Focal Point Information

E-mail:

[email protected]

Country:

Türkiye

Organization/agency name (Full name):

DG of Agricultural Research and Policies (TAGEM)

Contact person name:

Ramazan BULBUL

Website:

http://www.tagem.gov.tr

Physical full address:

Universiteler Mah. Dumlupınar Bulvarı, Eskişehir Yolu 10. Km Çankaya/ANKARA/TURKEY

Phone number:

+90 312 307 60 48

Fax number:

+90 312 307 61 90

Country introduction

Summary:

Turkey is party to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (CPB) since Jan 24, 2004. Biosafety applications in Turkey are carried out within the framework of the Biosafety Law (no.5977) which entered into force in 26 September 2010 and its relevant regulations (“The Regulation on Genetically Modified Organisms and Products” and “The Regulation Connected with Working Procedure and Principles of Biosafety Board and Committees”). Biosafety Law and two regulations came into force on 26th September 2010.

Main objectives of the Biosafety Law are;

to prevent risks that may arise from GMO’s and products which are produced by using of modern biotechnology by taking into account scientific and technological developments;
to establish and implement biosafety system to ensure protection and sustainability of environment, biological diversity and health of human, animal and plant;
to inspect, regulate and monitor the activities in the scope of the law.

The Law includes specific points regarding research, development, processing, releasing on the market, monitoring, using, import, export, handling, transportation, packaging, labelling, storage and similar operations in relation to GMO and GMOPs.

Veterinarian medicinal products and medicinal products for human use and also cosmetic products which are permitted or certified by the Ministry of Health are out of this Law’s scope.

According to Biosafety Law following actions connected with GMO and GMOPs are prohibited:

Releasing GMO and GMOPs on the market without approval of Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.
Production of genetically modified plants and animals.
Using GMO and GMOPs in baby food and baby formulae, follow-on baby food and follow-on formulae, infant and kid’s nutritional supplements

According to the Biosafety Law, which was enacted in 2010, the Biosafety Board, which was established within the scope of the Law, was responsible for evaluating the applications regarding GMO and its products.

However, the duties and powers of the Biosafety Board were assigned to the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry with the Presidential Circular No. 2018/3 published in the Official Gazette on the date of August 2, 2018.

The task of evaluating the applications related to GMO and its products, performing the secretarial services of the Committees and other duties specified in the Biosafety Law and related regulations has been assigned to General Directorate of Agricultural Research and Policies (TAGEM) under the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry pursuant to Ministerial Approval dated 05/12/2018.

Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry makes a “Decision” about applications on GMO and products via taking Scientific Committees’ risk assessment and socio-economic assessment into account.

For each application the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry assigns a new committee and each committee makes different assessment for each application. It is important to note that in Turkey food and feed each have a different assessment application.

Members of scientific committees are selected from the List of Experts.

11 members are selected for each GMO application.

List of Experts has been made up by the evaluation of Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry from the applicants who applied via using the Biosafety Clearing-House Mechanism of Turkey. Applicants were faculty members and experts of Universities and TÜBİTAK (The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey).

To date, 13 types of GM soybean and 23 types of GM maize were approved as feed for import.

Besides, by the use of aspergillus oryzae, developed through modern biotechnological methods, licences for industrial α-amylase, glucoamylase and hemicellulase enzyme production were granted.

Threshold of labeling of GMO products that are approved by Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry is 0.9%.

There are not any applications for using GMO and products as food.

After placing GMO and GMOPs on the market; the Ministry controls and inspects whether or not conditions designated by decision are met.

Activities of analysis are performed in laboratories designated by the Ministry.

In the case of any non-compliance detected with relation to the GMO Legislation (such as a failure to specify the contained GMO on the label, identification of an unapproved gene, etc.) legal action is taken.

Application evaluation process is like below:

Evaluation of application by Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry 90 days
Feedback to the applicant 15 days
Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry’s “Decision” 270 days

(Starts from feedback to the applicant)

Establishing of Scientific Committees

Report preparation of Committees

Report’s public release

Evaluation of public opinions by Committees

Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry’s final decision after taking reports and public opinions into

account

Publishing the Positive Decision 30 days
Reclamation period to Negative Decision 60 days
Evaluation of reclamation by Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry 60 days

Framework

Regulatory framework:

My country has a regulatory framework that requires the competent authority to conduct safety assessment of GM food.

Structure for GM food safety assessment:

My country has competent authority, agency, organization, ministry, department, committee, commission or a system/mechanism that is tasked to conduct or review GM food safety assessment.

Supplemental information:

Contact details of the competent authority(s) responsible for the safety assessment and the product applicant:

Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry

General Directorate of Agricultural Research and Policies

Focal Point of the FAO GM Foods Platform

Ramazan BULBUL

Email: [email protected]

Assessment

GM food safety assessment guidelines:

My country follows the relevant Codex Guidelines or national/regional guidelines that are in line with the Codex Guidelines in conducting safety assessment of GM food.

Conduct of GM food safety assessment:

My country regularly conducts food safety assessment of GM food.

Supplemental information on the implementation:

Stacked events

Regulation of stacked events:

In my country, GM food/feed that contains stacked event(s) is considered as a new product even if all single events that are stacked have already approved.

Supplemental information on the stacked events:

Production and trade

GM food/feed production:

My country does not produce any GM food or feed.

GM food/feed imports:

My country allows imports GM food or feed upon authorization.

Supplemental information on the production and trade:

LLP/AP incidents

LLP/AP incidents:

My country has faced LLP/AP situations in the last 10 years.

Supplemental information on the LLP/AP incidents:

Subsequent to the amendment made to the Regulation of 29 May 2014, the following definition was added; “GMO contamination refers to GMOs that contaminate a product, which either has been subject to gene modification technology or not, during production, manufacturing, handling, preparing, processing, packaging, transport or storage including the primary production stage, or GMOs that cannot be technically avoided, prevented or that has adventitiously contaminated the product due to environmental factors”. According to this definition, the threshold of %0.9 is used for contamination level (Low Level Presence).

Labelling requirement

Labelling requirement:

My country has a mandatory and positive labeling regulation on GM food (i.e., It contains GMO).

Supplemental information on the Labelling requirement:

The types of organisms approved by the Ministry are permitted to enter the country on the condition that they are deemed compliant following the related controls and labelled in line with the Article No. 18 of the Regulation (The Regulation on Genetically Modified Organisms and Products).

However there are not any applications for using GMO and products as food.

Relevant links to documents and information prepared by the competent authority responsible for the safety assessment