Organic Product Processing

A – Organic product cannot be processed with conventional product in the same place, at the same time. Organic product sorting, drying, withering, crushing, mixing, composting or pulping, diluting, solidifying, canning, shaping, fermenting and similar procedures cannot be implemented with conventional products at the same time.

B - Synthetic and chemical additives may not be used during the processing of the organic product.

C – Irradiation cannot be used during the processing of organic produce.

D - During the processing of the organic product, hygienic measures are taken to preserve the organic quality of the product.

E - The organic product cannot be genetically modified during processing.

F - Only the additives specified in the annex to the Regulation on the Principles and Practice of Organic Agriculture may be used during the processing of organic produce.

Storage of Organic Products

General principles in Storage of Organic products;

• Organic products are stored separately from conventional products.
• Where separate storage is not possible, measures are taken to prevent the mixing of organic and conventional products and the sufficiency of such measures are inspected by control and/or certification body. They are not mixed with the products obtained with other methods.
• No chemical drug is used during the storage of organic products. Only CO2 gas tank can be used.
• It is not permitted to accelerate the growth of organic products with chemical substances, germinate the organic products or wash them with chemical cleaning agents which are not stated in Regulation on Application and Principles of Organic Farming.
• Annual schedules indicating all characteristics regarding storages are prepared by operator and approved by control and/or certification body and one copy of the schedule is kept by operator and other copy is kept by control and/or certification body.

Marketing of Organic Products

General principles in marketing of organic products;

• Organic products are sold in separate aisles from conventional products, clearly labeled as organic products aisle.
• Organic products may not be sold unpackaged in the open or on the street-facing side of the store on main streets and roads with more than 1000 vehicles per day.
• The name, code number, logo or stamp of the control and/or certification body, the certification number of the product and the organic product logo must be present on the organic product packaging. On the labels of transition products, it must be clearly declared that it is a transition product.
• There must be a label on the packaging of organic products and transition products in accordance with the provisions of the Regulation on the Principles and Implementation of Organic Agriculture.
• Domestic circulation and import and/or export certificates are obtained from the relevant institutions. An import and/or export certificate must then be obtained from the control and/or certification body.
• Import and/or export certificates may only be issued to products that have organic raw material and/or organic processed product certificates and comply with the provisions of the Regulation on the Principles and Implementation of Organic Agriculture.

Transportation of Organic Products

General principles in transportation of organic products;

• Control and/or certification body determines in advance the transportation conditions of the producer’s products.
• Organic products cannot be kept by the side of highways.
• The economic operator shall take the necessary measures if the organic product is to be transported by a fuel-using vehicle. Products reaching the consumer in an unpackaged form should take care to be transported labeled in double-shielded closed containers if transported by fuel-using vehicles.
• Organic products may be transported to wholesalers and retailers only in suitable packages and containers, sealed and labeled to prevent mixing of contents.
• During the transportation of the organic product, a domestic circulation certificate is obtained from the relevant institution of the Ministry. The certificate must contain the clear identity and address of the producer, processor, packager, all other intermediaries and the control and/or certification body, the product logo and all necessary stamps.
• For organic products transported for import and/or export, an import and/or export certificate is also issued.

Storage of Organic Products

General principles on storage of organic products;

• Organic products are stored separately from conventional products.
• Where separate storage is not possible, measures are taken to prevent the mixing of organic and conventional products and the adequacy of these measures is inspected by the control and/or certification body. They are not mixed with products obtained by other methods.
• No chemicals are used during storage of organic products. However, a CO2 gas tank can be used.
• It is not permitted to accelerate the growth of organic products with chemical substances, germinate them or wash them with chemical cleaning agents not specified in the Regulation on the Principles and Practice of Organic Agriculture.
• The operator shall prepare annual schedules showing all the characteristics of the warehouses, have them approved by the control and/or certification body and keep one copy of the schedule by the operator and the other copy by the control and/or certification body.

Organic Products Labeling

General principles in organic product labeling are as follows:

• The name of the product and the fact that it is an organic product must be clearly indicated on the label.
• The year of harvest, to whom the product belongs and whether it was produced or purchased in accordance with the Regulation on the Principles and Practice of Organic Agriculture and its Annexes must be indicated.
• Organic product logo must be available.
• Name of control and/or certification body, their logo and certificate number must be indicated.
• Code number given by Committee of control and/or certification body must be indicated.
• The ingredients of the products must be available as a full list.
• It must be stated that organic product was made in Turkey.
• The place of production, production and expiry date of the organic product must be indicated. The use of the word organic on the product label is equivalent to the use of the words ecological, biological, natural in processed products.
• It cannot be implied and declared on the label of products that are not produced in accordance with the provisions of the Regulation on the Principles and Implementation of Organic Agriculture that they are produced, prepared, processed, packaged and stored in accordance with this Regulation. Such products cannot be trademarked, patented and registered as organic agricultural products. Prefixes such as bio, eco, natural in the processed product implying that it is organic cannot be used. These products cannot be promoted as organic products. The use of natural in processed products implies that the product is produced organically.
• Those who will use an organic product label apply to a control and/or certification body to determine that the product is organic. The control and/or certification body carries out the necessary examinations, issues the necessary certificates and notifies the Committee. The Committee submits the information and documents received from the control and/or certification body to the relevant General Directorate of the Ministry for legal authorization.

Packaging of Organic Products

General principles for packaging of organic products;

• Care should be taken to ensure that the quality of the organic product does not deteriorate when packaging plant, animal and aquaculture products and organic inputs produced by organic farming methods as raw materials, semi- and/or finished products. Packaging should be made of cotton or linen cloth bags, glass, materials made of paper, materials made of wood and wood, wicker and similar materials made of corn and similar fibers, specially produced suitable organic coating materials and substances.
• If the organic product is to be packaged in plastic protective and metal containers, the surfaces of the containers that will come into contact with the product must be coated with organic material.
• During the packaging of the organic product, all hygienic measures are taken to preserve the organic nature of the product.