FIRST PART
General Provisions
FIRST CHAPTER
Objective, Scope, Baseline and Definitions

Objective
Article 1- The objective of this Regulation is to determine the procedures and essentials about protecting ecological balance, enforcement of organic agricultural activities, regulation, development and becoming widespread of organic agricultural production and marketing.

Scope
Article 2- This Regulation comprises technical and administrative peculiarities on proper production or procurement of every kind of plant, animal and aqua culture products and inputs to be used according to organic farming methods, on gathering of crops from forests and natural areas in accordance with the organic farming principles, and on processing, packing, labelling, storage, transportation, marketing, control, certifying, inspecting of these products.

Baseline
Article 3- This regulation has been prepared based on the Organic Farming Law 5262 of 1 December 2004

Definitions
Article 4- For the purpose of this Regulation;
‘Ministry’ shall mean Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs,
‘Provincial Directorate’ shall mean Provincial Directorate of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs,
‘Committee’ shall mean Organic Agriculture Committee,
‘Law’ shall mean Organic Agriculture Law,
‘Organic farming activities’ shall mean production or cultivation of organic product or input by using soil, water, plant, animal and natural sources, gathering crops from natural areas and resources, harvest, cut, processing, classification, packing, labelling, preservation, storage, transportation, marketing, import, export and other transactions till the product or input shall reach the consumer,
‘Organic farming method’ shall mean method states all the activities during the implementation of organic agriculture,
‘Traditional method in agriculture’ shall mean all methods other than the organic farming method,
‘Control and certification institution’ shall mean actual or judicial persons authorized by the Ministry in order to control and certify all the stages from production to consumption of organic crop and input,
‘Control institution’ shall mean actual or judicial persons authorized by the Ministry for the purpose of controlling all the stages from the production of organic crop and input to its consumption,
‘Certification institution’ shall mean actual or judicial persons authorized by the Ministry in order to certify organic products or inputs of which the whole control process has been completed based on the control done by the control institution and related documents of this control and on the analyses itself shall get made in required cases ,
‘Authorized institution’ shall mean actual or judicial persons authorized by the Ministry as control and certification institution, control institution or certification institution,
‘Control’ shall mean determining whether the organic farming activities are done in compliance with this regulation, regular recording, reporting the results, if necessary, testing organic quality of  product by laboratory analyses,
‘Controller’ shall mean actual person authorized by the Ministry for the purpose of control the compliance of implementation of organic farming activities in accordance with the related regulation on behalf of control and certification institution or control institution,
‘Certifier’ shall mean actual person authorized by the Ministry in order to approve that the product or input of which the control has been completed is organic on behalf of control and certification institution or certification institution,
‘Inspection’ shall mean all manner of inspection of authorized institutions, holdings, entrepreneurs, controllers and certifiers carried out by the Ministry or the institutions authorized by the Ministry in order to determine whether the organic farming activities comply with this Regulation,
‘Holding’ shall mean, under the control of the authorized institution, places where organic products are produced, processed, stored and marketed by contracting with the institutions in consideration,   
‘Entrepreneur’ shall mean real or judicial person, who deals with organic farming activities,
‘Organic vegetable production shall mean food for human, feedingstuffs, plant nutrition, obtaining propagation material, providing organic raw material for the industries supplying raw material from agriculture, medical and scientific production activities done in compliance with this Regulation and controlled and certified by authorized institution at every stage,
‘Organic animal husbandry production’ shall mean producing animal by using breeding animal or sperm, producing human food, fodder or plant nutrition from animal products, providing organic raw material to the industries and scientific studies taking raw material from agriculture, production activities done in compliance with this Regulation and controlled and certified by authorized institution at every stage,
‘Organic aquaculture production’ shall mean providing organic raw material for the industries supplying raw material from agriculture, food for human, stock reinforcement from such as fish, hydrophytes, sponge, mollusc, shellfish, mammals, and their products cultivated in seas, inner waters, ponds, net cages, dams, lake, puddles, fish traps and farms, and production activities done in compliance with this Regulation and controlled and certified by authorized institution at every stage for sporting, medical and scientific purposes,
‘Certification’ shall mean documentation of the holding, organic product and input in compliance with the Regulation in consequence of all control methods being applied,
‘Certificate’ shall mean the document indicating the holding, organic product and input in compliance with the Regulation in consequence of all control methods being applied,
‘Working permission’ shall mean permission given by the Ministry to controllers, certifiers and authorized institutions which will work in compliance with this Regulation,
‘Organic product’ shall mean certified raw, semi-processed or processed materials produced in compliance with organic agriculture activities,
‘Conventional product’ shall mean products obtained by traditional agricultural methods,
‘Transitional period’ shall mean period between the beginning of activities and certifying the product as an organic product in compliance with this Regulation,
‘Organic input’ shall mean materials used in agricultural activities,
‘Organic product label’ shall mean information and material in written or pressed form such as any words, particulars, trade marks, brand names, pictorial matter or symbols on any packaging, notice, label, board or collar, which introduce the product or identify inside of the product, and are placed on organic product or its package,
‘Organic product logo’ shall mean pressed symbols referred to in Annex-3(C) in this Regulation,
‘Biological struggle’ shall mean struggle strategy by using the harmful, disease, weed, and other organisms for keeping the bad effect of harmful organism under the economical loss level,
‘Biotechnical methods’ shall mean struggle against the determined harmful species by using traps and trap systems, pheromone, attractants, repellents, substances for inhibiting feeding and laying eggs,
‘Genetically modified organisms (GMO)’ shall mean any living organisms formed with a new type of genetic material combination of genes from different species and micro-organisms by using biotechnological methods, not formed by copulation and/or natural crossbreeding, namely, gene exchange of the species  within their own populations,
‘GMO products’ shall mean products which contain GMO, are formed from GMO, or derived therefrom,

SECOND PART
Principles of Organic Agriculture
FIRST CHAPTER
General Production According to Organic Farming Activities

General Rules of Organic Farming
Article 5- General rules of organic farming are stated as follows.

a) Organic farming method can be applied all over the country on the condition that the rules in this Regulation are obeyed. whether organic farming can be applied in the areas in which environment pollution shall be a risk, is decided by control and certification institution or control institution
b) Organic farming shall be based on the contract signed  by entrepreneur and authorized institution. This contract is a written agreement which states that agricultural activities should be applied in compliance with the provision of this Regulation.
c) Organic farming shall be applied under the control of authorized institution.
d) The buildings, devices, and equipments used in traditional production shall be used in organic production after they are cleaned in accordance with the articles in Annex 8 of this Regulation.
Starting to Organic Agriculture
Articles 6- The rules of starting organic agriculture are stated below.
a) Entrepreneur who wants to deal with organic farming shall apply to control and certification institution or control institution. Following the completion of the information and documents as follows, contract shall be signed. This information and documents are;
1) Identification information and documents containing the name, address, TR-ID no and taxpayer no,
2) The place and location of the holding,
3) Title deed in the case of cadastral process has been completed, otherwise area plot ,
4) Information and documents indicating ownership or using right of the area applied for,
5) If the holding processes food, then, `Work Permit and Document of Food Registration’, `Production Permit`. 
The entrepreneurs, who signed contact before the issue of this Regulation, shall complete the information and documents above in no later than six months.
b) Control and certification institution or control institution shall decide whether the applicant entrepreneur will start production by organic farming method,
c) The entrepreneur, who is found eligible for starting organic farming, shall make a contract with the control and certification or control institution to which he/she applied. Entrepreneur can either deal with organic farming activities individually or with a producer group. In this case, entrepreneur shall make a contract with the control and certification institution or control institution on behalf of the group. Entrepreneur shall also contract with the real or judicial persons whom he/she has the cut services done such as brokerage, storing, processing, etc.
d) The entrepreneur, who has signed a contract with the authorized institution and shall gather crops from forests or natural areas, before gathering crops, shall take written permission from the owner of the area or the office which has the using right. The transitional period for the crops gathered from the areas under consideration, with respect to the kind of the area, shall be determined by the authorized institution.
e) The entrepreneur, who will deal with aqua culture production, if the production will be occurred in a public area, shall apply to the authorized institution by submitting the written permit from the related association and sign a contract with the institution. The transitional period for the aqua culture product shall be determined by the authorized institution according to the characteristic of the species.
f) Authorized institution can either make a contract for each stage of production or can make a single contract on condition that it states each activity separately. Authorized institution, whether the entrepreneur acts individually or with a producer group, shall give the entrepreneur a code number according to the code system prepared by the Committee and be notified to authorised institution.
Transactions related to the transitional period
Article 7- Authorized institution shall take the entrepreneur with whom it has signed a contract and who deals with organic crops, livestock and aquaculture, into the transitional period. The crops which are harvested twelve months later following the start of organic farming in crop production shall be evaluated as transitional period product. Transitional period product shall be marketed with the `product of organic farming in transitional period ` label on it.

