Butchers object ban on selling unpacked sucuk

ANTALYA - Doğan News Agency

Turkish butchers denounce ministry plans of banning them for selling sucuks. AA Photo

Turkish butchers have objected to two draft regulations that remove their permission to sell certain meat products unpacked. This permission was only given a year ago.

The Turkish Butchers Federation has filed an appeal to the Food, Agriculture and Husbandry Ministry, requesting changes in drafts that aim to prevent butchers from selling fermented sucuk (a traditional meat sausage), meatballs and sliced chicken.

Osman Yardımcı, the head of the federation, questioned the latest amendment, as it comes “only a year since the last one.”

He said none of the federation members had faced accusations over the quality of sucuks over the past year, and raised questions over the “intention” of the move.

Stressing that butchers had produced sucuks for years, Yardımcı accused mass production brands of factory manufacturing them full of additives.

Butchers regained 40 to 50 percent of the share in the sucuk market after last year’s permission was passed, and Yardımcı claimed that the ministry was acting upon pressure from big companies.

“It’s not right to punish small store owners and block them with a new law with the promise of eight to 10 factories,” he said. “Now let’s look, 10 factories or 23,000 butchers? If you permit these factories to manage Turkey, we have nothing else to say,” Yardımcı stated.

He added that the federation had demanded a meeting with Minister Mehdi Ker to discuss the issue.