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Teams from the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry took action following a tip-off regarding illicit production at a facility operating in the Teşvikiye neighborhood of Sakarya's Pamukova district.
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Inspections revealed that the facility's windows were blacked out from the inside, product shipments were generally carried out at night, and transport vehicles were parked in a way that they could not be seen from the outside. This situation indicated that the facility was conducting secret and unmonitored operations.
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EXPIRED KASHAR CHEESES FOUND
As a result of the teams' detailed investigation, it was determined that the facility was not using milk, but instead melting down expired or near-expired kashar cheeses collected from the market and remolding them.
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Five tons of counterfeit kashar cheese obtained through this illicit production were seized. The total market value of the counterfeit cheeses was reported to be approximately 1.5 million TL.
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The Sakarya Provincial Directorate of Agriculture and Forestry imposed an administrative fine of 210 thousand 622 TL on the business, which was determined to be operating without approval.
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Furthermore, it emerged that numerous actions had been taken against the owner of the business in the past regarding similar food safety violations. The seized counterfeit products were collected for destruction.
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GLOVE FOUND IN CHEESE
This is not the only scandal the business has been involved in. In a report made to the Alo Food 174 hotline in March 2025, it was reported that a plastic glove was found inside kashar cheese purchased from a delicatessen in Sakarya.
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Laboratory analyses confirmed that that product was also produced at the same suspicious facility.
News Source : 12punto
