Law No. 5996 on Veterinary Services, Plant Health, Food and Feed

Law No. 5996 on Veterinary Services, Plant Health, Food and Feed, published in Official Gazette No. 27610 of 13 June 2010, aims to protect and ensure food and feed safety, public health, plant and animal health, and animal breeding and welfare, with due regard to consumer interests and the environment (Article 1). The Law was adopted on 11 June 2010; implementation and official controls are carried out by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.

What does Law No. 5996 cover?

The Law covers all stages of the production, processing and distribution of food, food contact materials and feed; controls on residues of plant protection products and veterinary medicinal products; combating epidemic animal diseases and harmful organisms; animal welfare; veterinary and plant health services; the entry and exit of live animals and products; and the related official controls and sanctions (Article 2). Primary production for personal consumption and food prepared for personal consumption are outside its scope.

What is unsafe food or feed and what must the operator do?

Unsafe food may not be placed on the market; food that endangers human health and is unfit for consumption is regarded as unsafe (Article 21(1)). If part of a lot, batch or consignment is found to be unsafe, the whole of it is considered unsafe unless the rest is proved safe. Even where food complies with the Ministry’s requirements, the Ministry may restrict its placing on the market or have it withdrawn from the market if there is sufficient suspicion. The same principles apply to feed (Article 21(2)).

An operator that considers, or has reasonable grounds to believe, that a product it produced, imported or distributed does not meet safety requirements must immediately start the process of collecting it, from the stage at which it left its control, and inform the Ministry. Where necessary it informs consumers and calls on them to return the product (Article 22(2)).

Which measures follow an official control?

Official controls are carried out on a risk basis and mostly without prior notice; a control officer may enter any place and take samples (Article 31). For live animals and products that do not meet the legal requirements or pose a danger to human, animal or plant health, the Ministry may apply one or more of the following measures (Article 32(1)):

• restricting or prohibiting placing on the market, transport, entry into and exit from the country
• if already on the market, stopping sales and having the owner or operator collect the product from the market
• allowing products that can be used for purposes other than placing on the market to be used under the control of the Ministry
• culling and destroying, under Ministry supervision and by their owners or operators, products that cannot be so used

If a deficiency can be corrected and poses no danger, placing the product on the market may be allowed on condition that it is brought into conformity (Article 32(2)). Where scientific uncertainty persists, the Ministry may take precautionary measures such as temporarily stopping production, preventing supply and consumption, and collection of products (Article 26(5)).

What does it mean for destruction and costs?

Food that endangers the life and health of persons is collected from the market at the responsible person’s expense and destroyed after its ownership passes to the state (Article 40(1)(a)). Unsafe feed that endangers animal health and is unfit for consumption is collected at the responsible person’s expense and its ownership transferred to the state (Article 40(1)(b)). Counterfeit or adulterated food and feed are seized; products that cannot be used for any purpose other than placing on the market are destroyed by the operator under Ministry supervision (Article 40(1)(l)).

Culling and destruction are carried out under Ministry supervision at the owner’s expense; if the goods are found ownerless, the Ministry’s budget bears the cost (Article 42(3)). If the person required to collect a product fails to do so, the Ministry collects it and gives a one-month period to pay twice the cost of collection (Article 42(4)). The Law does not set out the technical method of destruction; such details are left to secondary legislation and waste legislation. Storage, processing and disposal of animal by-products not intended for human consumption may take place only in establishments approved by the Ministry (Article 6(2)).

What are the sanctions and the latest amendments?

Article 40 lists sanctions for food and feed, such as administrative fines that vary with the product and the breach, and transfer of ownership to the state; sanctions are applied by the provincial director of agriculture, and in an urgent danger a control officer may apply sanctions other than fines (Article 42(2)). Article 40(1)(a) was amended by Law No. 7255 of 28 October 2020, which provides imprisonment and judicial fines for certain food offences.

Article 5 on compensation and Article 36 on animal health sanctions were amended by Law No. 7584 of 11 June 2026, with the changes entering into force on 20 June 2026.