The representatives and associates of companies that distributed approximately 16 tons of imported food with falsified expiration dates have been handed over to the prosecution.
The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety announced on the 2nd that three officials from the import distribution companies A and B have been forwarded to the prosecution on suspicion of violating related laws by manipulating the expiration dates of Turkish tomato products and Spanish olive oil.
The Central Investigation Unit of the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety identified last October that expired imported food was being distributed in violation of regulations and initiated an investigation. The investigation revealed that Company A extended the expiration dates of approximately 11 tons of expired tomato products by 138 days from February 16 to March 7, 2024, and supplied them accordingly.
It was found that Company B extended the expiration date of olive oil by up to 451 days and supplied approximately 5.1 tons to three snack bars in 36 instances from October 2024 to January 2025. They removed the original markings with acetone and inserted new expiration dates using laser engraving and stickers.
The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety has requested local governments to destroy all these products to prevent them from being circulated in the market and is also pursuing administrative actions against the companies involved.
The Ministry stated it will continue rigorous crackdowns on food violations that directly impact public health and plans to strengthen investigations to establish distribution order.