On September 27, 2024, the General Directorate of Food Safety and Control of Turkey issued Circular No. 595 proposing to develop the Codex Alimentarius - Regulation on Food Lot Number Marking, with a comment period until October 31, 2024, to be held. The main contents of the draft regulation include:

(1) Definitions and terminology;

(2) Scope of application of the regulations: excluding edible agricultural products, bulk foods sold directly to consumers, and prepackaged foods with a maximum surface area of less than 10 square centimeters;

(3) Information on batch number is a mandatory element on food labeling, and food without batch number shall not be put on the market for sale;

(4) Food (including imported food) batch number determined by the manufacturer, the label should be labeled with the guide word “P” or “L”, in order to distinguish from other information, non-prepackaged food batch number can be marked on the packaging container or accompanying documents;

(5) The producer or operator of the food shall ensure that the information on the lot number is clearly visible, legible and indelible in all circumstances;

(6) It is permitted to use the date of production as the food lot number, etc.