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 may request at any time and in any format,
any and all information and documents from the authorized institution, concerning the
entrepreneur, product, production, the control activity, the institution itself, its employees
and source. Furthermore, authorized institutions are under obligation to notify the Committee
within one month, about all modifications made to its structure.
The authorized
institution is under obligation to submit a list within one month containing the code number
assigned in accordance with paragraph (f) of article 6 of this Regulation, an approved list of
entrepreneurs with which it has signed a contract with, location and size of the land, name of
the product, quantity, the name of the entrepreneur and its organic activities to the
Committee and the provincial directorate of the Ministry at where organic farming is made.
Committee and provincial directorate register the entrepreneur they are informed about, as
“entrepreneur using organic farming method”.
The length of reduction in
the transition period and its reason, or the cases at where the entrepreneur is re-entered
into the transition period are announced by the authorized institution to the provincial
directorate at where production is made within one month, and to the Committee by annual
reports.
Every year, until the March 31st, authorized institutions supply all
information concerning their activities for the last calendar year, including product,
entrepreneur, certifications, control, production, export, import, and number of employees, to
the Committee. Additionally, they are under obligation to announce to the Committee, the
entrepreneurs with which a contract has been recently signed, within one month.
Inspection, authority and responsibilities, and on-the-job training for inspection
staff
Article 40 — The inspections of authorized institutions, entrepreneurs
and facilities are made by the Members of Organic Farming Committee and Organic Farming Unit
formed at provincial directorates, comprising of technical personnel who received training on
the subject of organic farming. If deemed necessary by the Ministry, these inspections can
also be made by the Presidency of Inspection Board.
Inspection personnel at the
provincial directorate comprise of personnel proposed by the provincial directorate, and
trained and certified by the Ministry.
The inspections are classified as authorized
institution office, entrepreneur, and facilities inspections, and inspection of the authorized
institution is performed by the committee, and other inspections are performed by the
provincial directorate. Inspections are performed by a minimum of two personnel having
inspection authority. Inspection forms prepared by the Ministry are used during the
inspections performed by provincial directorate. An evaluation list of all inspections
performed throughout a year is submitted to the Ministry as statistical information, until the
January 31st of the following year.
If deemed necessary by the central organization
of the Ministry, training is provided aimed at the inspection personnel of the provincial
organizations. Training for farmers is performed by the inspection personnel at the provincial
organization.
Penalties
Article 41 — Fines applicable to entrepreneurs
and authorized institutions which violate the law are applied as follows:
a) With the
proposal of the provincial directorate of the location at which the violation is detected, or
through a complaint made to the Committee, or as the result of the Committee directly
determining a violation; the sanctions set in the subparagraphs (b), (c), (d), (e) of the
first paragraph of article 12 of the Law are applied by the Ministry. These sanctions are
applied after a preliminary investigation by the Committee, and if required, an investigation
by the Inspection Board Presidency of the Ministry. During this investigation, authorized
institution can not sign new contracts with entrepreneurs. However, it can continue control,
certification or control and certification activities at entrepreneurs with which it has
previously signed a contract, subject to the decision of the Committee.
b) An
administrative fine is applied by the Ministry or the highest civil authority of the location
to the violators of subparagraphs (f) and (k) of the first paragraph of Article 12 of the
Law.
c) Other penalties mentioned in Article 12 of the Law are applied by the highest
civil authority of the location at where the violation is detected.
d) If, within one
year following the finalization of the penalty, the violation is repeated, the provisions in
the Law concerning repetition are applied.
Defendant can appeal to the competent
administrative courts within seven days after the official communication against fines imposed
by the Ministry or the highest civil authority in provinces. Course for controllers,
application requirements for controlling position, controller’s authority, operational
manner and principles
Article 42 –If deemed necessary by the Ministry, one
training course is opened or arranged annually for controllers, targeting agricultural
engineers, veterinary surgeons, fishery engineers, and food engineers. The fees predetermined
by the establishment to cover the course expenses are deposited by the participants to the
relevant revolving fund account.
The conditions for controller applications and the
authority and operation principles for the controllers are as follows:
a) Conditions
for application
1) Graduation from one of agricultural, veterinarian, fishery, or
food engineering faculties,
2) Possession of an official document confirming one
years knowledge and experience on the subject of organic farming, or a postgraduate diploma
related to the subject, or a doctorate diploma related to the subject, or an official document
confirming the attendance to a controller course organized by the Ministry, or having worked
in the organic farming committee for the duration of one year, or having worked as an
inspector at the Ministry in addition to the possession of an appropriate license diploma and
having experience in organic farming.
b) Authorization;
1) Individuals
submitting the required information and documents to the Committee are granted controlling
authority and authorized controllers are recorded and identification is supplied.
2)
They have to be enrolled to the professional society related to their license diploma.
3) Controllers can work on behalf of only one authorized institution, however freelance
controllers can perform controls on behalf of more than one authorized institutions
simultaneously.
c) Principles of operation;
1) They work with an
authorization document granted by the Committee.
2) They are under obligation to
prepare a report for the control they have performed, to sign this report, and to submit this
report to the authorized institution.
3) If the Committee detects that the controller
is violating this Regulation, it can suspend or revoke the authorization.
