Traditional product registration is coming to Turkish döner in Europe

The announcement of the application made by the International Doner Federation to the European Union (EU) to register doner, one of the first flavors that comes to mind when Turkish cuisine is mentioned, as a "traditional product name", was published in the EU Official Gazette.

According to the decision published by the European Commission in the Official Gazette, it was stated that doner is made beef, sheep or chicken meat cut into thin and horizontal slices and fixed on a skewer, which is cooked over the fire by rotating around its own axis vertically. The advertisement stated that the thinly and horizontally sliced meats were seasoned with a mixture of yoghurt or milk, pepper or tomato puree, salt, various herbs and spices before cooking, and that horizontally sliced fat was placed between the meat layers during the skewering of the doner kebab.

In the announcement, it was stated that the doner had spread Istanbul to various cities of the Ottoman geography since the early 1800s, and that it was cooked and sold in restaurants and inns, and that the vertical cooking of doner was recorded in Takiyüddin manuscripts as far back as 1546. In the announcement, it was stated that doner kebab became the cultural symbol of the migration of Turks to Europe and especially to Germany, which continued intensively 1962 to 1979, and that the doner spread to Germany and other European countries without changing its name and production process. The ad pointed out that doner had become one of the most popular street foods in Europe, and noted that the term doner was derived the word "to return" and that the name of the dish was related to the traditional cooking technique.

With the publication of the announcement in the EU Official Gazette, the first step in the process of registering doner kebab as a "Traditional Product Name" by the EU was taken. Döner will be registered after the 3-month objection period expires and will be the first traditional product name Turkey registered in the EU. Following this development, the International Doner Federation issued a press release.

“Döner brought the cultures together”

Speaking in the press release, International Doner Federation Chief Advisor Huriye Özener said, “In 2020, we registered doner as a traditional product name in our own country. On behalf of the International Doner Federation, we applied to the European Union Commission as a traditional product in 2022. It was announced on the 24th of April. We have a 3-month suspension period, we are waiting for registration. Registration is very important for us, it is an honor and happiness for us to be able to represent döner in 140 countries today and this is done by UDAFED. We are talking about a flavor culture dating back to the Ottoman period. As Turks migrated to Europe for work, this caused döner to spread to Europe and other countries. Döner caused total exchange and cultural unity. "The German President bringing a doner kebab to Turkey when he comes to Turkey is an example of this culture," he said.