By the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock:  
 
TURKISH FOOD CODEX  
COMMUNIQUE  ON DRINKING MILKS  
(DRAFT 2017 / ... ..)  
 
Objective  
Article 1 - (1) The purpose of this Communiqué is to specify the characteristics of 
drinking milk in order to produce, store, transport and market hygienically and in accordance 
with the technique of drinking milk.  
Scope  
Article 2 - (l) This Communiqué covers drinking milks. It does not cover the raw milk.  
Basis  
Article 3 -(l) This Communiqué is based on the Turkish Food Cod ex Regulation which 
was published in the Official Gazette dated 29/12/2011 and with 28157 third repeated 
number.  
Definitions  
Article 4 -(1) In this Communiqué, the following terms refers to;  
a) Seasonings: Vegetables, fruits and their edible products used  for flavoring purposes 
such as water, concentrate, roots, paste, grains and cereals, honey, sugar, coffee, cacao, 
chocolate,  
b) Raw milk: Cow milk, sheep milk, buffalo milk and goat milk, which conform to the 
definition of raw milk in Regulation on Specia l Hygiene Rules for Foods of Animal Origin 
entered into force by publication in Official Gazette dated 27/12/2011 and numbered 28155,  
c) Hermetically sealed packaging: When sealed, the non -permeable packaging, which 
protects the contents against entry of microorganisms,  
ç) Potable water: Potable waters designated for human consumption in accordance 
with the characteristics specified in the Regulation on Waters Intended for Human 
Consumption which was issued in 17/02/2005 dated and 25730 numbered Official Gazette,  
d) Drinking milk: It is the milk ready for immediate consumption which is acquired by 
one of the procedures among pasteurization, pasteurization at high temperature, UHT or 
sterilization and such milks do not require a further procedure.  
e) Lacto se-Free Milk: The milk of  which the lactose content is reduced to 0.1% or 
less by getting fragmentized with the β -galactosidase enzyme and galactose in accordance 
with the technique of lactose used in the drinking milks,  
f) Pasteurization: The Procedure w hich contains the combination of the following 
conditions for the raw milk: long term low temperature which is implemented at minimum 63 
°C for 40 minutes or short term high temperature which is implemented at minimum 72 °C for 15 seconds or another time -temperature conditions that provide the equivalent impact and 
when the alkaline phosphates test is made right after these implementations, then the products 
show a negative reaction,  
g) Pasteurized milk: The drinking milk which is produced by applying the 
pasteurization process and cooled to a temperature which shall not exceed 6 °C after the 
production  
ğ) Sterilization: To produce a commercial and sterilized product that can be stored at 
room temperature, the heat treatment (with a suitable time -temperature  combination such as 
13 minutes at minimum 115 °C' or 3 minutes at 121 °C’ applied at high temperature to the 
product packed with a hermetic packaging which destroys all microorganisms and spores that 
would cause degradation under normal storage conditions ,  
h) Sterilized milk: Drinking milk produced by applying the sterilization procedure to 
the packed milk  
ı) Ultra high temperature/ UGT: When the packages sealed in aseptic conditions are 
kept at room temperature by applying the appropriate temperature -time combination not less 
than 135 ° C which includes continuous flow of short term high temperature, it is the heat 
treatment that shows the sufficiency of the applied heat treatment in which there is no live 
microorganism or spores with development capabili ty in the product,  
i) UHT milk: The drinking milk produced by filling the packages under aseptic 
conditions after applying the UHT process,   
j) Ultra Pasteurization: The procedure which is applied for a few seconds at 85 ° C and 
above and the products show  a negative reaction when alkaline phosphates and peroxides test 
are performed immediately after these applications,  
k) Ultra pasteurized milk : Drinking milk produced by applying Ultra Pasteurization 
procedure,  
l) Foreign substance: Any organic and / or inorganic substance which may be present 
in the components used in the production of the products covered by this Communiqué,  
.  
 
