Ministry Exposes 53 Fraudulent Food Products

October 6, 2026 · Takvim

The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry announced 53 products confirmed to be adulterated and counterfeit during food safety inspections, initiating legal action.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry has publicly announced its new list of counterfeit and adulterated products following inspections aimed at ensuring food safety. According to the official statement, non-compliant ingredients were identified in 53 products. Basic food items crucial for daily consumption, such as cheese, yogurt, butter, sucuk (sausage), köfte (meatballs), olive oil, and honey, were included in the list. The inspections revealed that producers resorted to misleading consumers and employing methods that threaten public health in an effort to reduce costs.

Processed meat and restaurant fillings constituted one of the most critical points of the inspections. Poultry meat was detected in raw 'lahmacun' and 'pide' fillings taken from businesses in Ankara, Antalya, Kayseri, and Bursa. In addition to poultry meat, head meat and gizzards were found in raw Adana kebab filling sold in Hacılar district of Kayseri. Mechanically separated meat was found in sucuk sold in Bursa, Kütahya, and Konya, while official analyses proved the presence of soy in beef kavurma (a meat dish) offered for sale in Istanbul.

One of the most striking non-compliance issues on the list was identified in 'cantık pide', one of Bursa's registered delicacies. Single-stomach animal meat was detected in the raw filling labeled as beef, taken from Acı Dayı Cantık Salonu operating in the Osmangazi district. Offal and mechanically separated poultry meat were also found in some other meat businesses across Bursa. Ministry officials announced that penal and legal proceedings have been initiated against the use of non-standard raw materials, even in regional products.

Numerous cases of adulteration were also recorded in the dairy and dairy product category. In the Safimis brand product marketed as 100% buffalo yogurt in Eyüpsultan, Istanbul, cow's milk was used instead of buffalo milk. Vegetable oil was detected instead of milk fat in fresh kashar cheese, processed cheese, and butter sold in Aydın, Bilecik, İzmir, and Sakarya. Furthermore, the use of starch and emulsifying salts in violation of regulations was documented in cheese from Konya and yogurt samples from Kilis.

During vegetable oil inspections, the fraudulent methods of olive oil producers were particularly noteworthy. Counterfeiting was discovered in Naturel Sızma Zeytinyağı (Extra Virgin Olive Oil) products supplied to the market by some businesses in the Köşk and Efeler districts of Aydın. It was determined that low-cost seed oils were mixed into the products sold in 1, 2, and 5-liter PET bottles and tins instead of real olive oil. Laboratory tests clearly documented that the products did not meet the quality parameters for olive oil.

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