Ministry Releases List of Counterfeit and Adulterated Foods

October 2, 2026 · Yeni Şafak

The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry has publicly announced firms engaging in imitation and adulteration that jeopardize food safety, listing irregularities in beef, milk, honey, and olive oil.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry has announced the results of its inspections targeting firms involved in imitation and adulteration, aiming to ensure food safety and prevent illicit gains. According to the Ministry's latest report dated September 30, methods that disregard human health to cut costs in basic food items have become widespread. Laboratory analyses conducted on a wide range of products, from cheese to olive oil, yogurt to ready-made minced meat and fillings, have revealed detailed irregularities in the food market.

The list published by the Ministry contained extremely serious findings that directly threaten consumer health. Single-stomach animal meat was detected in a beef sucuk sample taken on June 5, 2026, from Sözet Et ve Et Ürünleri, operating under the name İmren Kasap in Bursa. Similarly, horse or donkey meat was identified in raw beef cantık filling collected on June 8, 2026, from Acı Dayı Cantık Salonu in the Osmangazi district. Additionally, prohibited industrial food coloring was found in red pepper powder produced at Öztürk Baharat facilities in Musabeyli, Kilis.

It was announced that significant adulteration is being practiced in minced meat fillings and processed meats served in mass catering establishments to reduce costs. Poultry meat, head meat, and gizzards were found mixed into pide and lahmacun fillings presented as beef and lamb meat in restaurants in Ankara, Antalya, Bursa, and Diyarbakır. A similar mixture of mechanically separated poultry meat and offal was found in raw Adana filling produced in Hacılar, Kayseri. The records also showed the inclusion of soy and offal as weight enhancers in frozen meatballs and sucuk products from Konya, Kütahya, Bursa, and Ankara.

Serious misleading practices were also reported in traditional dairy products sold at high price points. Low-cost cow's milk was found to be used in Safimis brand buffalo yogurt, marketed as 100% buffalo yogurt, in Eyüpsultan, Istanbul. In kaşar cheese and butter produced in İzmir, Aydın, Bilecik, and Sakarya, cheap vegetable oils were documented as replacing milk fat. In Konya and Kilis, starch and illegally added melting salts were detected in yogurt and processed cheese to improve consistency.

Value-added products prominent in the Aegean and Mediterranean regions also featured significantly in the inspection reports. Low-quality seed oils were identified instead of olive oil in the content of natural extra virgin olive oils produced in Köşk and Efeler districts of Aydın and marketed in 1, 2, and 5-liter packages. In the case of strained flower honey marketed under the Pelit Natural Bal brand from Antalya, sugar syrup and various additives were found to be used instead of bee products, leading to its public disclosure by the ministry.

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