SECOND CHAPTER
Plant production by Organic Farming Method

Rules of organic vegetable production
Articles 8-The rules of organic vegetable production are stated below:
a) Organic plant production shall be done by a contract with authorized institution and under the control institution.
b) The entrepreneur who will deal with organic vegetable production shall be taken into the transitional period. Conversion period is two years for single-year plants, pastures, and fodder crops and three years for perennial plants. For single-year plants planting date and for perennial plants harvest date shall be taken into consideration.
c) Control and certification institution or control institution may extend or shorten the transitional period having regard to previous parcel use, applications, general condition and crops in the region, risk situation, and the relevant records and reports of the entrepreneur in concern.
d) Authorized institution shall decide, according to the criteria below, whether the period in which previous activities have been realized is a part of transitional period.
1) In case it is documented that the inputs other than the ones in Annex-1 (A) and (B) have not been used for the last three years, this period of time shall be retroactively accepted as a part of transitional period.
2) In case it is officially documented that production parcels are inside the areas related to obligatory protection of environment and rural areas, then this period of time shall be accepted as a part of transitional period.
e) Where it is made obligatory by the state to use the inputs that are already converted in organic agriculture or are in the transitional period and do not exist in the Annex-1 (A) and (B) in disease and pests control, the transitional period which will be re-determined can be shorten by the Committee by the proposal of the control and certification or control institution.
f) In a holding, conventional products that are the same variety and species as organic products or varieties that cannot be easily differentiated from those produced by organic farming method can not be produced together with the organic ones. However, in the case of perennial crop production, providing that:
1) The entrepreneur undertakes that the entire production of the holding will convert to organic production in a plan not later than five-year period,
2) Measures have been taken to ensure that the products harvested from each unit will be separately stored,
3) Authorized institution is notified of the harvest of each product concerned at least 48 hours before,
4) Immediately upon completion of the harvest, the entrepreneur informs the authorized institution of the exact quantities and any particular distinguished features of the harvested products and confirms that the required measures have been taken in order to store the products separately,
Authorized institution permits to deal with the organic and conventional type of production of the same product together in the same holding.
In the case of areas intended for agricultural research, production of seed, vegetative propagating material and transplants, whether the provisions in (2), (3), (4) subparagraphs of paragraph (f) have been met are sought.

Soil conservation, preparation and fertilizing
Article 9- The rules of soil conservation, preparation, and fertilizing in organic plant production are stated below.
a) Authorized institution shall decide whether measures will be taken for soil conservation in the area after the controls in the field.
b) In organic agricultural production, soil cannot be unnecessarily cultivated in a way that it causes erosion.
c) The fertility and the biological activity of the soil shall be ensured by the following methods;
1) Cultivation of legumes, green manures, or deep-rooted plants should be applied in an appropriate multi-annual rotation programme.
2) For a single product, livestock manure from organic livestock production as not more than 170 kg pure nitrogen per hectare in a year should be used.
3) In accordance with the rules of this Regulation, organic material composted or not derived from production areas.
d) In organic vegetable production areas, fertilizers and soil amelioration substance mentioned in Annex-1 (A) of this Regulation may be used where sufficient soil productivity and biological activity cannot be provided despite the measures in the subparagraph (c).
e) For compost activation, genetically not modified appropriate plant-based preparations or preparations of micro-organisms may be used.
f) Appropriate preparations of micro-organisms permitted in general agricultural production in our country may be used to improve the overall condition of the soil or the availability of nutrients in the soil or in the crops by the approval of the authorized institution.
g) The fertilizers and soil amelioration substances that are not available in the Annex-1 (A) at the publication date of this Regulation, may be used by the approval of the Committee if they are needed to provide nutrients for the crops and provide the soil amelioration purposes cannot be met by the application mentioned in this Regulation and if they do not harm the environment.
h) To produce, to import or to export organic manure and soil amelioration substances, Ministry approval is required. After this approval, by the authorized institution a document for appropriateness or a certificate is given for organic fertilizer or soil amelioration substances.

Planting and Sowing
Article 10- The planting and sewing rules for organic vegetable production  are stated below.
a) The properties of organic propagation material should be as follows.
1) The genetic structure of the seed should not be changed, no intervention should have been made in the DNA sequence of the inseminated cell nucleus, and it should possess a biological feature where no synthetic pesticides, radiation or microwave is used and it should have been planted as to the provisions of this Regulation.
2) The seedling should have been obtained from organic seed or main plant and as to the provisions of this Regulation, no synthetic nutrients and growth materials or hormones should have been used and it should conform to the soil and climate conditions.   
3) Sapling and fruit bearing should have been obtained from organic materials and as to the provisions of this Regulation, no synthetic nutrients and growth materials or hormones should have been used and it should conform to the soil and climate conditions.
b) The propagation materials to be used such as seed, seedling, sapling, fruit bearing, mycelium, cutting, nub, should be produced through organic agricultural method. However,  propagation materials except seedling, in the case of not being able to obtain from organic production, obtained by conventional production and not treated by any synthetic chemical substances other than the ones laid down in Annex-1 (A) and (B) may be used.
c) Propagation materials containing GMO cannot be used in organic farming.

Plant Protection
Article 11- The rules for plant protection in organic production are stated below.
a) Pests, diseases and weeds shall be controlled by a combination of the following measures:
1) Species and varieties resistant to diseases and pests should be chosen.
2) Appropriate rotation programme should be prepared.
3) Appropriate cultivation methods should be applied.
4) Cultural, biologic and biotechnical struggling methods should be applied.
b) For crop disease and pests, inputs mentioned in the Annex-1 (B) of this Regulation shall be used where the above mentioned rules cannot be applied or are insufficient.
c)  If the products that are not mentioned in the Annex-1 part (B) of this Regulation will be, at the publication date of the Regulation, used in struggling with pest, disease, weed or cleaning and disinfection of animal shelters and buildings, on the condition that they meet the following provisions, these may be added to the Annex-1 part (B) by the approval of the Committee.
1) If other cultural and biological struggle methods and breeding alternatives needed for the control of pests, diseases, and weeds are not available,
2) If plant protection products donot directly touched to seed, plant, plant products or livestock or livestock products and if they don’t remain residue on perennial as of the period of application,
3) If using these products has no negative implication on the environment,
The provision laid down in this paragraph cannot be applied to the products in common use before the publication date of this Regulation.
d) In the licensing of the pesticides and similar materials permitted for use in organic farming, the provisions of  Agricultural Struggling and Agricultural Quarantine Law No. 6968 of 15 May 1957 and the related legislation will be in force.
e) After Ministry approves the permit for the production and import of inputs to be used in struggling disease, pest and weed in organic farming, authorized institution provides a conformity document or certificate for using these inputs in organic farming.

Irrigation
Article 12- The rules for irrigation in organic vegetable production are stated below.
a) Waste water from industry and of city and water of drainage system cannot be used in organic farming, and if required, the conformity of the water will be established through controls by the authorized institution. 
b) Irrigation water should not cause environmental pollution.
c) Irrigation should not cause destruction in the structure of soil and erosion.

Harvest
Article 13- The rules for harvest in organic crop production are stated below.
a) Technical tools and equipments used for harvest of organic products do not need to cause ecological destruction and pollution.
b) Material used in harvest by hand should not harm the organic characteristic of the product and they should be hygienic.
c) In collecting of edible crops and parts thereof, growing naturally in natural areas, forests and agricultural areas, the following statements shall be followed.
1) Collection area should not have treated with products other than the ones referred to in Annex-1 of this Regulation for a period of three years before the collection.
2) Collection area should have had no fire for the last two years.
3) No stubble should be burned in the collection area.
4) The stability of the natural habitat and the species in the collection area should be protected.

Organic mushroom production
Article 14- In organic mushroom production, farmyard manure laid down in the first four lines of Annnex-1(A) of this Regulation, products such as straw with agricultural origin harvested from areas in which production has been carried out according to the organic production method, peat not chemically treated, wood not treated with chemical products after felling, soil in its natural form, irrigation water, soil amelioration and mineral fertilizers permitted shall be used. When farmyard manures referred to in the first four lines of Annex-1 (A) of this Regulation are not available, farmyard manures satisfying 25 per cent of the requirements referred in that annex, are used percent.

