Turkey's Agriculture Ministry flags adulterated meat and food products in new safety list

Turkey's Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry has added 15 products to its latest list of foods found to be adulterated or fraudulent, with six classified as directly endangering public health. The list includes commonly consumed items such as sucuk, minced beef, salam, tea, and olive oil.

Laboratory tests uncovered the use of single‑hoof animal meat (horse, donkey) in sucuk and raw minced beef sold by firms in Mersin’s Yenişehir, Toroslar and Erdemli districts and in Bursa’s Nilüfer district. Other violations involved chicken or poultry skin and dermis mixed into products labelled as "dana sucuk", bone and head meat in meatballs, seed oil blended into products marketed as natural olive oil, and unauthorized dyes in black tea.

The ministry reports that in June it carried out 127,643 food inspections nationwide, issuing administrative fines totaling 242.8 million lira and opening criminal investigations against 32 firms. Updated lists are published on the agency’s official website, and consumers are urged to verify product information before purchase.