Product Specifications:  
Article 5 - (l) The specifications of the products covered by this Communiqué are as 
follows.  
a) Raw mi lk used in the production of drinking milk shall comply with the Regulation 
on Special Hygiene Rules for Foods of Animal Origin.  
b) Raw and pasteurized milk is used in the production of the products covered by this 
Communiqué.  
c) Drinking milk in accordanc e with this Communiqué is in accordance with Annex -1. ç) The drinking milk covered by this Communiqué does not contain foreign 
substances.  
d) Pasteurized drinking milks should show negative reaction to alkaline phosphates 
test and positive reaction to pero xides test immediately after production.  
e) UHT drinking milk does not show microbial growth in the closed package after 15 
days at 30 ° C or 7 days at 55 ° C or after sterilization control after the application of a 
different method.  
f) Sterilized drinki ng milk does not show microbial growth in the closed package after 
15 days at 30 ° C or 7 days at 55 ° C or after sterilization control after the application of a 
different method.    
g) Drinking milk is classified according to Annex 2 in terms of fat quan tities.  
ğ) Cream can be added, cream can be separated or whole milk, semi -skimmed milk, 
low-fat milk or skimmed milk can be added to provide fat standardization of the drinking 
milk.  
h) Lactose content in drinking milk may be reduced.  
ı) Flavorings and/ or  flavoring agents may be added to the drinking milk.   
i) The rate of fruit in fruity, drinking milk should be at least 3%  
j) The ratios "% Protein" and "% Fat -free dry matter" of the milk supplied to the 
market within the scope of this Communiqué are in accordance with Annex -1. 
k) Milk supplied to the market within the scope of this Communiqué does not contain 
any animal fat and / or vegetable oil other than milk fat. Vegetable oil may be found in 
seasoned milks in proportion to the amount of seasoning.  
l) Milks of different animal species can't be used in a mixed form in the production of 
milks supplied to the market.  
m) The protein content of milks can be increased by milk protein. (lacto protein) In 
this case the amount of milk protein should be at leas t 3.8% by mass.  
n) The lactose value of lactose -free milk is at most 0.1% by mass.  
o) The milks covered by this communiqué are unique in their taste, smell, consistency 
and appearance.  
Additives  
ARTICLE 6 -(1) The additives used in the products covered by this Communiqué 
shall comply with the provisions of the Turkish Food Codex Regulation on Food Additives 
published in the Official Gazette dated 30/6/2013 and numbered 28693.  
Veterinary Drug Residues  
ARTICLE 7 - (1) The residual quantities of pharmacological  active substances 
covered by this Communiqué shall comply with the provisions of Turkish Food Codex 
Regulation on Classification and Maximum Residue Limits of Pharmacologically Active Substances in Foodstuffs of Animal Origin published in the Official Gaz ette dated 07/03/2017 
and numbered 30000.  
Flavors and aroma -giving ingredients  
ARTICLE 8 - (1) The flavorings and food ingredients with flavoring properties that 
will be used in the products covered by this Communiqué shall comply with the provisions of 
Turkish Food Codex Regulation on Flavorings and Food Ingredients with Flavoring 
Properties published in the Official Gazette dated 29/12/2011 with the third repeating number 
of 28157.  
Contaminants  
ARTICLE 9 - (1) The amount of contaminants in the products w hich are within the 
scope of this Communiqué shall be in accordance with the provisions in the Turkish Food 
Codex Contaminants Regulation published in the Official Gazette dated 29/12/2011 and with 
the third repeating number of 28157.  
Pesticide residues  
ARTICLE 10 - 1) The quantities of pesticide residues in the products covered by this 
Communiqué  shall comply with the provisions of the Turkish Food Codex Regulation on 
Maximum Residue Limits of Pesticides published in the Official Gazette dated 25/11/2016 
and numbered 29899 (Iterated).  
Hygiene  
ARTICL E 11 - (1) Products which are in the scope of this Communiqué shall be in 
compliance with the provisions of the Turkish Food Codex Microbiological Criteria 
Regulation published in the Official Gazette dated 29/12/ 2011 with the third repeating 
number of 28157 and the Food Hygiene Regulation, Special Hygiene Rules for the Foods of 
Animal Origin which was published in the Official Gazette dated 17/12/2011 and numbered 
28145.  
(2) If the milk is in direct contact with t he steam in the UHT milk processing process, 
the steam should be obtained from potable water, it shall not leave any foreign matter in the 
milk or cause an adverse effect, and it shall not cause any kind of transformation in the water 
content of the proces sed milk.  
Packaging  
ARTICLE 12 - (1)(1) The packaging of the products covered by this Communiqué 
shall comply with the provisions of the Turkish Food Codex Regulation on Materials and 
Articles in Contact with Food which was issued in the Official Gazette da ted 29/12/2011 and 
third time repetitively numbered 28157.  
Labeling  
ARTICLE 13  - (1) Labeling of the products covered by this Communiqué shall be in 
compliance with the provisions of the Turkish Food Codex Regulation on Food Labeling and 
Consumer Notification published in the Official Gazette dated 26/01/2017 and numbered 
29960 (3rd  Iterated)in addition to the following provisions.  a) The official name of the product and the nature of the heat treatment shall be 
specified in the basic field of view.  
b) If vitamins and / or minerals are added to the drinking milks, the added vitamins  
and / or minerals are stated together with the name of the product.  
c) When flavorings and / or flavors are added to drinking milks, the name of the flavor 
and/or flavoring is specified together with the official name of the product in the label 
informati on. 
ç) On the labels of the milks which are produced only through the use of aroma giving 
ingredient, there shall be no visuals that will create an impression that the taste of the product 
is due to the flavoring through which the aroma giving ingredient i s acquired.  
d) The name of the product along with the name of the animal species through which 
the milk is acquired is specified on the labels of the milks except for the cow milk which is 
supplied to the market within the scope of this Communiqué.  
e) The following expression: “this product contains ...% of additional sugar" which is 
large enough to be seen by the consumers shall be included in the label information of the 
drinking milks (of which the production is made with sugar) that contain flavoring an d/ or 
aroma giving ingredient.  
f) "The protein is increased by ....%" expression shall be included in the label of the 
drinking milks of which the milk protein content has been increased.  
g) Reduced fat etc. expressions can be used in addition to the afore said ones only 
on the labels of the products which are classified as fat -free and which are supplied to the 
market within the scope of this Communiqué.  
ğ) Reduction rate along with "lactose reduced by ...%" expression shall be included in 
the label of the drinking milks of which the lactose is reduced.  
h) On the label of the drinking milk supplied to the market within the scope of this 
Communiqué, there are no expressions such as "yoghurt milk", "cheese milk" expressing the 
uses of the product apart from t he drinking milk.  
ı) If the lactose is reduced below a certain ratio by filtration and similar methods, 
"Contains ...% of lactose" expression is included in the product label.  
i) Information regarding different physical procedures applied such as micro -filtration 
can be stated on the label of the products which are supplied to the market within the scope of 
this Communiqué.  
Nutrition and health statement  
ARTICLE 14  – (1) The provisions included in the Turkish Food Codex Regulation on 
Nutrition and Health Statements published in the Official Gazette dated 26/01/2017 and 
numbered 29960 (Iterated) are applied for the products which are covered by this 
Communiqué  
 
