Ministry launches major food inspection campaign

Officials from the Agriculture Ministry will conduct food inspections at restaurants, hotels, cafes and other eateries until Sept. 8 to ensure that products offered at those venues comply with health regulations.

The inspections, which started on Aug. 21, will be carried out simultaneously in all 81 provinces of the country.

The purpose of the checks is to prevent possible foodborne outbreaks and respond swiftly, according to the directive issued by the Agriculture Ministry to the provincial directorates of agriculture and forestry.

More than 7,600 officials will check whether those facilities comply with hygiene rules. If deemed necessary, officials will collect food samples for further inspections from the suspected facilities.

Authorities are working to ensure food safety for consumers and to prevent any possible foodborne illnesses and outbreaks at a time when temperatures are well above normal levels, said Agriculture Minister İbrahim Yumaklı.

The focus of the inspections will be the facilities where a large amount of food is consumed, he added.

Yumaklı noted that officials from the Agriculture Ministry conducted a total of 1.33 million inspections on food products in 2022.

"During those checks, 18,413 administrative fines were issued and 243 criminal complaints were filed with prosecutors."

Since the start of 2023, more than 745,000 inspections on food products have been carried out and administrative fines were issued to 8,769 food companies, according to the minister.

"We will not let consumers' health be put at risk. All necessary measures will be taken to ensure food safety. Those inspections also aim at preventing unfair competition among companies by preventing firms from selling unsafe...