Ministry Implements New Standards for Meat Products

September 16, 2026 · AA Yeşil Hat

The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry has made comprehensive changes to the regulation on meat and meat products to enhance food safety and prevent adulteration.

The Turkish Food Codex Regulation on Meat, Prepared Meat Mixtures, and Meat Products, prepared by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, has been published in the Official Gazette and officially entered into force. Within the scope of the regulation, all processes from the production to the packaging of raw meat, minced meat, poultry mince, mechanically separated poultry meat, and meat products have been restructured. Strict restrictions have been imposed on fillers such as soy and starch, which are used to unfairly increase product weight, while existing businesses operating in the sector have been given until March 31, 2027, to comply.

With the new standards, the use of smoking and flavoring agents such as peanuts and cheese in traditional meat products like sucuk, pastirma, and kavurma has been completely banned. While the production of burger products in accordance with meatball criteria has been made mandatory, it is now required to specify 'sliced döner', 'sliced-minced döner', or 'minced döner' on döner labels according to the product's nature. Furthermore, according to data from the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, the maximum fat content in prepared poultry meat mixtures and chicken döner has been reduced from 20% to 15%.

In his evaluation of the regulation, the Minister of Agriculture and Forestry, İbrahim Yumaklı, stated that they are focusing on protecting consumer health and that inspections will continue:

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