New Standards and Labeling Era Begin in Döner Production

September 16, 2026 · Yeni Şafak

The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry has enacted a new Turkish Food Codex Communiqué, introducing fundamental changes to döner from meat content to additives.

New standards for meat products have come into effect with the Turkish Food Codex Communiqué published in the Official Gazette by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry. According to the new communiqué, the term 'döner' alone will no longer be sufficient for products offered to the market; products must be clearly labeled as sliced, minced, or sliced-minced döner. According to the Ministry's statement, the minced meat content in minced döner cannot exceed 90%, and the product must contain at least 10% sliced meat. For sliced-minced döner, the sliced meat content will be at least 60%, and the minced meat content will be a maximum of 40%.

With the new regulation, strict limits have been imposed on the nutritional values in döner content. According to the Ministry's data, the total fat content in döner must not exceed 25%, salt content must not exceed 2%, and total meat protein must be at least 12%. The use of peanuts, cheese, starch, and soy as fillers in products has been completely banned. While the rate of natural starch and vegetable protein from spice sources is limited to 1%, smoking processes have been ended for sucuk, pastirma, kavurma, and döner.

Within the scope of the communiqué, implemented to ensure food safety and prevent consumer deception, a transition period has been granted to businesses in the sector. Producers need to align their current production processes, recipes, and product labels with the new criteria. The deadline for businesses to complete their preparations, as determined by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, will end on March 31, 2027. After this date, no business that does not comply with the determined standards will be allowed to sell its products.

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