Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey

Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Food and Control General Directorate has relayed information to TOBB regarding companies which have been confirmed via lab results to be engaged in imitation and adulteration of food.

On the orders of TOBB President M. Rifat Hisarciklıoğlu, 365 chambers and commodity exchange secretaries general in the provinces have been requested to initiate the necessary procedures for member firms in question.in accordance with the “Disciplinary Board and the High Disciplinary Board Regulation for Disciplinary and Monetary Penalties for Chamber and Commodity Exchange Members.”

Also added to the list of companies sent by the Ministry were companies which produce or sell spoiled, modified foods that endanger people's lives and health.

- Disciplinary boards can issue warnings, condemnations and fines

Disciplinary boards within chamber and commodity exchanges can impose various penalties for those who knowingly act in attitudes and actions which do not conform to the dignity of the profession, those who declare unrealistic in terms of the nature or quantity of goods offered for sale, the unregulated measurement and weighing instruments.

In addition, such boards can impose various penalties in manufacturing, supplying goods and services, such as warnings, condemnations and fines for those who manufacture and sell fraudulent, mixed, non-compliant and inferior goods. These penalties are determined by the degree and nature of violations in the legislation.

- Pharmaceutical substances had been detected in many foods

The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry shared with the public 386 products belonging to 229 companies, including meat and meat products, milk and dairy products, vegetable oil, honey, supplementary foods and chocolates, which were confirmed to have been imitated or forged on January 14th. Thus, since the first public announcement on the issue was made in 2012, 3,202 batches of products belonging to 1443 companies have been announced to consumers.

As a result of the inspections, it was determined that some soft drinks, supplementary food products, sugary products, herbal tea and coffee involved active ingredients. While it was determined that some companies were engaged in imitation and adulteration of their honeys, it was revealed that different seed oils were used in tomato paste, spices, tea and coffee, food coloring, milk and dairy products, starch, gelatin and vegetable oil, and olive oils. In addition, pork, single-fingered meat, horse meat, soy, poultry meat, crippled, skin tissue and head meat were also detected in red meat and meat products.