Conditions
for certifier applications, authority, and principles of operation
Article 43 —
The conditions for certifier applications and the authority and operation principles for the
certifiers are as:
a) Conditions for application;
1) Graduation from a
minimum of a 4 year higher education institution,
2) Possession of an official
document confirming one years knowledge and experience on the subject of organic farming, or a
postgraduate diploma related to the subject, or an official document confirming the attendance
to an certifier course organized by the Ministry, or having worked in the Organic Farming
Committee for the duration of one year, or having worked as an inspector at the Ministry in
addition to the possession of an appropriate license diploma and having experience in organic
farming.
b) Authorization;
1) Individuals submitting the required
information and documentation to the Committee are granted certifier authority and authorized
certifiers are recorded and identification is supplied.
2) Certifier can be employed
only for a single authorized institution.
c) Principles of work;
1)
Certifiers operate with the authorization document obtained from the Committee.
2) If
the Committee detects that the certifier is violating this Regulation, it can suspend or
revoke the authorization.
Auditing and certification fee
Article 44 —
The guidelines for the control and certification fee are described below:
Control and
certification fee is determined on the contract signed between the authorized institution and
the entrepreneur. In case authorized institution deems necessary the presence of a committee
member in the control activity, it applies in writing to the Committee and provides a per diem
the rate of which is similar to the principles it applies to its control
activities.
FIFTH PART
Committees
FIRST CHAPTER
Organic
Farming Committee
Formation of the Organic Farming Committee, its duties, and its
operational guidelines
Article 45 — The principles and framework for the
formation of the Organic Farming Committee, its duties, and its operational guidelines are
described below:
a) Committee constitution; The committee is constituted by the
persons to be appointed by The Ministry, General Directorate for Agricultural Production and
Development, General Directorate for Protection and Control, General Directorate for
Agricultural Researches, General Directorate for Organization and Support, Presidency of
Research Planning and Coordination Board, Department of Foreign Affairs and the European Union
Coordination subject to the approval of the minister or the authorized undersecretary or the
deputy undersecretary. The number of the members is determined by the General Directorate for
Agricultural Production and Development provided at least 1 member from above mentioned
authorities is to be included in the Committee. If it deems necessary, one each member from
Inspection Board Presidency and Law Consultancy can be included in the committee. The
presidency and secretarial works of the committee are carried out by the Department of
Alternative Agricultural Production Techniques in The General Directorate for Agricultural
Production and Development.
b) The duties of the committee;
1) Evaluating
authorized institution applications and granting, extending, or revoking the work permits,
2) Encoding authorized institutions, encoding and supplying identification cards for the
controllers and certifiers,
3) Granting and revoking auditor and certifier
authorizations,
4) Performing inspection of authorized institution offices,
5) Proposing appropriate penalties to the Ministry, for authorized institutions,
controllers, and entrepreneurs violating organic farming legislation,
6) Perform
actions to develop, familiarize and extend organic farming in Turkey, to encourage preparation
of trainings, seminars, symposiums, meetings, conventions, and fairs, on the subject of
organic farming, to participate and provide support for these activities,
7) Tracing
International Organic Farming legislation and perform modification activities in order to
obtain harmony on this issue.
c) Committee is invited to the meetings by the
secretariat. Committee meets with the absolute majority of the membership. Decisions are taken
with the absolute majority of the membership.
d) Reporting is performed by the
secretary member chosen by the Committee from the representatives of the General Directorate
for Agricultural Production and Development.
e) Decisions are undersigned by all
members participating in that meeting, within one month following the meeting date. After the
signatures, decisions are presented to the Minister or the office designated by the Minister,
and becomes effective at the date of approval.
SECOND CHAPTER
Organic
Farming National Guidance Committee
Formation of the Organic Farming
National Guidance Committee, its duties, and its operational guidelines
Article 46
— The principles and framework for the formation of the Organic Farming National
Guidance Committee, its duties, and its operational guidelines are described below:
a) Organic Farming National Guidance Committee; This committee is constituted by at
least ten persons from the authorized persons from the General Directorate for Agricultural
Production and Development under the presidency of the Director General of Agricultural
Production and Development, Undersecretariat for State Planning Organization, Undersecretariat
for Foreign Trade, Undersecretariat for Customs, Ministry of Industry and Trade, Ministry of
Health, Ministry of Environment and Forest, Export Development Research Center, representative
of the General Directorate for Agricultural Researches, The Scientific and Technological
Research Council of Turkey, occupation organizations, civil public organizations,
representatives of authorized institutions, universities and representatives of private sector
and the persons who are recommended to participate to the committee from institution and
organizations.
b) Organic Farming National Guidance Committee performs activities for
the application and development of organic farming, supports and incentives, raising consumer
awareness, domestic and foreign marketing for organic products, identifying defective
applications and determining the strategies for these issues, evaluating the project proposals
in the field of organic farming, and determining their priorities.
c) Workgroups are
formed if deemed necessary by the Organic Farming National Guidance Committee.
d)
Regular meetings are held at least once annually. Extraordinary meetings are announced by the
secretariat.
e) Decisions are reached with the absolute majority of the participan