Turkey issues regulations on food labelling and consumer information

Turkey’s Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry/General Directorate has proposed a new regulation regarding the labelling of food products and other information provided to consumers.

According to a Notification issued in late January by the World Trade Organization’s Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade, the proposed regulation, “Turkish Food Codex Regulation on Food Labelling and Information to Consumers,” establishes “general principles, needs and responsibilities governing food information to consumers and in particular food labelling,” with the objective of protecting human health. The requirements of the proposed regulation are reportedly consistent with those in the European Union’s Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 that addresses the provision of food information to consumers.

According the WTO’s Notification, requirements under the regulation would enter into force on 31 December 2019. Comments are due by not later than 15 March 2019, with a proposed adoption date of 20 March 2019.  

The complete text of the proposed Regulation is available (in Turkish) here. A copy of the WTO Notification that provides additional details regarding the regulation is available here. The WTO Notification also provides information on how to submit comments in advance of the 15 March deadline.