THIRD CHAPTER
Livestock Production with Organic Farming Method
The rule of organic livestock production
Article 15- The rules for organic livestock production are stated below.
a) In organic livestock rearing, the choice of breeds and strains local conditions and animals’ resistance to disease must be taken into account. For the issues not explained here, the provisions of and Livestock Breeding Law No.4631 of 28 February 2001 shall be in force.
b) Animals for breeding, livestock originated from holdings run organically, fed with fully organic feedstuffs, not genetically modified, capable to adapt environmental and climatic conditions and resistant to diseases shall be chosen.
c) In principle, the reproduction of organically reared livestock should be based on natural insemination. The transfer of embryo cannot be done. Only with the sperm obtained from breeding animal, preserved and used by natural methods, artificial insemination may be done.
d) In the holdings organically reared animal husbandry, livestock must have access to a free-range area, open-air exercise areas or open-air runs and the number of animals per unit of area must be limited to ensure sufficient livestock manure for crop production on the production unit. The capacity of stocking for organic manure or nitrogen amount may not exceed 170 kg of Nitrogen per year/hectare of agricultural area used for one product. When this amount is exceeded entrepreneur shall acquire another place in the same area or by approval of the authorized institution, in areas of close holdings. The authorized institution may reduce the capacity of stocking to protect the environment.
e) In organic stockfarming, all livestock on one and the same production unit must be reared in accordance with the provisions of this Regulation. However, livestock not reared in accordance with the provisions of this Regulation may be present on the holding provided they are reared on units where the buildings and parcels are separated clearly from the units producing in accordance with the rules of this Regulation, and a different species is involved.
f) Livestock in the same species not reared in accordance with the provisions of this Regulation cannot use the same pasture at the same time with the ones those reared in accordance with the provisions.
g) Animals reared in accordance with the provisions of this Regulation may be grazed on common land with the animals reared conventionally, providing that,
1) The transition period for lands should be completed.
2) Animals which are not subject to the requirements of this Regulation are derived from extensive production.
3) Any livestock products produced by animals reared in accordance with the provisions of this Regulation, whilst using this land, shall not be regarded as being from organic-production, unless adequate separation from other animals not complying with the requirements of this Regulation can be proved to the satisfaction of the control and certification institution or control institution. 
h) The land on which organic fodder plant will be produced, shall be taken into transitional period according to the following provisions;
1)The lands and pastures in which organic stockfarming and livestock production shall be taken into two-year transitional period.
2)The transitional period may be reduced to one year for pasturages, open air  runs and exercise areas used by non-herbivore species. This period may be reduced to  six months by authorized institutions where the land concerned has not received  treatments with products other than those permitted by the annex of this Regulation.
ı) Transitional period for livestock and livestock products;
1) Should be 12 months in the case of equidae and bovines for meat production, six  months in the case of small ruminant and pigs. However, this period should be ¾ of  the lifetime for the animals separated for meat in organic milk cattle farming.
2) Should be six months in case of animals for milk production.
3) Should be 10 weeks for poultry for meat production, brought in before they are three  days old and six weeks in the case of poultry for egg production.
j) In the choice of breeds and or strains, accounts must be taken of the capacity of  animals to adapt to local conditions and their resistance to disease. In addition, breeds  or strains of animals shall be selected to avoid specific diseases or health problems  associated with some breeds or strains used in intensive production. Preference is to be  given to indigenous breeds and strains.
k) When a herd or flock is constituted for the first time and organically reared animals are  not sufficient in numbers, conventionally reared livestock may be brought into an  organic livestock production, subject to the following conditions;
1) Pullets for the production of eggs must not be more than 18 weeks old,
2) Poultry for meat production must be less than three days old when leaving the farm,
3) Calves and foals for breeding purposes must be reared according to the rules of this  Regulation as soon as they are weaned and in any case they must be less than six  months old,
4) Lambs and kids for breeding purposes must be reared according to the rules of this  Regulation as soon as they are weaned and must be less than 60 days old,
5) Piglets for breeding purposes must be reared according to the rules of this Regulation  as soon as they are weaned and they must weigh less than 35 kg.
6) Being subject to authorized institution and in livestock production unit, animals which  do not comply with the provisions of this Regulation may be transferred to organic  production.
l) For the reconstruction of the herd or flock in the stockfarms dealing with organic  stockfarming, when organically reared animals are not available, calves for  beef may be brought from conventional production stockfarms providing the  provisions of this Regulation.
m) Subject to a maximum of 10percent of adult equine or bovine livestock and 20percent of the adult porcine, ovine and caprine livestock, livestock may be brought in, as female animals, from non organic production stockfarms per year, for supplementing natural growth and for the renewal of the herd or flock, when organically reared animals are not available, and only with the approval of the authorized institution.
 These percentages may be increased, up to 40percent following the agreement of the  authorized institution, in the following cases;
1) when a major extension to the stockfarm is undertaken by the entrepreneur,
2) when a breed is changed,
3) when a new livestock specialization is developed,
4) when breeds are in danger of being lost to farming,
n) The percentages laid down in paragraph (m) shall not apply to production units with less than 10 bovine animals, or with less than 5 ovine animals and pigs. For these units, any renewal as mentioned above shall be limited to a maximum of one animal per year.
o)  Males for breeding may be brought in from non organic-production stockfarms provided that the animals are subsequently reared and always fed in accordance with the rules laid down in this Regulation.
p) Where livestock is obtained from the units not producing organically, special attention must be paid to animal health measures. Screening tests may be applied depending on special measures and quarantine period.
r) The holdings dealing with organic stockfarming and organic production shall keep regular records on entry and exit of the animals and on treatment applications.

