions

Administrative sanctions are imposed on those who violate this Regulation according to the relevant articles of Law No. 5996.[6] The sanctions include;

• Food that is unfit for human consumption shall be withdrawn from the market where the costs are borne by the responsible person, and their ownership shall be transferred to the public. An allegation for those who produce or place on the market such product shall be handed over to the Public Prosecutor’s Office within the scope of crime against public health.
• Those who violate the provision on foods and materials and articles in contact with food that does not comply with the food codex shall not be produced, processed, and placed on the market will be charged an administrative fine of ten thousand Turkish Liras.
• Food and feed to be placed on the market shall be labeled adequately or identified through relevant documentation or information required by the Ministry.) Those who violate paragraph this provision will be charged an administrative fine of two thousand Turkish Liras. In case the act is repeated more than once in a given year, the administrative fine shall be applied as ten thousand Turkish Liras.

 

5. Biosafety Law

1. What is Biosafety?

Biosafety is defined as, “The discipline addressing the safe handling and containment of infectious microorganisms and hazardous biological materials”[7]

Because of the technological and scientific developments, new dangerous situations which can cause harm to human health may occur, in order to eliminate the genetically modified products developed by genetic engineers and the dangers that these products may cause, regulation has been made by the legislator.

The Turkish legislator accepted the Biosafety Law on March 18, 2010, which was published in the Official Gazette dated March 26 and entered into force six months after its publication on 26th September 2010. The basis of the law is the "Cartagena Protocol to the Convention on Biological Diversity", which was signed by the United Nations and approved by Law No. 244/3 on May 31, 1963.

The Biosafety Law brought legal regulations regarding genetically modified organisms (“GMO”). The Regulation on Genetically Modified Organisms and Their Products (“GMO Regulation”), was published in the Official Gazette dated 13 August 2010 and entered into force on the same date as the Biosafety Law on which it is based.[8] The purpose and scope of the Biosafety Law are regulated in its first article.

2. Purposes

Within the framework of scientific and technological developments;

• Prevent the risks that may arise from genetically modified organisms and their products obtained by using modern biotechnology
• Establish and implement a biosecurity system, to supervise these activities, in order to protect human, animal, and plant health, the environment, and biological diversity, and to ensure its sustainability, to determine the procedures and principles related to the regulation and monitoring.

3. Scope

Research, development, processing, placing on the market, monitoring, use, import, export, transport, transportation, storage, packaging, labeling, storage, and similar activities related to genetically modified organisms and their products.

Veterinary medical products, human medicinal products, and cosmetic products licensed or authorized by the Ministry of Health are outside the scope of this Law.

Application Process, Principles of Evaluation, and Decision Making are determined in its third article. According to this article, applications should be submitted to the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry. Registered application times of GMO Products for ten years. In addition, if GMO Products threats to the health of humans, animals, and plants with environmental and biological variety, eliminate the right of choice of the consumers or producers, cause the deterioration of the ecological balance of the environment and ecosystem, there is a risk of GMO Products being released into the environment, can be dangerous for the continuous of biological variety and owner of the applications doesn’t have enough technical equipment for applying the precautions to ensure biosafety, the application would be rejected.[9]

Except for Food and Feed Law and Biosafety Law, in Turkish Law, there are other regulations that protect consumers, try to decrease threats of food, and punish the criminals such as the Turkish Penal Code, Law on Consumer Protection, Obligation Law, Food Hygiene Regulation and also as the main regulation there is Constitution. But we still need regulations that protect consumers more especially in terms of liability.

Conclusion

The food sector has existed for years and will continue to exist as long as human life continues. For this reason, Food Law has had great importance.

Production differences, the existence of genetically modified organisms, labeling, growth of the organic food sector and the legal and criminal responsibilities arising from it, and similar problems in the food sector are resolved within the scope of the Food Law.

In light of this, companies operating in the food sector need legal consultancy regarding compliance with these legislations.