Law No: 5996
Date of Approval: 11.06.2010
Official Gazette Date: 13.06.2010
Official Gazette No: 27610

PART ONE: General Provisions

CHAPTER ONE: Purpose, Scope and Definitions

Purpose (Effective Date: 14.12.2010)

Article 1 - (1) The purpose of this Law is to protect and ensure food and feed safety, public health, plant and animal health, animal breeding and welfare, taking into account consumer interests and environmental protection.

Scope (Effective Date: 14.12.2010)

Article 2 - (1) This Law covers all stages of production, processing and distribution of food, materials and substances in contact with food, and feed; controls of plant protection product and veterinary medicinal product residues and other residues and contaminants; combating epidemic or contagious animal diseases, harmful organisms in plants and plant products; welfare of farm and laboratory animals and pets; zootechnical issues; veterinary health and plant protection products; veterinary and plant health services; import and export procedures of live animals and products; and official controls and sanctions related to these matters.

(2) Primary production for personal consumption and foods prepared for personal consumption are excluded from the scope of this Law.

Definitions (Effective Date: 14.12.2010)

Article 3 - (1) In the implementation of this Law;

  1. Wooden packaging material: Wood or wood products used for protection or transportation of goods, including packaging support materials, excluding paper products,
  2. Detention: Storage of live animals and products by the operator and restriction or prevention of their movement or touching by the owner, according to instructions given by the control officer until a decision is made,
  3. Ministry: Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs,
  4. Fishery products: All edible forms, parts and products of all marine and freshwater animals obtained from nature or farming, excluding live bivalve mollusks, live sea urchins, live tunicates, live crustaceans, all marine mammals, reptiles and frogs,
  5. Primary production: Production of farm animals until slaughter, milking, harvesting of plant products including primary products production, cultivation, hunting, fishing and gathering of wild products,
  6. Primary products: Products obtained from soil and animal husbandry including products obtained by hunting and fishing,
  7. Plant: Living plants and their unfrozen fruits and vegetables, tubers, bulbous plants, onions and rhizomes, cut flowers, leafy branches, pruning waste leaves, leaves, plant tissue cultures, living pollen, buds, scions and cuttings that maintain vitality, and botanical seeds intended for planting,
  8. Plant protection product: Preparations containing one or more active substances or components such as active substances, synergists or substances increasing reliability, presented to the user in various forms, protecting plants and plant products against harmful organisms or preventing their effects, excluding those used for plant nutrition, affecting plant growth, not covered by special regulations on preservatives but used as protectants of plant products, controlling or preventing undesirable developments of plants and plant parts, destroying unwanted plants,
  9. Plant passport: Official label or mark other than label accepted by the Ministry, standardized for various plants and plant products, prepared in accordance with procedures determined by the Ministry and issued by the Ministry or authorized persons, showing compliance with plant health standards and special conditions set by this Law and other relevant legislation,
  10. Plant health certificate: Document showing that plants and plant products comply with plant health conditions specified in this Law,
  11. Plant product: Products of plant origin, unprocessed or subjected to simple processing, not included in the definition of plant,
  12. Contaminant: Any substance present in food not intentionally added but present as a result of production, manufacture, processing, preparation, treatment, packaging, packing, transport or storage of food including primary production or environmental contamination, excluding foreign materials such as animal hair or insect parts,
  13. Exit: Exit of goods from the Turkish Customs Territory including export and temporary export,
  14. Farm animal: Animals bred and fed by humans for food including meat, milk, eggs, for leather, fur, wool, feathers or other products or for labor,
  15. Breeding stock: Qualified and certified animals showing breed, type and performance specific characteristics,
  16. Inspection: All procedures carried out or commissioned by the Ministry to determine compliance of feed, food, animal welfare and breeding, plant and animal health related activities with the provisions of this Law,
  17. Verification: Control performed to determine whether specified conditions are met by examination and considering objective findings,
  18. Coat color (Don): The dominant color or the color shown collectively by the majority of hairs covering the body in horses and other mammals,
  19. Other substances: Substances other than plants and plant products that pose a risk of carrying harmful organisms in terms of plant health,
  20. Planting: The process of placing plants in an environment to enable growth, reproduction and propagation,
  21. Plants for planting: Plants that are planted and will remain planted or plants to be transplanted and plants not planted but to be planted later,
  22. Pet and ornamental animal: Animals other than bees, crustaceans and poultry, including invertebrates, amphibians, dogs, cats, ferrets, ornamental fish, reptiles, rodents, domestic rabbits and all birds kept by owners or persons responsible on behalf of owners, not intended for sale or transfer to third parties,
  23. Beneficial organism: Parasitoids, parasites, predators and pathogens that spend any biological stage on harmful organisms and can limit their population,
  24. Food: All substances or products, processed, partially processed or unprocessed, intended to be ingested or drunk by humans, excluding live animals not intended for direct human consumption, feed, unharvested plants, medicinal products used for treatment, cosmetics, tobacco and tobacco products, narcotic or psychotropic substances and residues and contaminants; including water or any substance used in the production, preparation or treatment of food, chewing gum and beverages,
  25. Food contact material and article: Any material and article intended to be in contact with food or produced to be in contact with food,
  26. Food business operator: Natural or legal person responsible for ensuring compliance with legislation in any stage of production, processing and distribution of food under their control, whether public institutions or private entities, for profit or not,
  27. Food codex: Turkish Food Codex,
  28. Entry: Entry, import and placing under transit regime of goods into the Turkish Customs Territory and free zones,
  29. Surveillance: Careful observation of any food or feed establishment, operator or their activities,
