Ministry responds to claims of carcinogens in olive oil

The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry has clarified the recent debate surrounding olive oil. The General Directorate of Food and Control, which operates under the ministry, announced that official inspections of olive oil and vegetable oils produced in Turkey have not detected any carcinogenic substances above legal limits.

PRODUCT IN FRANCE IS NOT OF TURKISH ORIGIN

Some media outlets and social media platforms had claimed that an olive oil exported from Turkey to France contained carcinogenic substances at 6 times the legal limit. However, the ministry stated that the product in France is not of Turkish origin and that no official notification has been made to Turkey by French authorities or the European Union's Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF).

BARCODE NUMBER BELONGS TO ITALY

The statement noted that the barcode number of the product in question belongs to Italy. The fact that the GTIN number "8011845300554" begins with "801" indicates that the product is of Italian origin. Products produced in Turkey begin with "869". Furthermore, it was determined that no export health certificate had been issued for the Kavak brand olive pomace oil.

The ministry emphasized that the limit for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) is set at 10 micrograms per kilogram in both European Union and Turkish legislation, and that this limit has not been exceeded in oils produced in Turkey.

News Source: 12punto