Turkey’s catering industry records $22B turnover

By Dilara Zengin

ANKARA (AA) - Turkish catering industry recorded a turnover of $22 billion last year, Turkey's catering industrialists federation (YESIDEF) announced Friday.

Turkish catering industry, where over 5,000 firms with 400,000 employees work, made 6 million meals daily last year, according to YESIDEF data.

Catering industry in Turkey reached a high standard with the joint efforts of YESIDEF and Turkey's Minister of Food, Agriculture and Livestock in 10 years, Sedat Zincirkiran, the chairman of YESIDEF told Anadolu Agency.

Zincirkiran noted that the member firms of the catering federation are under control of the ministry in terms of food security.

"We carry out inspections with a hazard analysis and critical control point system, named HACCP. Meal production is conducted under regular inspections, otherwise you cannot control the whole process," Zincirkiran explained.

HACCP, which is a food production, storage, and distribution monitoring system for identification and control of health hazards, aims to prevent of contamination, instead of end-product evaluation.

Zincirkiran underlined that standards of Turkey's catering industry is higher than European Union countries and Turkish catering companies improves themselves swiftly.

"Turkish catering sector has no problems (and) infrastructural problems of the sector have been solved. So, the business conducts in a good way," he stated.