Türkiye to expose food fraudsters starting October

Turkish Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry is set to resume its initiative to publicly expose companies involved in food fraud, including those engaging in product adulteration and counterfeiting.

Agriculture and Forestry Minister Ibrahim Yumakli announced that the details of the plan would be shared with the public on Oct. 1.

Food safety: Top priority

“Food safety is our top priority,” said Yumakli. “We conduct an average of 1.3 million inspections annually. In 2024 alone, we have already carried out 854,694 inspections.”

He added that these efforts led to administrative fines for 14,237 businesses, and 339 companies have been referred to the prosecutor’s office for further investigation.

Addressing public concerns about transparency, the minister added, “There are criticisms regarding why fraudulent food companies are not disclosed. We will remove this issue from the public agenda.”

Extensive inspection network in place

The ministry currently employs 7,500 food inspectors who regularly monitor production, mass consumption, and sales points.

These inspections are conducted at 39 public laboratories, the Bursa Food and Feed Central Research Institute, the National Food Reference Laboratory, and 105 private food control laboratories.

Hotline for complaints

In addition to routine inspections, the ministry closely monitors reports and complaints through its 24/7 food safety hotline, “Alo 174”. After receiving reports, inspectors are dispatched to the relevant location to investigate.

The ministry ensures that complaints are addressed within 15 days. In 2023, over 1.3 million food inspections were carried out nationwide.