 Feed and fattening activities in organic animal production
Article 16- The rules for feed and fattening activities in organic animal production are stated below.
a) In organic animal production animals other than the ones for fur farming and the pets shall be fed by organically produced roughage and feedingstuffs .
b) Feed is intended to ensure quality production rather than maximizing production, while meeting the nutritional requirements of the livestock at various stages of their development. Force-feeding is forbidden.  
c) Livestock must be reared using feed from the unit of the own holding, when this is not possible, using feed from other units or holdings subject to the provisions of this Regulation and feed laid down in Annex-7 of this Regulation.
d)  Up to 30 percent of the feed formula of rations on average may comprise in-conversion feedingstuffs. When the in-conversion feedingstuffs come from a unit of the own holding, this percentage can be increased to 60 percent.
e) The feeding of young mammals must be firstly based on maternal milk. If it is not possible, they shall be fed by the milk coming from the same herd. All mammals must be fed on natural milk for minimum period, depending on the species concerned, which shall be three months for bovines and equidae, 45 days for ovine animals and 40 days for pigs.
f) Rearing systems are to be based on maximum use of pasturage according to the  availability of pastures in different periods of the year. At least 60 percent of dry matter in daily rations is to consist of roughage, fresh or dried fodder, or silage. However, authorised institution can permit a reduction to 50 percent for animals in dairy production for a maximum period of three months in early lactation.
g) The use of limited proportion of conventional feedingstuffs is authorized where  farmers are unable to obtain feed exclusively from organic production. The maximum  percentage of conventional feedingstuffs authorised per year is 10 percent in the case of  ruminants and 20 percent for other species. These figures shall be calculated annually as a percentage of the dry matter of feedingstuffs from agricultural origin. The maximum percentage authorised of conventional feedingstuffs in the daily ration, except during  the period each year when the animals are under transhumance, must be 25 percent calculated as a percentage of dry matter. These implementations are carried out by permission of authorised institution.
 h) In case of decrease in production of fodder due to the natural disasters, it can be  allowed to use conventional feedingstuffs in animal breeding in devastated area at a  rate determined by the Committee for a short period. ä±)  Roughage, fresh or dried fodder, or silage must be added to ration of pigs and poultry. j)  Only the products listed in Annex-7 of this Regulation can be used as additives and  processing aids in silage. k)  Conventional feed materials of agricultural origin that are listed in Annex-7 Part (A)  of this Regulation and that are produced and prepared without the use of chemical  solvent can be used in animal feeding. l)  Feed materials from animal origin can only be used if listed in Annex-7 Part (B) of  this Regulation. m) Feed material from mineral origin listed in Annex-7 Part (C) of this Regulation and  essentials listed Annex-7 Part (D) of this Regulation shall be used if vitamins, pro- vitamins and chemically well-defined substances having a similar effect take part in  them. n) Enzymes, preservatives, micro-organisms, binders, flocculation preventives,  antioxidants, silage additives, certain products used in animal nutrition and processing  aids in feedingstuffs can be used only if listed in Annex-7 Part (D).o)  Antibiotics, coccidiostatics, medicinal substances, growth promoters or any other  substance intended to stimulate growth or production shall not be used in animal  feeding.p)  Feedingstuffs, feed materials, compound feedingstuffs feed additives, processing aids  for feedingstuffs and certain products used in animal nutrition must not have been  produced with the use of genetically modified organisms or products derived  therefrom. r)  The conditions necessary for organically produced or processed feedingstuffs:
 1) Conventional feedingstuffs cannot be processed in the same factory and at the same time with organic feedingstuffs.
 2) It is obligatory that applications containing ionising radiation will not have been implemented on materials taking part in product combination or any other materials used in preparation of these products.
 3) Organic feedingstuffs shall be labelled. On the label;
 Organic quantity on dry matters of feedingstuffs shall be stated,
 Percentage of feeding matter obtained by organic production method shall be written,
 Percentage of feeding matters obtained from conversion period products shall be written,
 Total percentage of feedingstuffs from agricultural origin matters shall be stated and
 The name of the authorized institution shall be stated on the label.
 4) Organically produced feedingstuffs shall be physically kept and stocked in separate places from conventionally produced feedingstuffs.
 5) Any equipment used in preparation of organic feedingstuffs shall be totally separated from any equipment used in preparation of conventional feedingstuffs.
 6) Organic feedingstuffs may be prepared in conventional feedingstuffs preparation units if the following conditions are fulfilled:
 Both the organic and conventional feedingstuffs shall not be simultaneously prepared in feedingstuff preparation unit.
 Before beginning to prepare the feedingstuff, feedingstuff preparation unit shall be cleaned by using the materials listed in Annex-8 of this Regulation.
s) Organically produced feedingstuffs or products derived therefrom shall be transported together with conventionally produced feedingstuffs in a way that will not allow mixing or contamination with each other. Vehicles for transportation shall be cleaned by materials listed in Annex-8 of this Regulation. Product amount during transportation and product amount at delivery shall be recorded.
 t)  According to Fodder Law No. 1734 of 29    May 1973 and other related legislations; ration formulas of feedingstuffs that will be    produced organically in feedingstuff factories shall be registered by Ministry, after by    authorized institution these feedingstuffs are given compliance certificate stating that    they are produced organically. Just after this process, organic feedingstuff production    shall begin in feedingstuff factories under the control of authorized institution.
 Animal health and veterinary treatment
 Article 17 – Animal health and veterinary treatment in organic livestock breeding shall be based on the following principles:
a) Preventive measures against diseases in animal breeding;
1) The selection of appropriate breeds,
2) The use of high quality feed, access to barnyard or pasturage for regular exercise having the effect of encouraging the natural immunological defence of animals.
3) Ensuring an appropriate density of livestock, thus avoiding over-stocking and any resulting animal health problems.
b) If, despite all of the above preventive measures, an animal becomes sick or injured, it must be treated immediately, if necessary in isolation, and in a suitable animal housing.
 c) Procedures and principles of use of veterinary medicines in organic animal breeding under the control of veterinarian.
 1) Phytotherapeutic, (e.g. plant extracts, essences, etc.), homeopathic products, trace elements and products, probiotics, organic acids, plant, animal or mineral substances are used in preference to chemically-synthesised allopathic veterinary medicinal products, provided that their therapeutic effect is effective for the species of animal and the condition for which the treatment is intended.
 2) If the use of the above products prove, or is unlikely to be, effective in combating illness or injury, and treatment is essential to avoid suffering or distress to the animal, chemically-synthesised allopathic veterinary medicinal products or antibiotics may be used with the permission of authorized institution and under control.
 3) The use of chemically synthesised allopathic veterinary medicinal product or antibiotics for preventive treatments is prohibited.
 d) In organic animal husbandry, animals shall not be modified genetically and genetically modified organisms shall not be used as input in animal production. Gene technology methods shall not be permitted to use in animal breeding. The use of substances to promote growth or production and the use of hormones or similar substances to control reproduction or for other purposes, is prohibited. Nevertheless, hormones may be administered to an individual animal, as a form of therapeutic veterinary treatment.
 e) Whenever veterinary medicinal products are to be used the type of product must be recorded clearly, together with details of the diagnosis, the method of administration, the posology, the duration of the treatment and legal withdrawal period.
 f) The withdrawal period between the last administration of an allopathic veterinary medicinal product to an animal under normal conditions of use, and the production of organically produced foodstuffs from such animals, is to be twice the legal withdrawal period or, an a case in which this period is not specified, 48 hours.
 g) With the exception of vaccinations, treatments for parasites and any compulsory eradication schemes established by the Turkish Government, where an animal or group of animals receive more than two courses of treatments with chemically-synthesised allopathic veterinary medicinal products or antibiotics within one year the livestock concerned, or produce derived from them, may not be sold as organic production and the livestock undergoes the conversion periods by the permission of authorized institution.
 h) Out of the national compulsory combating programs; when an indicative, infectious and epidemic disease has been recognised as present in a specific area in which the production unit is located, the provisions of the Animal Health and Record Law No. 3285 of 8 May 1986 and other related legislations shall be obeyed and immunological veterinary medicinal products may be used.

