Turkey withdraws EU bid to impose uniform döner kebab recipe rules, ending a three-year “kebab

Turkey has withdrawn its effort to establish European Union-wide rules for how a döner kebab must be made, bringing an abrupt end to a high-profile food fight that pitted Ankara and a Turkish industry group against Germany’s powerful kebab sector.

An EU Commission spokesperson confirmed the application was formally withdrawn on September 23, 2025, which automatically halts the registration process.

The Istanbul-based International Döner Federation (UDOFED) had sought to register “döner” as a Traditional Speciality Guaranteed (TSG) product across the EU. If approved, that label would have bound sellers to a single, codified “Turkish-style” recipe and method, narrowing permitted meat choices and preparation techniques, forcing many European shops either to change how they make döner or to rename their products.

Germany, the bloc’s largest döner market, led a broad opposition front spanning government, trade groups, and producers.

The move follows more than two years of heated objections and public debate over the scope and cost of the proposed standard.

Germany’s formal challenge argued that the dish has evolved locally, most notably the Berlin-style döner, and that EU-level rules would impose bureaucracy, raise prices, and undermine culinary diversity.

With support for UDOFED’s proposal fading in Brussels and among member states, Turkish organizers withdrew the bid rather than face an expected rejection, according to reports citing EU officials.

With the application now dropped, national rules remain in force and Europe’s döner shops can continue current practices.

The withdrawal does not preclude Turkey or industry groups from pursuing alternative designations in the future, but any new bid would have to restart the EU process from scratch and confront the same political and economic sensitivities that derailed this attempt.

Sources: AP News, The Guardian