Maintaining a healthy life has become priority for many over the last years due to a number of factors including the pandemic, recent developments in healthcare, and awareness that it has led to. In this context, use of food supplements have become a significant part of self-care routines.
Food supplements are not considered as medication as they are unable to treat or cure diseases. They can only be offered as supporting tools, which cannot constitute or replace nutritional sources. Nevertheless, given the potential impacts of their use, the regulations cover food supplements exclusively.
Pursuant to the Veterinary Services, Plant Health, Food and Forage Law No. 5996, food supplements shall consist, amongst others, of concentrated or extracted vitamins, minerals, proteins, fibres and other plant or animal-based substances, and shall be used to supplement a regular diet. Food supplements are sold with a pre-determined daily dosage intake, which may be in the form of capsules, tablets, pastilles, powders, liquidized ampoules, dropping bottles or similar forms.
Authorization and placing of the product on the market. According to the Regulation on Import, Production, Processing and Market Launch of Food Supplements (“Regulation”), in order to be produced, processed, imported or launched to the market, food supplements must be approved by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (“Ministry”), and registered. Within the last 8 years, the Ministry has granted market approval for approx.. 11,000 food supplements. The Regulation sets forth that the food supplements may only be placed on the market (i) at outlets of the importer, producer and/or processor (i.e. all of which are deemed as food operator under the Regulation), (ii) at wholesale depots of the foregoing, (iii) via the website indicated in the authorization application, or (iv) through a direct seller, who acts independently on its own account under an agreement with the relevant importer, producer and/or processor holding the authorization of the food supplement.
Labelling. Labelling requirements for supplements are regulated under the Turkish Food Codex Food Supplements Communiqué numbered 2013/49, according to which all food supplements must be sold bearing the phrase “food supplement”. Among others, the following must take place in the label: (i) food supplements do not substitute normal nutrition, (ii) the product is not a medicine and cannot be used for prevention or treatment of diseases, and (i) the daily recommended dosage shall not be exceeded. As such, the label must not imply in any way that the product can predict, cure or remedy a disease or that the nutritional elements cannot be satisfied by way of an adequate and balanced diet.
Advertising. According to the Regulation on the Health Declarations of Products Offered for Sale with a Health Declaration, in order to use expressions regarding the curative effects of a product, an approval must be obtained from the Turkish Medicine and Medical Devices Institution (the “Institution”). Indeed, the Institution oversees unauthorised or false statements, and has the power of banning advertisements, promotions or sale of the product as well as confiscation and destroying of the product. Further, comparative advertisement of food supplements are strictly prohibited under the Regulation on Commercial Advertising and Unfair Commercial Practices. The Radio and Television Supreme Council monitors the advertisement of food supplements, and may impose fines in case of violation of the legislation.
Recalls. As per the Regulation, if, a food operator determines that a food supplement produced, processed, imported or put on the market by such operator does not comply with the food safety requirements or has reasonable grounds to suspect of this, it is responsible for immediately initiating the necessary procedures to recall such product and notifying the relevant authorities within this regard. Upon recall of the supplement, the food operator must inform consumers on the recall grounds in a true and effective manner. Moreover, the food operator is responsible for the prevention, reduction or elimination of the risk associated with the supplement, and is required to cooperate with the relevant authorities in relation to the measures to be taken. The Ministry may prohibit release of the product to the market, temporarily ban production or entry into the country or recall the product in cases where the impact on human health cannot be determined or if the already taken measures are deemed insufficient.