Husbandry practices, housing and keeping conditions
Article 18 – Husbandry practices, housing and keeping conditions in organic animal husbandry are stated as followings:
 a) Operations such as attaching elastic bands to the tails of sheep, tail-docking, cutting of teeth, trimming of beaks and dehorning must not be carried out systematically in organic farming. Some of these operations may, however, be authorised by the authorised institution or body, for reasons of safety (for example dehorning in young animals) or if they intended to improve the health, welfare or hygiene of the livestock. Such operations must be carried out at the most appropriate age by qualified personnel and any suffering to the animals must be reduced to a minimum.
 b) Keeping livestock tethered is forbidden. Nevertheless, the authorised institution or body can authorise this practice upon the justification by the operator that this is necessary for safety or welfare reasons and that such tethering is only for a limited period of time.
 c) In 10 head or less than 10 head cattle groups, cattle can be tethered if it not possible to keep the cattle in groups appropriate to their behaviour requirements, provided they have at least twice a week access to pastures, open air runs or exercise areas and by the permission of the authorised institution.
 d) Where livestock are reared in groups, the size of the group depends upon their stage of development and the behavioural needs of the species concerned and determined by the authorised institution in the light of view of qualified personnel. The keeping of livestock in conditions, which may encourage anaemia, and implementations of rations are prohibited.
 e) Animal housing must be built with a healthy construction material and housing conditions must meet the livestock’s biological and ethological needs. The livestock must have easy access to feeding and watering. Insulation, heating and ventilation of the building must ensure that air circulation, dust level, temperature, relative air humidity and gas concentration, are kept within limits which are not harmful to the animals. The building must permit plentiful natural ventilation and light to enter.
 f) Free-range, open-air exercise areas, or open air runs must provide sufficient protection against rain, wind, sun and extreme temperatures, depending on the local weather conditions and the breed concerned.
 g) The optimum density in animal houses will seek to ensure the animals’ welfare by providing them with sufficient space to stand naturally, lie down easily, turn round, groom themselves, assume all natural postures and make all natural movements such as stretching and wing flapping.
 h) The minimum surface areas for indoor housing and outdoor exercise areas, and, other characteristics of housing for different species and categories of animals must comply with the criteria listed in Annex-6 of this Regulation.
 ä±) Housing for livestock will not be mandatory in areas with appropriate climatic conditions to enable animals to live outdoors.
 j) Faeces, urine and uneaten or spilt food must be removed as often as necessary to minimise smell and to avoid attracting insects or rodents. If, despite the above measures, insects and other rodents cannot be removed from animal houses and other buildings, only the products listed in B.6 Section of Annex-1 (B) part of this Regulation are used.
 k) All mammals must have access to pasturage or an open-air exercise area or an open-air run and they must be able to use those areas whenever the physiological condition of the animal, the weather conditions and the state of the ground permit. Herbivores must have access to pasturage whenever the conditions allow.
 l) In cases where herbivores have access to pasturage during the grazing period and where the winter-housing system gives freedom of movement to the animals, the obligation to provide open-air exercise areas or open-air runs during the winter months may be waived. But, bulls over one year old must have access to pasturage or an open-air exercise areas or an open-air run. The final fattening phase of cattle pigs and sheep may take place indoors, provided that this indoors period does not exceed one fifth of their lifetime and in any case for a period determined by the authorised institution.
 m) Livestock housing must have smooth, but not slippery floors. At least half of the total floor area must be solid and smooth.
 n) The litter must comprise straw or other suitable natural material. The litter may be improved and enriched with any mineral product authorised for use as a fertilizer in organic farming.
 o) The housing of calves in individual boxes is forbidden after the age of one week.
 p) Poultry must be reared in open-range conditions and cannot be kept in cages. Water fowl must have access to a stream, pond or lake whenever the weather conditions permit in order to respect animal welfare requirements or hygienic conditions.
 r) Buildings for all poultry must meet the following minimum conditions:
 1) At least one third shall be solid, that is, not of slatted or of grid construction, and covered with a litter material such as straw, wood shavings, sand or turf.
 2) In poultry houses for laying hens, more than half of the total floor area must be available for the collection of bird droppings.
 3) They must have perches of a size and number commensurate with the size of the group and of the birds. The standards related to this issue must comply with those laid down in Annex-6 part (B) of this Regulation.
 4) They must have exit/entry pop-holes of a size adequate for the birds, and these pop-holes must have a combined length of at least 4 m per 100 m2 area of the house available to the birds.
 5) Each poultry house must not contain more than:
 4800 chickens,
 3000 laying hens,
 5200 guinea fowl,
 4000 female Muscovy or Peking ducks,
 3200 male Muscovy or Peking ducks or other ducks,
2500 capons, geese or turkeys.
 6) The total usable area of poultry houses for meat production must not exceed 1600m2.
 s) In the case of laying hens natural light may be supplemented by artificial means to provide a maximum of 16 hours light per day with a rest period without artificial light of at least eight hours.
 t) Poultry must have access to an open-air run whenever the weather conditions permit and, whenever possible, must have such access for at least one third of their life. These open-air runs must be mainly covered with vegetation be provided with protective facilities, and permit animals to have easy access to adequate numbers of drinking and feeding troughs.
 u) For health reasons, buildings must be emptied of livestock between each batch of poultry reared and the buildings and fittings are to be cleaned and disinfected during this time. In addition, when the rearing of each batch of poultry has been completed, runs must be left empty to allow vegetation to grow back, and for health reasons. Authorized institutions will determine the period in which runs must be empty. These requirements shall not apply to small numbers of poultry which are not kept in runs and which are free to roam throughout the day.
 v) For poultry, the minimum age at slaughter shall be:
 81 days for chickens,
 150 days for capons,
 49 days for Peking ducks,
 70 days for female Muscovy ducks,
 84 days for male Muscovy ducks,
 92 days for Mallard ducks,
 94 days for guinea fowl,
 140 days for turkeys and roasting geese.
Transportation and slaughtering
Article 19 – The rules for organic animal transportation and slaughtering are stated below:
a) The following rules are to be obeyed in animal transportation;
1) Transport of livestock must be carried out so as to take a short time and limit the stress suffered by the animals.
2) Loading and unloading must be carried out with caution and without the use of any type of equipment to coerce the animals. The use of any allopathic tranquilliser, prior to and during transportation, is prohibited.
3) At land transport, the livestock is rested for feeding, drinking and rest in every eight hours.
4) Animal Health and Record Law No. 3285 and other related legislations shall be applied in any domestic and international animal transportation.
b) At the time of slaughtering the livestock must be handled in such a way not causing stress on animals. If possible separate slaughterhouses and combines are used. If it is impossible, after the slaughter of livestock reared conventionally and cleaning the slaughterhouses and combines with the materials listed in Annex-8 of this Regulation, slaughter of livestock reared organically is carried out.
Livestock manure
Article 20 – Rules for use, keeping and protecting the livestock manure is stated below:
a) The total amount of manure applied on the holding for single product may not exceed 170 kg of pure Nitrogen per year/hectare of agricultural area used for organic production. According to the mentioned amount, the maximum number of livestock is determined in Annex-5 of this Regulation.
b) Organic-production holdings may establish cooperation with other holdings, which comply with the provisions of this regulation, with the intention of spreading surplus manure from organic production. The maximum limit of 170 kg of Nitrogen from manure per year/hectare of agricultural area used will be calculated on the basis of all of the organic production units involved in such cooperation. 
c) Storage facilities for livestock manure must be of a capacity to preclude the pollution of water by direct discharge, or by run-off and infiltration of the soil.
d) The place and description of storage facilities for livestock manure, the plan on spread of animal manure and the correspondences with other holdings on spread of animal manure must be stated in the agreement signed between entrepreneur and the authorised institution.
Organic beekeeping
Article 21 – General principles of beekeeping is stated below:
a) The siting of the apiaries must be within a radius of 3 km from the apiary site. In this area and at the same time organic and conventional beekeeping is not carried out together.
b) Beekeeping products can be sold with references to the organic production method only when the provisions laid down in this Regulation have been complied with for at least one year.
c) In the choice of breeds, account must be taken of the capacity of animals to adapt to local conditions, their vitality and their resistance to disease. Preference shall be given to the use of breeds of apis mellifera and their local ecotypes.
d) Swarms or hives can be taken from holdings dealing with capacity increase, division of colonies and organic beekeeping.
e) Conventional colonies of holdings can be used for conversion to organic beekeeping in the case that authorised institution permit it before.
f) Swarms acquired from beekeepers not producing in accordance with this Regulation can be used within a conversion period of one year.
g) The reconstitution of the apiaries shall be authorised by authorised institution when apiaries complying with this Regulation are not available, in case of high mortality of animals caused by health and catastrophic circumstances, subject to the conversion period.
h) For the renovation of the apiaries 10 percent per year of the queen bees and swarms not complying with the provisions of this Regulation can be incorporated into the organic production unit provided that the queen bees and swarms are placed in hives coming from organic-production units. In the case, the conversion period does not apply.
ı) The siting of the apiaries must comply with the following principles:
1) The siting of the apiaries must ensure enough natural nectar, honeydew and pollen sources for bees and access to water.
2) Within a radius of 3 km from the apiary site, nectar and pollen sources must consist essentially of organically produced crops or spontaneous vegetation.
j) At the end of the production season hives must be left with reserves of honey and pollen sufficiently abundant to survive the winter.
k) Organically-produced honey is used for feeding bee colonies in spring. When it is required by climatic conditions that provoke crystallisation of honey, the use of organically produced sugar syrup or sugar molasses can be authorised by the authorised institution instead of organically produced honey in artificial feeding. The following information shall be entered in the register of the apiaries with regard to the feeding: type of product, dates, quantities and hives where it is used. Feeding is carried out between the last honey harvest and 15 days before the start of the newt nectar or honeydew flow period.
l) For disease prevention in beekeeping:
1) Appropriate hardy breeds must be selected.
2) Certain practices encouraging strong resistance to disease and the prevention of infections, such as: regular renewal of queen bees, systematic inspection of hives to detect any health anomalies, control of male broods in the hives, disinfecting of material and equipment at regular intervals, destruction of contaminated material or sources, regular renewal of beeswax and sufficient reserves of pollen and honey in hives must be applied.
m) If despite preventive measures, the colonies become sick or infested, they must be treated immediately and, if necessary, be placed in isolation apiaries. The use of veterinary medicinal products in beekeeping, which complies with this regulation, shall respect the following principles:
1) These products must comply with the Turkish Medicine Codex.
2) Phytotherapeutic and homeopathic products shall be used in preference to allopathic products chemically synthesised, provided that their therapeutic effect is effective for the condition for which the treatment is intended.
3) If the use of the abovementioned products should prove or is unlikely to be effective to eradicate a disease or infestation which risks destroying colonies, allopathic chemically synthesised medicinal products may be used under the responsibility of authorised institution. But the use of allopathic chemically synthesised medicinal products for preventive treatments is prohibited.
4) Formic acid, lactic acid, acetic acid and oxalic acid and the following substances: menthol, thymol, eucalyptol or camphor can be used in cases of infestation with Varroa jacobsoni.
n) If a treatment is applied with chemically synthesised allopathic products, during such a period, the colonies treated are placed in isolation apiaries and all the wax is replaced with organic wax or empty frames. The conversion period of one year will apply to those colonies.
o) Whenever veterinary medicinal products are to be used, the type of product, including the indication of the active pharmacological substance, together with details of the diagnosis, the posology, the method of administration, the duration of the treatment and the legal withdrawal period must be recorded clearly and declared to the authorised institution before the products are marketed as organically produced.
p) Husbandry management practices and records in organic apiculture are as followings:
1) The destruction of bees in the combs, during harvesting of beekeeping products, is prohibited.
2) Mutilation such as clipping the wings of queen bees is prohibited. During the replacement of the queens, killing of the old queen is permitted. The practice of destroying the male brood is permitted only to contain the infestation with Varroa jacobsoni.
3) The use of chemical synthetic repellents is prohibited during honey extractions operations.
4) The zone where the apiary is situated must be registered together with the identification of the hives. The apiaries can be moved to another place by informing the authorised institution.
5) The protective measures and treatments applied to colonies, during production of beekeeping products, extraction operations, processing and storage of beekeeping products must be entered in the register of the apiary.
r) Characteristics of hives and materials used in beekeeping;
1) The hives must be made of natural materials presenting no risk of contamination to the environment or the apiculture products.
 2) The hives cannot be painted with chemical paints.
 3) The beeswax for new foundations must come from organic production units. In the case of new installations or during the conversion period, beeswax not coming from such units may be authorised by the authorised institution with respect to the analysis in exceptional circumstances where organically produced beeswax is not available.
 4) The use of combs, which contain broods, is prohibited for honey extraction.
5) For the purposes of protecting materials, such as frames, hives and combs, from pests only the products listed in Annex-8 of this Regulation are permitted. Physical treatments such as stream or direct flame are also permitted.
6) For cleaning and transporting material, buildings, equipment, utensils or products used in beekeeping only the substances listed in Annex-8 of this Regulation are permitted. Transportation must be carried out so as to limit the stress suffered by the bees.
7) Organic beekeeping is not carried out in the areas where the quarantine measures are applied and medicine is spread by plane.
8) The provisions in the Part IV of Chapter II of this Regulation is applied in transportation, storage, marketing of hives and production, processing, transportation, packing, labelling, storage and marketing of organic beekeeping products.

