New salt regulation comes into effect on tomato paste, olives

ANKARA – Anadolu Agency

New regulations decreasing the amount of salt in tomato paste and edible olives and forbidding the addition of extra sugar to fruit juices have entered into force with the start of the new year.

The Food, Agriculture and Livestock Ministry said in a statement that efforts to protect the health of the consumers continued non-stop and that the new regulation was part of these efforts.

“According to the new regulations, the amount of salt in the tomato paste will be decreased 60 percent.

The amount of salt will be a maximum of 5 percent for dry food. The salt rate in edible olives will be decreased 50 percent and edible olives will have a maximum of 8 percent salt. The use of extra sugar will not be allowed in fruit juices. Food which does not comply with the new regulations but were put on the market before Jan. 1, 2015, will be allowed to remain on the market for a period which is mentioned in the regulation,” said the ministry in the statement.

The ministry has previously imposed limitations on the amount of salt used in bread and banned the use of chicken and red meat in some products. It has also limited the use of additives in some traditional food, such as bread, Turkish-style fermented sausage and cured spiced beef.