  30. Surveillance zone: Area around the disease including the protection zone where necessary measures are applied to prevent spread of disease outside the protection zone and health status of all susceptible species is carefully monitored,
  31. Animal: Vertebrate and invertebrate living beings including aquatic animals, reptiles and amphibians,
  32. Animal owner: Natural or legal person holding ownership rights over animals,
  33. Animal product: All animal products including animal food for human consumption, animal by-products and reproductive products,
  34. Animal by-product: Animal-origin products or remains of whole or parts of animals not intended for human consumption including sperm, ovum, embryo not used in breeding,
  35. Hygiene: All necessary measures and conditions to control hazards and ensure suitability of food and feed for human and animal consumption considering their intended use,
  36. Adverse effect: Harmful effects or undesirable situations observed in animals, humans, plants or environment as a result of use of a veterinary medicinal or plant protection product according to label and promotional information,
  37. Import: Subjecting goods to procedures such as release for free circulation, customs warehousing, inward processing, processing under customs control and temporary import,
  38. Monitoring: Planned series of observations and measurements to obtain a general view on compliance of activities within the scope of this Law with the principles set by this Law,
  39. Traceability: Ability to trace and follow plant products, food and feed, the animal or plant from which food is obtained, or a substance expected or intended to be present in food and feed throughout all stages of production, processing and distribution,
  40. Residue: One or more substances including metabolites, degradation or reaction products found in or on plants, plant products and edible animal products as a result of use of plant protection products or pharmacologically active substances and their metabolites or other substances passing into animal products that may have adverse effects on human health,
  41. Quarantine: Control of animals, animal products, plants, plant products and other materials and substances potentially contaminated to prevent entry or spread of diseases or harmful organisms into the country or within the country,
  42. Control officer: Person authorized by the Ministry for official control,
  43. Cordon: Surveillance of an area where animal disease is detected and control of entry and exit,
  44. Protection zone: Area established around the disease outbreak to prevent spread of animal disease and harmful organisms, where movement of live animals, plants, animal and plant products is restricted including restriction of human movement if necessary,
  45. Protected areas: Areas under this Law where one or more harmful organisms are not endemic although environmental conditions are suitable, protected or eradicated according to procedures and principles determined by the Ministry, regularly and systematically monitored, where notification is mandatory if the organism appears, and special measures are taken,
  46. Sampling: Taking samples of products or any substances related to production, processing, distribution stages and animal and plant health to verify compliance with legislation, including samples taken from the environment,
  47. Approval: Permission or license granted by the Ministry for activities and products requiring approval under this Law,
  48. Special medical purpose diet foods: Foods specially produced or formulated to regulate diets of patients for certain nutritional applications, to be used under medical supervision, for patients or dietary managements with limited capacity to ingest, digest, absorb, metabolize or excrete usual foodstuffs or certain nutrients or metabolites contained in these foods, prepared for persons who cannot be adequately nourished by normal diet modification or other foods or both,
  49. Pedigree: Document indicating number, name, origin, breed, color, markings, sex, birth date, performance records, breeder and owner and other information and performance of breeding and registered horses,
  50. Retail: Processing, treatment or storage of food at the point of sale or distribution to the final consumer including main distribution centers, ready meal services, workplace and institutional canteens, restaurants and similar food service places, shops, wholesale places and supermarket distribution centers,
  51. Placing on the market: Presentation of any product within the scope of this Law to the market, for a fee or free of charge,
  52. Official control: Monitoring, surveillance, inspection, examination, quarantine, sampling, analysis and similar controls carried out by control officers within the scope of this Law to verify compliance with the provisions of this Law,
  53. Official veterinarian: Ministry personnel veterinarian performing duties assigned under this Law on behalf of the Ministry,
  54. Risk: Functional relationship between a hazard that may have adverse effects on health and the severity of that hazard,
  55. Risk analysis: Process consisting of three interconnected components: risk assessment, risk management and risk communication,
  56. Risk assessment: Process including scientific identification of hazard, determination of hazard characteristics, exposure assessment and identification of risk elements,
  57. Risk communication: Sharing of information and opinions among risk assessors, risk managers and other interested parties during the risk analysis process including explanations of hazard, risk, risk-related factors, risk perception, risk assessment findings and risk management decisions,
  58. Risk management: Process of evaluating, selecting and implementing appropriate control measures in consultation with relevant parties considering risk assessment and legal factors,
  59. Health mark: Mark indicating that official controls have been carried out on products requiring health marking,
  60. Health protection zone: Area or distance allocated to prevent adverse effects that may be caused to or come from the external environment,
  61. Border control point: Place located at border customs gates where controls of live animals, animal products, plants and plant products are carried out upon entry into the country,
  62. Studbook: Database where information required for pedigree registration is regularly collected,
  63. Adulteration: Removal or alteration of all or part of the essential characteristics and nutritional values of products within the scope of this Law or addition of another substance that does not have the same value as the original substance as if it were the same,
  64. Imitation: Presenting products within the scope of this Law as having features not present in their structure or as identical to another product in terms of shape, composition and characteristics,
  65. Food supplements: Nutritional elements such as vitamins, minerals, proteins, carbohydrates, fiber, fatty acids, amino acids or other nutrients or physiological ...