General principles of organic aquaculture production
Article 22 – The general principles of aquaculture production are stated below.
a) The water quality in which aquaculture production is carried out makes analysed by entrepreneur or authorised institution and its compliance is approved by authorised institution. If there is pollution aquaculture production cannot be done until getting rid of the problem of pollution.
b) Production unit should not be settled in a place in which there is a pollution source or in riverbed. Ecological balance in spring of water used in holding should not be disturbed. In pond farms, on at least 5percent of production area, the natural vegetation shall be allowed to develop  freely.
c) Entrepreneur concluding a contract with authorised institution with permission of Ministry is taken in the conversion period. The transitional period in aquaculture production is determined by the authorised institution according to the species of organism, life cycle taken into account or breeding period, production technique, water quality and the past usage of place where facility is bu lt. Transitional period for materials coming from conventional production is two third of total lifetime.
d) Aquaculture production must comply with environment protection, churns must not disturb the environment, biological diversity must be promoted, compliance with capacities and local conditions must be taken into account in selection of species and sub-species, all measures must be taken to preserve the water structure. Preventive measures for stock escaping from production area towards nature or entries into production area coming from nature, must be taken. While preserving production area from preys and other animal species, measures not harmful for wild fishes must be taken. Equipments and paints used in production must be selected in compliance with organic production principles. Marking can be done providing that it is not hurt the organism.
e) All of the production activities in aquaculture facilities are carried out under the control of the authorised institution.
f) Aquatic organisms must be produced in compliance with the rules of organic farming, feedingstuffs and feed additives produced organically must be used in breeding. While the feedingstuffs are meeting the nutrition needs of living organisms at various stages of their development, their natural tastes must not be distorted. Chemically synthesised feedingstuffs like blood meal and bone meal from animal origin must not be used. The use of limited proportion of conventional feedingstuffs is authorized for a limited period and under the control of authorised institution where producer is unable to obtain feed exclusively from organic production and this proportion must not exceed 20 percent. Synthetic materials that colorize fish meat and unnatural methods cannot be used.
g) Vitamins and minerals can be used according to the authorisation of authorised institution where it is necessary to use feed additives to meet the nutrition needs of aquaculture products. The usage of wet feedingstuffs is not permitted.
h) Feed additives are listed in Annex-7 of this regulation. Feedingstuffs and other feeding materials cannot contain materials derived from genetically modified organisms or products derived partially from these kinds of materials, additives or supplementary materials.
ı) The area in where feedingstuffs of fishes are located must comply with the rules of organic farming. Preservatives and additives produced organically and listed in Annex-7 of this Regulation can be used in feedingstuffs stocked in silo.
j) The usage of synthetic materials promoting production and growth is prohibited. However, hypophysis injection can be implemented in fish farming providing that it is taken from the same living species subject to breeding by the authorisation of authorized institution.
k) Selection of species and sub-species, naturally resistant to diseases, must be paid attention. Endangered species can be preferred.
l) Stock density is determined by authorised institution according to species that will be breed.
m) Breeding conditions must be appropriate for behavioural requirements of species concerned. The usage of liquid oxygen is prohibited except during transportation, unsuitable climatic conditions and in hatchery.
n) Animals cannot be modified genetically in organic aquaculture production. Genetically modified organisms and products derived therefrom cannot be used as input.
o) The use of substances to promote growth and to control reproduction is prohibited except special intervention that is necessary for some types of production. However, applications such as increase and decrease of heath with the implementation of photoperiod are realized by the authorisation of authorised institution providing that they do not affect the health, balance and behaviours of the living organisms. Photoperiod cannot be longer than the longest natural daylight duration within the natural life area of the species in a year.
p) All holdings dealing with aquaculture keep current and regular records.
r) Methods that will not cause stress to the animals are implemented in catching, lining up and slaughtering.
s) Minimum 20 percent of existing stocks in breeding unit is renewed every year.
t) Poli-culture will be preferred in appropriate conditions. Natural requirements of each cultivated species are met.
u) Any fish and fish roe, aquatic organism or products derived therefrom cannot be marketed as organic if medicine is administered to these until 3 months before selling products. The usage of conventional medicines is not permitted in invertebrate organisms. Phytotherapeutic or homeopathic products, provided that their therapeutic effect is effective for the species of animal and the condition for which the treatment is intended, can be used instead of chemically synthesised allopathic veterinary medicinal products.
 

FOURTH CHAPTER
Processing, Packaging, Labelling, Storage, Transport and
Marketing of Organic Products
Processing and packaging of organic products
Article 23 – The principles on processing and packaging of organic products is stated below.
a) Necessary measures are taken during the processing of organic products, to protect the organic nature of the product and to prevent the organic product from mixing with, and contamination by products not in compliance with this Regulation..
b) During processing organic product, only the nutriment compositions listed in Annex-2 of this Regulation are used.
c) Ionising radiation method is not applied.
d) Organic product must be produced without using genetically modified organisms or products derived therefrom.
e) Identification of the vegetable, livestock and aquaculture products produced organically and organic products must be ensured during packaging as raw material, semi-finished and finished products.
Labelling organic products and products in transitional period
Article 24 – The rules related to labelling of organic products are described as follows:
a) On the final product label;
1) Name and certificate status of the product shall be written.
2) Harvest year, production date of the product, producer and that it has been produced in compliance with this Regulation shall be stated.
3) As indicated in Annex-3 of this Regulation, the organic product logo shall be used on organic products marketed domestically.
4) Name, code number, certificate number and logo of authorized institution shall be stated.
5) Ingredients in the product shall be listed according to decreasing order of their rates.
6) Place of origin of the product shall be written.
7) Production place, date and expiration date of the product shall be stated.
8) Label information in Turkish shall be written on imported products.
b) That the word “organic” is used on the label of crop is equivalent to the use of “ecological”, “biological”.
c) It shall not be used that statement “it has been produced, prepared, processed, packaged and stored in compliance with the regulation” on the products not raised in compliance with this regulation. Label and package design of inorganic crops shall not resemble the label and package of organic products. For such products, brand, patent and registration shall not be taken as organic agricultural products. Some prefixes such as “bio, biyo, eco, eko, org” that will cause to unfair competition and give organic product impression to consumers’ mind, shall not be used.
d) If a product has the following conditions, it is labelled as organic crop.
1) In case the product is produced or imported in compliance with this Regulation,
2) In case the following conditions are met in processed products,
Minimum 95 percent of agricultural products or their varieties in the product shall be produced or imported in compliance with this Regulation.
 Other inorganic and agricultural originated ingredients in the product shall lie down in this Regulation, Annex-2, Part (C).
 If it is required that the product uses non-agricultural originated comestible, it shall only consist of non-agricultural originated additive comestibles listed in Annex-2, part (A) of this Regulation.
 If it is required that agricultural originated products or their varieties are processed, it shall be processed by the products listed in Annex-2, part (B) of this Regulation.
 e) A transitional product is labelled as a conversion product only if it has the following conditions:
 1) It shall be a conversion product in compliance with this Regulation.
2) It shall be complied with the transitional period during minimum 12 months before harvest.
3) The words of “Organic” and “conversion period” in the sentence of “it is the product of organic farming  transition period.” on the label of product, shall be printed in the same colour, size and font.
f) Label of the processed product of which minimum 70 percent contains organic products shall have the following conditions:
1) In order to be stated that it has been produced by organic agriculture method in the ingredients, minimum 70 percent of agricultural originated ingredients or their varieties shall be organic crop produced in compliance with this Regulation or imported organic crop produced in compliance with the rules which are equal to this Regulation. The statement “it has been produced by organic farming method” shall be used for organic ones in the ingredients with X percentage rates of their components; this statement and other substances in the ingredients shall be printed in the same colour, size and font.
2) Other agricultural originated substances which are not be produced organically and included in the processed product shall lie down in Annex-2, part (C) of this Regulation.
3) Processed product shall include non-agricultural originated additive comestibles listed only in Annex-2 (A) of this Regulation.
4) Agricultural originated product and products derived therefrom shall have been processed by the products listed in Annex-2, part (B) of this Regulation.
5) Ionic radiation shall not be used during the process of product.
6) The product shall have been produced by entrepreneurs who are controlled by institutions authorized by The Ministry in accordance with the provisions of this Regulation.
7) The product shall have been produced without using organisms modified genetically and/or products derived therefrom.
8) In accordance with the provisions of this Regulation, the products produced during the conversion period are labelled as “transitional period product”.
Storage of organic products
Article 25 – The rules related to storage of organic products are as follows:
a) Storage areas of organic products must be managed in order to ensure identification of lots and avoid any mixing with or contamination by other products and substances not in compliance with this Regulation. Insulating and cooling equipments used in the areas in which organic products are stored shall be selected considering this objective.

