24 July 2026

Ministry clarifies when food labels may say "natural"

Türkiye's Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry has set out when the word "natural" may appear on a food label. A food qualifies only if it consists of a single ingredient, contains no additives or flavourings, and has undergone nothing beyond physical, enzymatic or microbiological processing. Milk, honey, eggs, coffee, tea, extra virgin olive oil, yoghurt and kefir may carry the claim when those conditions are met. Wordings such as "100% natural", "truly natural" or "the most natural" are banned as misleading. If the product as a whole fails the criteria, the claim cannot be made even for one of its ingredients.