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Press release…
Drawing attention to the prevalence of counterfeiting and adulteration in certain food products, including olive oil, Vural Gözgeç, a member of the Board of Directors of the Aegean Olive and Olive Oil Exporters’ Association (EZZİB), stated that they had established a sub-committee within EZZİB to tackle these issues and were carrying out intensive work.
Gözgeç, who reported that they had held a meeting with Mahmut Gürcan, Deputy Minister of Trade, to discuss the prevention of counterfeiting and adulteration, said, “Counterfeiting and adulteration in olive oil have now taken on a very different dimension in online sales via the internet, rather than in traditional retail outlets; in financial terms, this leads to tax losses and consumer deception, whilst also causing health-related issues. We held a meeting on this subject a few days ago. As you can see on social media platforms, there are adverts for 5-litre bottles of olive oil priced at 750 lira. As a company, because we have our own laboratory, we occasionally purchase these products and analyse them in our lab. So far, the results have never been wrong: 99 per cent of them turn out to be cottonseed oil.”
“We want inspections carried out via e-commerce sites to be as frequent and regular as those conducted at traditional retail outlets. As a result of inspections carried out by the Ministry of Trade, advertisements for non-compliant products are being removed. An advertising ban is currently being introduced. The key point here is that the company making the sale must be penalised. The concept of joint and several liability must apply here. By joint and several liability, we mean that whether it is an online marketplace or a social media platform, these entities are also liable, regardless of whether they knew or were unaware that the product they sold was adulterated,” he explained.
Pointing out that they need to flesh out the concept of joint and several liability,” he noted, “I know this because we export to Russia. Russia has introduced a QR code system for import procedures. What is this QR code system? The Russian term for it and its Turkish equivalent, means ‘honest mark’. When you adopt this QR system, a national traceability and digital labelling mechanism comes into effect for olive oil. This system could operate via an online registration office to be established by the Ministry of Trade.”
“This QR system will not be issued to everyone. Only companies that meet certain conditions, hold specific quality certificates, have a designated facility and possess a registered trademark will be eligible. This QR code will be activated on this platform. There will be a fee for the QR code. Consequently, when you go to the supermarket or shop online, you will be able to track the product using the QR code,” he added…