b) In the cases that it is not possible to store separately, the measures are taken in order to avoid mixing organic products with the conventional ones and the sufficiency of these measures is controlled by the authorized institution. 
c) Storage applications may be done at the conditions that can be controlled through pressure, heat and gases found acceptable by the authorized institution.
d) Medicine and medicinal methods causing that the product loses organic characteristic during the storage of organic products shall not be used. 
e) Synthetic chemical substances shall not be used during the storage of organic products and unnatural applications shall not be done; all the processes are controlled by the authorized institution.
f) Records of incoming and outgoing quantities and dates for the stored organic products are kept regularly by the entrepreneur. Approval for these records is obtained from the authorized agent and both the enterprise and the authorized agent each keep a copy of these tables.
Transportation of organic products
Article 26 – The rules related to transport of organic products are as follows:
a) Entrepreneur is under obligation to transport organic products in appropriate package, container, or covered vehicles, in a manner both traceable and preventing the mixing of the contents during transportation to other units, including transportation to and from the wholesaler and retailers. b) One or more transports between two entrepreneurs within the control system using non-covered vehicles, containers or packages should be accompanied with documentation showing the required information such as the name and address of the entrepreneur, name of the product, name of the authorized institution, code number, and should be made within the knowledge and approval of the sender and recipient or the authorized institution. Marketing of organic crops
Article 27 – The rules related to marketing of organic products are as follows:
a) Products produced in accordance with this Regulation and having the “Product Certificate” identifying them as organic raw material and/or organic processed products can be marketed as organic products.
b) Entrepreneur dealing with organic product trade is under obligation to document their sale of each batch with a “Product Certificate”. c) Organic products are sold by clearly indicating that they are organic products. Prevention of mixing of organic products with conventional products and the protection of their organic nature are under the obligation of the seller entrepreneur.
d) In the case of importation, the importer supplies the documents requested by the authorized institution in full. Authorized institution requests the following information and documents in order to effect re-certification: 1) The import activities of the importer; the name and address of the importer, source country from which the product is imported, the entry point of the products to the country, and detailed documentation showing the suitability of the facilities to be used for the storage of the imported products, 2) The originals or notarized translations of all the information concerning the label and the contents of the products purchased from the other country,
3) Documents showing the manner in which importing will be made and precautionary measures to be taken in case of infringements, 4) In the case of any storage facility to be used by the importer being in the other country, documents stating that this facility will be open to the inspection of the other country’s authorized institution, 5) The quantity of the relevant batch, its origin and structure, details of the control mechanism, the details of production, processing, packaging, and storage operations, purchasers, product certificate, organic farming entrepreneur certificate, and annual auditing reports pertaining to the product.
Additional information and documents may be, if required, demanded by the authorized institution in addition to the information and documents stated above. All information and documents are kept available to be presented during the inspections of the Committee. e) Entrepreneur who wishes to import or export shall apply to the relevant office of the Ministry with the Product Certificate obtained from the authorized institution and other documents needed according to the provisions of the national legislation. f) Export of organic products is subject to the procedures applicable to the products listed in the “list of the goods the export of which are subject to registration”, published by Undersecretariat of the Prime Ministry for Foreign Trade. For this reason; enterprises submit copies of the export documentation to Aegean Exporters’ Associations. Aegean Exporters’ Associations submit the exportation data including exporters’ declarations and statement numbers to the Committee, in quarterly periods.
THIRD PART
Operation of Control and/or Certification System
FIRST CHAPTER
Control Principles

Features of Control system
Article 28 – The nature of organic production dictates every phase to be under control and the product to be certified. According to this Regulation, two main elements for the assurance of the product are control and certification. Control and certification can be made by the same body, as well as separate bodies. Control authority

Article 29 – The Ministry can transfer its authority to control the enterprises to an authorized institution. Institutions and auditors authorized in this manner can not transfer this authority to another agent and/or establishment or individual. Information and documents required for controlling holding and entrepreneur Article 30 – Required information and documents for control of entrepreneur and holding are as follows.
a) Entrepreneurs are under obligation to submit all information and documentation concerning the organic activities they perform, to the control and certification institution or control institution with which they have a contract. These information and documents are registered by the institution. These information and documentation consist of the following:
1) The name and address of the entrepreneur, its capacity information, information and documents concerning its legal status, contract date, signed contact text, date of commencement for the transition to organic farming, information about the land until the date of contract,
 2) Area of operation,
 3) Production method previously applied in the holding,
 4) Layout schematics for the enterprise and facilities,
 5) All plans and cadastral sketches concerning the parcels of land or the area,
 6) Current machinery and equipment in the holding,
 7) Placement of the holding, description and suitability of the warehouses used,
 8) Product alternation plan,
 9) Logbooks for all inputs to be used,
 10) The properties of the holding, purchasing and selling records for goods procured externally,
 11) Product raising plan, specifications of the product, inventory status, quantity, packaging type and material,
 12) In the case of harvesting from forests and nature, all descriptions concerning the area, official permits, and information concerning all technical interventions made at the area, disasters, and quarantine measures.
 b) Entrepreneur prepares plans for transition to organic farming which contain information about the operation area, and plans for production.
Control operation
Control operation should cover written documents, plans, logbooks, reports, records, inspections and observations concerning the critical points such as the land, operation and storage facilities. Control and certification institution controls the holding at least annually, with or without prior notice. For this purpose, control and certification institution prepares a control plan, which includes the following information:
 1) Name and address of the entrepreneur,
 2) Control date,
 3) Subjects to be covered by the control,
 4) Name of the controller.
 All organic farming activities recorded by the enterprise represent the essential information for the control reports.
 During the control, controller fills in the control forms containing organic farming activities, prepared by the control and certification institution or the control institution with which the controller is connected. Controller supplies to the entrepreneur a document showing the results of the control performed, and this document is filed by the entrepreneur. Control and certification institution or control institution prepares a report as the result of the control operation. Control report contains the control results concerning the organic farming activities of the entrepreneur in conjunction with the provisions of this Regulation.
SECOND CHAPTER
Principles of Certification

