Two EU dates and one Turkish scheme matter for the cold chain and packaging in 2026. These are the questions that come up most.
Does the EU Packaging Regulation bind a business in Türkiye?
Regulation (EU) 2025/40 covers all packaging placed on the EU market. If you export from Türkiye to the EU, your packaging is within scope, and your buyer asks you for data for their own reporting.
What starts on 12 August 2026?
The Regulation began to apply that day, and its rules phase in. The PFAS limit for food-contact packaging took effect then; harmonised labelling follows from 2028, and empty-space limits and reuse targets from 2030.
I use reusable containers: is there an extra obligation?
Article 29 requires that from 1 January 2030 at least 40% of transport packaging such as pallets, plastic crates, boxes and trays used within the EU be reusable within a re-use system, with 70% as the aim for 2040. Between an operator's own sites and on deliveries to another business in the same Member State, all of it must be reusable. Cardboard boxes are outside the scope. A durable container is not a system on its own; an arrangement for collection and return to use is needed.
What changed in the Listeria rule on 1 July 2026?
Under Regulation (EU) 2024/2895, the criterion of not detected in 25 g for ready-to-eat foods that can support Listeria growth applies to product on the market across its shelf life. If the producer can show the competent authority that 100 cfu/g will not be exceeded throughout shelf life, that limit is used. A transport temperature log does not replace a shelf-life study.
Does the deposit scheme cover my transport container?
No. The Depozito Yönetim Sistemi covers single-use PET, glass and aluminium beverage packaging from 0.10 to 3.01 litres. 1 July 2026 is not the start of the scheme; it is the date the participation-fee tariff for the third and fourth periods of 2026 takes effect.
Do CBAM and Türkiye's emissions trading system concern us?
CBAM has been in its definitive regime since 1 January 2026 and applies to imports of cement, iron and steel, aluminium, fertilisers, electricity and hydrogen; food is outside it. Climate Law (7552), Article 9: an emission permit is required for direct-emission activities whose scope is set by regulation; a pilot period comes first.
