Agriculture Ministry bans nuts, cheese, and smoking in sausage and pastırma

The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry has restructured the Turkish Food Code Meat Notification, completely banning the use of seasonings such as nuts and cheese in traditional sausage, pastırma, and kavurma; smoking processes have also been ended.

Restrictions have been imposed on fillers that increase product weight, such as starch, soy, and dietary fiber. The addition of external nitrogen and protein sources has also been prohibited, except where dairy, egg, yogurt, and similar products are technologically necessary or where they form the natural structure of meat.

A new transparency requirement for döner labels has come into effect: Producers are now required to clearly write on packaging either "sheet döner", "sheet-ground döner", or "ground döner" depending on the production technique. The notification amendment was stated to have been prepared to prevent unfair competition and consumer deception.

The regulation sets a new standard for the meat sector: Low-cost filler practices that have become widespread in the market to date—particularly sausage mixed with soy and starch—will now face legal barriers at the production stage. The Meat Notification was last comprehensively amended in 2018; that regulation introduced labeling requirements but did not make content restrictions binding.