Features of Certification System
Article 32 – Certification is the documentation of the degree to which the holding, organic product, or input, as the result of the application of all control operations. Control and certification institution or certification institution issues organic farming entrepreneur certificate and product certificate. Certificates should be prepared to include information shown in Annex-4 of this Regulation. Résumé lists for the certificates prepared are submitted to the Committee.
 The guidelines for the certification system are described below:
 a) Certification is made by real or judicial persons authorized by the Committee for this purpose. Certification can also be made by the institution performing the control; however a separate permission and authorization must be obtained from the Committee for this purpose. A control and certification institution or certification institution authorized for certification can not transfer this authority to another institution.
 b) Control and certification institution or certification institution prepares a certification system and submits it to the Committee. This system includes the tariff used by the control and certification institution or certification institution, certificate sample, and information concerning certificate types, test and examination method, analysis method and all techniques used, and documentation system.
 c) Certification institution receives all control information and reports from the control institution performing the control, concerning the enterprise to which a certificate will be issued. Control institution is under obligation to transfer this information to the certification institution.
Principles of certification
Article 33 - — Control and certification institution or certification institution is under obligation to provide the criteria mentioned in this Regulation and the suitability of the principles of certification, in compliance with EN 45011 ISO 65. Control and certification institution or certification institution prepares a quality handbook describing the quality system according to the type of the operation performed.      FOURTH PART
Authorized Institutions
FIRST CHAPTER
Operational Principles, Work Permit of Authorized Institutions and Sanctions
Operational principles of authorized institutions
Article 34 - Operational principles of authorized institutions are described below:
 a) Authorized institutions are under obligation to receive an authorization for operation from the Committee, to apply for the extension of their authorization period at least one month before the expiration of their authorization period, and to document the extension of their work permits. The work permits of the institutions not in compliance with the criteria stated above are suspended by the Committee until they are granted with a new work permit.
 b) Authorized institutions are under obligation to enforce the use of national organic farming logo on all kinds of organic product packages domestically.
 c) Authorized institutions can not proceed with product or input certification before setting up a control process in compliance with this Regulation.
 d) In cases where a doubt exists for the usage of production techniques and inputs which are not in compliance with this Regulation, the authorized institutions can obtain product samples for analysis purposes.
 e) They submit their report of resolution containing all the discrepancies they have detected, and the commensurate sanctions they propose, to the committee, within twenty days in the case of objection by the enterprise, or in their annual reports otherwise. Furthermore, entrepreneurs expelled from the system by the authorized institutions are announced to other authorized institutions. In the case of an objection or complaint against the sanctions proposed by the authorized institutions, the Committee may request an examination for the case, and additional documents. Committee examines the information and documentation relative to the objection and complaint, reaches final decision, and announces this decision to relevant parties.
 f) Authorized institutions inspects and records all information and documentation belonging to the entrepreneurs who are in conversion period or have completed this period, which are involved in the production of vegetable, animal, and aquaculture products, harvesting products from forests and nature, processing, packaging, storing, transporting, and marketing products, and with whom they have signed a contract . It prepares a detailed report. The reports contain the following information concerning the operation area:
 1) Information stated in subparagraph (1) of paragraph (a) of article 6 of this regulation,
 2) All information concerning production,
 3) All information concerning the holdings,
 4) All information concerning the controls,
 5) All information concerning certification,
 6) All information concerning violations and disputes,
 7) All information concerning foodstuff registry.
The conditions required for authorized institutions
Article 35 – Conditions required for authorized institutions are described below:
 a) Authorized institutions should have technical and administrative resources adequate to fulfill their duties. The Committee has the authority to make inspections to this effect, and to make recommendations and directives. For permission to be granted by the Ministry, the representative and deputy representative of the Turkish liaison office of domestic or foreign authorized institution must hold Turkish citizenship. The number of employees with Turkish citizenship can not be less than 2/3 of the total number of auditors and other employees.
 b) Authorized institutions must have been accredited according to EN 45011, ISO 65, or standards.
 c) Authorized institutions prepare all facilities to provide continuous communications.
 d) Authorized institutions can not offer advisory services.
 e) Authorized institutions can not control or certify the organic farming activities of their management personnel, shareholders, controllers, employees, and their immediate relatives.
 f) The management personnel, shareholders, controllers, and employees of an authorized institution can not also be employed by another authorized institution. However, freelance auditors may perform auditing activities on behalf of different authorized institution simultaneously.
 g) The number of controllers at an authorized institution should be commensurate for the number of the projects of the institution and the total area to be controlled. The maximum working time for an auditor is 90 control days annually.
 h) A notarized letter of commitment for operation in compliance with applicable organic farming legislation is obtained from the institutions authorized by the Ministry.
 ä±) If necessary, authorized institutions may open branches, provided that a minimum of one controller is employed and permission from the Committee is obtained. Authorized institutions are accountable for all activities performed by their branches. The committee is notified in the case of the closure of branches.
Applications for work permit for an authorized institution

 Article 36 — Real or judicial persons submit their applications duly to the Ministry, in order to perform control, certification, or control and certification. The Committee performs the required inspections, and a reply is issued within 3 month following the application, indicating whether the permit will or will not be granted. An authorized institution obtaining permission from the Ministry performs its activities in compliance with this regulation.
 Requirements and documents for the work permit of authorized institution
 Article 37 — The documents and requirements for obtaining a work permit are listed below:
 a) Documents defining the legal structure of authorized institutions,
 1) If the authorized institution is a judicial person, it must be at least a limited company.
 2) If the authorized institution is a subsidiary or a liaison office of a foreign institution, it must have completed all legal permit procedures.
 3) Real persons must have obtained the required a permit to start a business.
 b) If the authorized institution is a subsidiary or a liaison office of a foreign institution, it submits its accreditation document at the time of application. If it is a newly formed company, it must submit the accreditation document within two years. If the accreditation document is not submitted within this period, the Ministry suspends the work permit of authorized institution until it is submitted to the Ministry.
 c) Documents defining the location and organization of authorized institution,
 1) Its name, address, all communications information and documents belonging to its logo, if available,
 2) Identity information concerning the owner, shareholders, employees, and controllers of the institution,
 3) Educational information concerning the owner, shareholders, employees, and controllers of the institution,
 4) Job descriptions and social security documents of the employees,
 5) Signature circulars of the authorized personnel,
 6) Organization diagram of the authorized institution.
 d) Documents concerning the financial structure of the agent,
 1) Documents concerning the capital structure,
 2) Documents concerning the tax type and tax registration number.
 e) All documents described in this Regulation, concerning the operation area and operation system of the institution,
 f) Documents concerning the control and certification procedures and quality handbook in Turkish language.
Responsibilities of Entrepreneur and sanctions to be applied
Article 38 — The entrepreneur is under obligation to supply all the requested information and documents concerning organic production to the authorized institution with which it has a contract, and to allow access to the authorized institution all facilities related to organic production, in order to facilitate control at every step of its organic farming activities. Authorized institution can control every phase of the organic farming activity at any time of its own choice.
The entrepreneur must define its area of operation and notify the authorized institution on the precautions it takes. The entrepreneur is under obligation to supply a letter of commitment to the authorized institution declaring that it will abide by the rules of this Regulation and will give consent to any control to be performed.
In case the entrepreneur has any doubt that the product it produces, processes, imports, or purchases from another entrepreneur does not comply with this Regulation, it notifies the authorized institution of this issue. The use of the organic product label and logo which will identify the product in question as an organic product is suspended until the situation is cleared. After the clearance of all doubts, the entrepreneur, within the knowledge of the authorized institution, can process or market the product in question in compliance with this Regulation.
The sanctions applicable by the authorized institution to the entrepreneur are applied as follows:
 a) The entrepreneur is under obligation to keep all records required by the authorized institution concerning its activities regularly. In the case of the records being kept irregularly or incorrectly, the authorized institution notify the entrepreneur in writing and in detail, concerning the missing and defective issues. The authorized institution grants a period of one month to the entrepreneur for the correction of the missing and defective issues. After this period, the control is repeated. If correction can be achieved, the contract continues without any change. Otherwise, sanctions defined in the quality handbook are applied. In the case of an objection, information and documentation concerning the case are submitted within twenty days to the Committee. The Committee performs the necessary examinations, builds a final decision, and announces this decision to relevant parties.
 b) In the case of identification of applications not in compliance with this Regulation during the production phase, if the entrepreneur is in the transition period to organic production, then this period is extended by the authorized institution, if this period has elapsed, then the transition period is re-entered and the entrepreneur is notified in writing. The contract of the producing entrepreneurs which repeat the applications not in compliance with this Regulation is cancelled and the Committee is notified. In the case of an objection or complaint, request the information and documentation concerning the issue and starts an inspection. If the result of this inspection indicates that the entrepreneur is intentionally repeating the actions not in compliance with this Regulation, then the Committee prohibits the entrepreneur from organic production activities for a period of five years, and notifies all authorized institutions. Prohibition decision can only be taken by the Committee.
 c) If it is determined that an entrepreneur violating this Regulation in its processing, packaging, labelling, storage, and transportation activities is intentionally continuing its violation, the Committee prohibits the entrepreneur from organic farming activities for a period of five years and notifies all authorized institutions about this verdict. The information and documents that the authorized institutions are required to supply
Article 39 — The Committee