Olive oil under the Turkish Food Codex

In Türkiye it is not the producer who decides what an oil may be called — it is the Turkish Food Codex Communiqué on Olive Oil and Olive Pomace Oil, published in the Official Gazette dated 17 September 2017, issue 30183, as Communiqué No: 2017/26.

This page reflects the communiqué as currently in force. It has been amended twice since 2017: Official Gazette of 8/4/2023, issue 32157 (Communiqué 2023/23), and 3/5/2023, issue 32179 (Communiqué 2023/26). According to the consolidated text in the official Legislation Information System, no further amendment has been made since. Everything below reflects those amendments.

Official grades and acidity limits

Free fatty acidity is expressed as grams per 100 grams, calculated as oleic acid — that is what "0.8 %" means.

• Extra virgin olive oil (natürel sızma) — suitable for direct consumption, free acidity max 0.8 %.
• Virgin olive oil (natürel birinci) — suitable for direct consumption, free acidity max 2.0 %.
• Lampante olive oil (ham/rafinajlık) — acidity above 2.0 % and/or sensorially unfit for direct consumption. Goes to refining or technical use.
• Refined olive oil — obtained by refining lampante oil, acidity max 0.3 %.
• Olive oil / Riviera — a blend of refined and virgin olive oils, acidity max 1.0 %.
• Flavoured olive oil — produced by adding herbs, spices, fruit or vegetables.

"Virgin" is a technical definition: the oil must be obtained by mechanical or physical means only — washing, decantation, centrifugation, filtration — under thermal conditions that do not alter the oil. Solvent-extracted or re-esterified oils fall outside the definition.

Pomace oil is not olive oil

Pomace is the residue left after olive oil production. Oil obtained from it with solvents is not the same product as olive oil:

• Crude pomace oil — not fit for direct consumption.
• Refined pomace oil — acidity max 0.3 %.
• Pomace oil — a blend of refined pomace oil and virgin olive oils, acidity max 1.0 %.

The communiqué is categorical: "Pomace oil may under no circumstances be named olive oil."

Olive oil may not be blended with other oils

Article 5 is explicit: olive oil may not be mixed into other liquid oils, and other liquid oils may not be mixed into olive oil. A product cut with sunflower or canola cannot be sold as olive oil at any ratio.

What a label may and may not say

Article 14 is the most useful part for consumers.

"Cold pressed" and "first cold press"

• "First cold press" — only for extra virgin and virgin oils obtained from the first mechanical pressing of the olive paste using a hydraulic press below 27 °C.
• "Cold extraction" — only for extra virgin or virgin oils obtained by percolation or centrifugation of the paste below 27 °C.

Neither phrase may appear on a Riviera or pomace oil label.

If acidity is printed, three more values must be printed too

A little-known but very practical rule: if acidity or maximum acidity is stated on the label, the peroxide value, wax content and ultraviolet specific absorbance must also be stated — in the same percentage form and the same type size.

It exists to stop the marketing habit of advertising "0.3 % acidity" while hiding everything else. A label that highlights acidity alone is not compliant.

Taste and aroma claims

Sensory descriptors may be used only for extra virgin and virgin olive oils. The 2023/23 amendment narrowed this further: only the expressions listed in the second part of Annex 2 may be used, and only where assessed under the official panel method. Words like "fruity", "bitter" or "pungent" cannot be applied at will.

The communiqué setting out that method was itself replaced: the Turkish Food Codex Communiqué on Methods of Analysis for Olive Oil and Olive Pomace Oil (No: 2023/20), Official Gazette 28/10/2023 issue 32353, repealed the earlier 2014/53. Laboratories performing official controls had to comply by 1 June 2024.

Geographical indication

Only extra virgin and virgin olive oils may carry a geographical indication on the label.

No loose sales

Olive oil offered to the end consumer may not be placed on the market unless pre-packaged. Oil decanted from a drum at the point of sale is not compliant.

Flavourings

Where a flavouring is added, its name must appear before the product name and in the same type size as the product name.

Additives

• No food additive whatsoever may be added to virgin olive oils.
• Refined olive oil, Riviera, refined pomace and pomace oil may receive alpha-tocopherol solely to restore what refining removed; the final product may not exceed 200 mg/kg.

Quality and purity criteria

The numeric quality and purity criteria are set out in Annex 1 of the communiqué, and the sensory characteristics of virgin olive oils in Annex 2.

The 2023 amendments mainly concern those annexes:

• 2023/23 repealed Article 6 ("Special provisions"), which had allowed the Olive Oil Commission to set climate- and agronomy-driven deviations in sterol composition and UV specific absorbance for domestically produced oils. The definition of the Olive Oil Commission was removed too, and the delta-7-stigmastenol decision tree was widened to cover refined and Riviera olive oil as well as pomace oils.
• 2023/26 corrected two purity criteria in Annex 1, Table 2: the lignoceric acid (C24:0) limit was raised from ≤ 0.03 to ≤ 0.2, and the wax content row (C40+C42+C44+C46) was corrected to ≤ 350 for Riviera olive oil and > 350 for pomace oil. These took effect retroactively from 8/4/2023.

The wax criterion matters in practice: pomace oil contains markedly more waxes than olive oil, which makes it one of the key markers for telling the two apart.

What each of these values actually reveals is covered in our analysis values guide. For the practical differences between grades, see olive oil grades.

A labelling change on the horizon

Separately from the olive oil communiqué, a change in food labelling rules affects olive oil: products containing several oils may no longer be named simply "with olive oil" (or "with butter"), and oils other than olive oil may not evoke olives or olive oil. According to announcements by Turkish chambers of commerce and industry, non-compliant labels may not remain on the market after 31/12/2026, regardless of shelf life.

We could not verify the Official Gazette reference for this change while preparing this page; it appears to run through the Ministry's labelling guideline rather than the regulation itself. Producers of packaged goods should confirm it directly against the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry's current labelling guideline.

Legislation currently in force

• Communiqué on Olive Oil and Olive Pomace Oil (2017/26) — OG 17/9/2017, issue 30183. Entered into force on publication, repealing communiqué 2010/35.
• Amendment: Communiqué 2023/23 — OG 8/4/2023, issue 32157.
• Amendment: Communiqué 2023/26 — OG 3/5/2023, issue 32179.
• Methods of analysis: Communiqué 2023/20 — OG 28/10/2023, issue 32353; repealed 2014/53.
• Labelling: Food Labelling and Consumer Information Regulation — OG 26/1/2017, issue 29960 bis; amended OG 6/4/2024, issue 32512.

Full text of the communiqué

You can download the full text of the original communiqué as published in the Official Gazette:

Turkish Food Codex Communiqué on Olive Oil and Olive Pomace Oil (2017/26) — PDF

The amending communiqués are published in the Official Gazette: 2023/23 · 2023/26 · 2023/20 (methods of analysis)

This page was verified against the Official Gazette and the Legislation Information System on 12 August 2026. Legislation changes; the official texts are what bind.