LONDON: Turkiye has applied to have the doner kebab protected under EU law, Metro newspaper reported.
The bloc famously enforces strict regulations on certain foods — including French Champagne, Spanish Serrano ham and Neapolitan pizza — in order to safeguard their production and preserve regional culinary heritage.
Issues including the sourcing of ingredients, method and place of production all go into determining what can and cannot be labeled as a protected food, with harsh penalties for those found to be profiting from items deemed not to match the legal criteria.
The doner kebab will undergo a three-month evaluation process to determine whether it too will join the exclusive list of dishes and foodstuffs.
During the process, other countries will be permitted to challenge the application over similarities to their own products, as happened in 2021 when Italy voiced opposition to the Croatian sparkling wine Prosek receiving protected status due to its apparent similarities to Prosecco.
Traditionally formed of meat marinated in salt, pepper, a number of other herbs and spices as well as tomato puree and yoghurt, the doner kebab can contain beef, lamb or chicken.
It is placed on a skewer and rotated against a fire, with thin strips sliced off and served in a flatbread or pitta with lettuce, tomato and onion.
Beef and lamb slices should be 3-5 mm in thickness, while chicken should be thinner at 1-3 mm per slice.
The dish is believed to be worth around $3.6 million annually to Europe’s economy, according to the Association of Turkish Doner Producers.
