By Bosphorus News Economy Desk
European Union food safety controls are raising compliance costs for Turkish agricultural exporters, with tomatoes, dried figs, cumin and pistachios facing tighter checks over pesticide residues, aflatoxins and other contaminants.
The measures are not import bans. They require more consignments to undergo identity and physical checks, laboratory analysis or official certification before entering the EU market. Exporters carry the cost of testing, documentation and waiting time, with greater commercial risk for perishable goods.
Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/1441, adopted on July 18 and applied from August 2025, placed tomatoes from Türkiye under increased controls because of pesticide-residue findings. Identity and physical checks were set at 20 percent of consignments.
The regulation amended Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/1793, the EU framework governing temporary increased controls and special import conditions for selected food and feed products from non-EU countries.
Tomatoes are listed under Annex I, which requires increased border controls. Dried figs and cumin fall under Annex II, where shipments must also carry official certificates and laboratory results. Thirty percent of dried fig consignments are checked for aflatoxins and Ochratoxin A, while cumin seeds face a 50 percent inspection rate for pyrrolizidine alkaloids.
Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/194, adopted in January 2026, revised the same control regime and set a 50 percent identity and physical inspection rate for pistachios and pistachio products originating in Türkiye because of continued aflatoxin findings.
The same rate applies to U.S.-origin pistachios dispatched to the EU through Türkiye.
The 2026 regulation also removed Turkish grapefruit from the increased-control list after official checks showed improved compliance. The product had previously been subject to a 10 percent inspection rate.
Türkiye Most Frequently Reported in EU Fruit and Vegetable Alerts
The European Commission's 2025 Alert and Cooperation Network report recorded 1,572 notifications involving fruit and vegetable products.
Sixty-seven percent were classified as presenting a possible health risk. Pesticide residues accounted for 59 percent of notifications in the category.
Peppers, tomatoes and citrus fruits were among the products most often linked to pesticide findings. Chlorpyrifos, acetamiprid and formetanate were the most frequently reported residues. Aflatoxins and Ochratoxin A in figs were prominent in mycotoxin cases.
Türkiye was the most frequently reported country of origin for fruit and vegetable notifications for the second consecutive year, particularly for figs, citrus fruits and peppers.
The Commission said the figure was partly influenced by the higher inspection rates already applied to selected Turkish products. Repeated findings in the same product groups can lead Brussels to maintain or raise control frequencies.
Turkish pistachios were also linked to aflatoxin findings. Sesame seeds and nut products from Türkiye appeared in Salmonella notifications, while oregano and cumin were among the products cited in natural-toxin cases.
Commission Records No Progress on Food Safety Alignment
The European Commission's 2025 Türkiye Report said no progress had been made during the reporting period in food safety, veterinary and phytosanitary policy.
It called on Türkiye to meet EU maximum limits for pesticide residues and bring food, feed and animal by-product facilities into line with EU structural standards.
The report also cited the absence of an adopted raw milk strategy, gaps in the collection, storage and processing of animal by-products and insufficient integration of the EU's One Health approach into zoonosis controls.
The Commission identified weaknesses in inspection, traceability and production systems used to maintain access to regulated EU markets.
Laboratory testing, sampling, certificates and border delays create costs even when a shipment is cleared. Fresh produce can lose value while awaiting inspection, and rejected consignments carry transport, disposal and replacement costs.
The Commission reviews the enhanced-control lists at least every six months. Product results and border rejections determine whether inspection rates are raised, lowered or removed.
Ankara Says Non-Compliance Fell 74 Percent
Agriculture and Forestry Minister İbrahim Yumaklı said in April that Türkiye's non-compliance rate under the EU's Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed had fallen by 74 percent over five years.
He said the B-Reçete system, which records and monitors the prescription and use of plant protection products, would be implemented nationwide from July 2026.
The ministry has also expanded support for biological and biotechnical pest control. Yumaklı said producers using those methods had received 2 billion lira in support.
Tomatoes remain subject to 20 percent checks, dried figs to 30 percent, and cumin and pistachios to 50 percent, keeping testing and certification costs concentrated on four export categories.
Sources: European Commission, EUR-Lex, Türkiye's Agriculture and Forestry Ministry, Alert and Cooperation Network, Bosphorus News review and reporting.