Water instead of milk found in packages! DEVA Party's Karal brings the scandal to Parliament

DEVA Party's Hasan Karal has submitted a parliamentary question to the Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM) for the Minister of Agriculture and Forestry, İbrahim Yumaklı, to answer. Recalling that water was found instead of milk in packaged milk sold by a well-known food company at a supermarket chain operating across Turkey, MP Karal described the incident as a 'scandal'.

"THE INCIDENT SHOWS DEFICIENCIES IN FOOD INSPECTIONS"

Stating that the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry issued a recall order for the production batches in question after the incident came to light, Karal said, "While this decision is a positive step, the incident has once again laid bare the deficiencies in food safety and inspection mechanisms. Finding water in packages sold on supermarket shelves as 'whole milk' is the result of a chain of negligence and is a situation that can be described as a scandal. This situation, which is an indicator that there could also be substances harmful to human health in sealed packaging like milk cartons, is extremely dangerous."

"INSPECTIONS ARE NOT EFFECTIVE ENOUGH"

MP Karal underlined that food safety is of vital importance for public health. Noting that this situation raises concerns that inspections are not effective enough and that problems are only noticed through consumer complaints or public pressure, Karal emphasized that the system must be reviewed and deterrent measures increased to prevent similar incidents from happening again.

PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION SUBMITTED

In the motion he submitted for Minister Yumaklı to answer regarding the scandal, Karal requested answers to the following questions:

“1) What is the reason why the products, which were determined to contain water instead of milk in packages sold as ‘whole milk’ at a supermarket chain operating across Turkey, were not noticed until they reached the supermarket shelves and were offered for sale?

2) Do you intend to provide clarifying information to the public regarding the functioning of the inspection mechanism in this process?

3) Has an investigation been launched into the lack of inspection that caused this scandal?

4) Have the individuals or institutions that were negligent in the occurrence of such incidents been identified, and if so, what actions have been taken against them?

5) Has an analysis been conducted on the consequences if harmful substances that could threaten public health had been filled into these products instead of water, for which the explanation 'water was filled by mistake' was given?

6) What concrete steps are planned to be taken to prevent such situations and to strengthen inspection mechanisms?

7) Is a new regulation or practice planned to prevent fraud and similar violations in the food production chain?”