New rules set in production and sale of ‘simit’

ANKARA

The Turkish Standards Institute (TSE) has prepared a regulation bringing a series of new rules regarding the production and sales processes of “simit,” often called “Turkish bagel.”

According to the draft regulation, simits will be divided into four as street simits, patisserie simits, filled simits and boiled simits.

In the draft, stating that a mixture of one or more of the ingredients such as sesame seeds, nigella seeds, sunflower seeds, chia seeds, and grain mix could be placed on the simit, cheese, olives, sausage, sucuk (spicy traditional sausage), salami and chocolate were listed as the inner materials of the simit.

The simit should have its unique taste and smell, not be bitter, sour, rancid, and not smell musty, the draft says, adding that it won’t be allowed to sell them as “smashed, crushed and moldy.”

“It should be well-cooked, free of burnt or doughy, sticky, flour lumps, ropiness, and large voids,” according to the regulation. “The pores in the bagel should be homogeneously distributed, while the inner material will not protrude beyond the dough.”

A set of rules will also be followed during the sale process of the simit, which will be subjected to humidity, salt, acidity, aflatoxin, yeast and mold tests before sale.

Accordingly, the simits sold in bakeries and dealers will be kept in closed and clean windows and will be served to the customer in unused, clean packages.

For simits sold unpackaged to the end consumer, information such as the company’s trade name or short name, address and registered trademark, name of the product, net mass, inner material, at least one of the batch, serial or code numbers and the consumption date recommended by the company should be placed where the buyer can see it.

When necessary, this information can be written in foreign languages.

They should be placed in completely closed vehicles that are not used except for the transportation of bakery products, in a way to prevent the risk of contamination, the regulation says.

They shouldn’t be kept together in ovens, warehouses and during transportation with odorous, moist materials that may spoil any of their properties.

The word “simit” entered the Oxford English Dictionary in 2019, defined as a type of bread often coated with molasses and covered in sesame seeds, originating in Türkiye.

It is generally served plain, or for breakfast with tea, fruit preserves, or cheese or Aryan, while drinking tea with simit is traditional.