 Transportation and  Storage  
ARTICLE 15 - (1) Handling and storage procedures of the products covered by this 
Communiqué shall be performed in accordance with the rules under the section of Handling 
and Storage of Food in Turkish Food Codex Regulation.  
(2) Paste urized drinking milks supplied to the market within the scope of this 
Communiqué are transported, stored and sold at temperatures between 4 -6 ° C.  
(3) The products within the scope of this Communiqué shall be supplied to the end -
consumer as prepackaged foo d. 
Sampling and Analysis Methods  
ARTICLE 16 - (1) Sampling and analysis of the products which are in the scope of 
this Communiqué shall be in compliance with the Turkish Food Codex Contaminants 
Regulation published in the Official Gazette dated 29/12/2011 a nd with the third repeating 
number of 28157.  
Notification to the European Union  
ARTICLE 17  (1) This Communiqué was notified to the European Union Commission 
pursuant to the provisions of the Technical Legislation and Standards and Regulation on the 
Notific ation between the Turkey and European Union which was published in the Official 
Gazette dated 03/01/2002 and numbered 24714.  
Administrative Sanction  
ARTICLE 18  - (1) (1) For  those who act against this Communiqué, administrative 
sanctions shall be applied according to the relevant articles of the Veterinary Services, Plant 
Health, Food and Feed Law numbered 5996.  
Annulled Communiqué  
ARTICLE 19 - (1) The Turkish Food Codex  Commu niqué on  Raw Milk and Heat 
Treated Drinking Milks which came into force and published in the 14/02/2000 dated and 
23964 numbered Official Gazette has been annulled with this Communiqué.  
Compatibility obligation  
Provisional Article 1 - (1) Food operators ope rating prior to the publication date of 
this Communiqué/…must comply with the provisions of herein this Communiqué until 
..../..../20...  
(2) The food operators which carry out activities within the scope of this 
Communiqué must comply with the provisions o f The Turkish Food Codex  Communiqué on  
Raw Milk and Heat Treated Drinking Milks which came into force and published in the 
14/02/2000 dated and 23964 numbered Official Gazette until they meet the provisions of this 
Communiqué.  
(3) The period of the impleme ntation of (ç) sub -clause of 13th article and (o) sub -
clause of 5th article of this Communiqué shall terminate on ..../..../20.../…in accordance with 
the Regulation on Special Hygiene Rules for the Foods of Animal Origin.  Enforcement  
Article 20 - (1) This C ommuniqué shall enter into force on the date of its publication  
Execution  
Article 21 - (1) The provisions of this Communiqué shall be executed by the Minister 
of Food, Agriculture and Livestock . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
ANNEX -1 
COMPOSITION OF THE DRINKING MILK  
 
 %Protein m / v  
Minimum  Acidity  
(% milk acid) (m 
/ v) Density  
(m / v), minimum  % Fat -free dry 
matter (m / m)  
(minimum)  
Cow milk  2,9 0.135 to 0.20  1,028  8,0 
Flavored / 
Aromatized  
Cow milk  2.9    
Ewe milk  4,0 0.16 to 0.35  1,030  11.0 
Flavored /  
Aromatized  
Ewe milk  4.0    
Goat milk  2,9 0.15 to 0.28  1,026  8,0 
Flavored /  
Aromatized  
Goat milk  2,9    
Buffalo milk  5,5 0.14 to 0.22  1,028  8,0 
Flavored / 
Aromatized  
Buffalo milk  5,5    
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
ANNEX -2 
 
MILK FAT CONTENTS OF THE DRINKING MILKS  
 
 
 
 
Class  Milk fat in 100 ml(gr)  
Full fat milk  3.5 gr ≤ milk fat  
Semi skimmed  1.5 gr ≤ milk fat <1.8  
Fat-free milk fat <0.15  
 % ... fat milk  % …fat