Speaking on genetically modified agricultural goods, Eker stated that before Oct. 26 of this year, any foodstuffs that were declared to be genetically modified were automatically denied entry to Turkey. If these goods were not declared to be genetically modified, then “we couldn’t do anything about it under the old legislation, which was compatible with international law and standards.”
He added that the new regulation for genetically modified organisms (GMOs), the execution of which was cancelled by the Council of State earlier this week, would have further regulated the import of GMO foods. He stated that the regulation was presented by the media to the public in a way that “made it seem like [importing GMO foods] was restricted before and that this new regulation would make it easier to import them. … Our goal was to create a regulatory framework that would control food with GMOs more tightly. We wanted to protect the health of consumers and the public. Unfortunately people calling themselves ‘experts,’ people who had no prior experience with the issue, confused the public to the fullest extent.”
The minister added that he had not been informed about the Council of State’s decision to stop the execution of the new GMO regulation. He said he had not been asked by the council to defend the legislation verbally or in a written statement. Revealing his confusion over the matter, Eker added: “We have to abide by the council’s decision. … But honestly, why was the regulation rejected? Who opposed it?”
The minister also spoke on food safety regulations and stated that Turkey’s food safety management, administration and legislation is much stronger than claimed, and that claims that consumers are being fed untested and unsafe foods are “completely exaggerated and false.” Eker stated that his ministry had taken over food safety management and had increased the number of food safety control cases from 40,000 in 2002, to 340,000 in 2008.
Moreover, the minister spoke about the claim that 60 to 70 percent of the food consumed is Turkey is produced in the informal market and is not subject to farming and food production standards. He stated that this was “misleading” and revealed that “nearly all of the sector is in the formal economy and is tied to the addresses where they produce. … There are roughly 3.1 million agricultural enterprises in Turkey and nearly all of these are in the formal economy.”
Professor Chris Griffith, the director of research and enterprise and the head of the food research and consultancy unit at the University of Wales Institute, Cardiff, and the editor of the British Food Journal, also spoke at the event, highlighting the importance of food safety for the economic wellbeing of a nation. In addition to the health problems associated with bad food safety management, Griffith highlighted the case of a food poisoning outbreak in the Dominican Republic as a threat to the economy. “As result of the outbreaks of food poisoning the Dominican Republic had, their tourism declined by 12 percent over a two year period,” he said.
