Data reflected from the European Union Food Alert System records continue to cause concern. Notifications made by EU countries for food and agricultural products sent from Türkiye focused on pesticide residues, mycotoxins, microbiological risks and non-compliance with legislation in the first 7 months of 2026. So much so that, according to the records of the European Union’s Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed, 270 notifications were made regarding products originating from Turkey between January 1 and July 17, 2026. While 197 of the notifications were recorded as border rejection, the risk level in 195 notifications was classified as “serious”. In the last record entered into the system on July 23, approximately 50 times the allowed level of dithiocarbamate residue was detected in pickled vine leaves sent from Türkiye to Italy.
MOST FROM BULGARIA
Bulgaria was the country that made the most notifications regarding products originating from Türkiye in the period between January 1 and July 17. 65 notifications were made by Bulgaria, 61 by Germany and 53 by France. The total number of notifications of these three countries reached 179. The records of Bulgaria, Germany and France accounted for 66.3 percent of the 270 notifications. The reason why Bulgaria ranks first is that a significant portion of the agricultural and food products sent from Türkiye to the European Union by road enter through the border gates of this country.
MOST FIG AND RAPE
In the notifications made about products originating from Türkiye, in addition to pesticide residues, ochratoxin A, aflatoxin B1 and total aflatoxin detections also came to the fore. Different active substances such as acetamiprid, formetanate, indoxacarb, prochloraz, imazalil and fosthiazate were recorded in pesticide notifications. It was claimed that mycotoxin notifications were seen especially in dried figs, raisins, pistachios, spices and dried products. Experts say that Ochratoxin A and aflatoxins are not direct pesticide residues; They emphasize that it refers to toxins created by some mold species that can develop under production, drying and storage conditions.
50 TIMES MORE OUTPUT
The most striking development recently was the notification made by Italy with reference number 2026.6518. In the notification made on July 23, 2026 Dithiocarbamate group pesticide residues were detected in pickled vine leaves sent from Türkiye. In laboratory analysis, the amount of dithiocarbamate was measured as 2.5 ± 0.23 milligrams per kilogram. The maximum residue limit for the product is 0.05 milligrams per kilogram. In the calculation made based on the central measurement value, the amount of residue reached 50 times the legal limit. Italy decided to reject the shipment at the border and send it back to Türkiye.
PESTICIDE IN PICKLED LEAVES
Food Bulletin Editor-in-Chief Gürkan Akgüneş emphasized that vine leaves sent from Türkiye have been subject to RASFF records in recent years due to different pesticide residues, and said, “In another notification made by Italy on February 19, 2026, dithiocarbamate and pyraclostrobin were detected in vine leaves originating from Turkey. In the scientific study examining RASFF data for 2022, 19 pesticide notifications were identified for vine leaves worldwide. These notifications 11 of them, in other words 57.9 percent, were related to products originating from Türkiye. In the study examining a total of 766 pickled vine leaf samples collected in Türkiye in 2022 and 2023, many pesticide residues were detected.” he said.
IMPORTANT DETAIL
On the other hand, scientific studies indicate that dithiocarbamates represent a group of fungicides used against fungal diseases in vineyards and various agricultural products. The ‘dithiocarbamate’ result reported in RASFF analyzes does not always correspond to a single pesticide. Different active ingredients such as mancozeb, maneb, metiram, propineb, thiram and ziram can be the source of the analysis results.
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