Beef and chicken glisten as they rotate slowly on vertical spits before they are carved off in razor-thin strips. Two cooks slide from a sizzling griddle to a warm toaster in a practiced dance. Mounds of fresh tomatoes, cabbage and red onions shine in a colorful tableau.

The scene at Kebap With Attitude in Berlinsa国际传媒檚 trendy Mitte neighborhood is typical of any street-side stand or restaurant where cooks pile the ingredients into pita bread to create the citysa国际传媒檚 beloved d枚ner kebab.

But the snacksa国际传媒檚 status could be in jeopardy if the European Commission approves a bid by Turkey to regulate what can legally take the d枚ner kebab name.

In the balance is an industry that generates annual sales of roughly 2.3 billion euros (nearly $2.6 billion) in Germany alone, and 3.5 billion euros (nearly $3.9 billion) across Europe, according to the Berlin-based Association of Turkish D枚ner Producers in Europe.

sa国际传媒淔rom the government to the streets, everyone is eating d枚ner kebab,sa国际传媒� Deniz Buchholz, the owner of Kebap With Attitude, said as waiters ferried steaming orders from the kitchen to hungry lunchtime customers on a rainy Monday afternoon.

The word sa国际传媒渄枚nersa国际传媒� is derived from the Turkish verb sa国际传媒渄枚nmek,sa国际传媒� which means sa国际传媒渢o turn.sa国际传媒� The meat is grilled for hours on a spit and sliced off when the meat becomes crisp and brown. In Turkey, the dish originally was made of lamb and sold only on a plate. But in the 1970s, Turkish immigrants in Berlin opted to serve it in a pita and tweak the recipe to make it special for Berliners.

sa国际传媒淭hey realized that the Germans like everything in the bread,sa国际传媒� said Buchholz, who was raised in Berlin and has Turkish roots. sa国际传媒淎nd then they said, sa国际传媒極K, letsa国际传媒檚 put this dish into a breadsa国际传媒� and this is how it came to d枚ner kebab Berlin-style.sa国际传媒�

In April, Turkey applied to have d枚ner kebab protected under a status called sa国际传媒渢raditional specialty guaranteed.sa国际传媒� Itsa国际传媒檚 below the vaunted sa国际传媒減rotected designation of originsa国际传媒� that applies to geographic region-specific products, like Champagne from its eponymous region in France, but could still impact kebab-shop owners, their individual recipes and their customers throughout Germany.

Under Turkeysa国际传媒檚 proposal, beef would be required to come from cattle that is at least 16 months old. It would be marinated with specific amounts of animal fat, yogurt or milk, onion, salt, and thyme, as well as black, red and white peppers. The final product be sliced off the vertical spit into pieces that are 3 to 5 millimeters (0.1 to 0.2 inches) thick. Chicken would be similarly regulated.

The European Commission must decide by Sept. 24 whether 11 objections to the application, including from Germanysa国际传媒檚 Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture, have merit. If they do, Germany and Turkey will have up to six months to hammer out a compromise. The European Commission has the final say.

sa国际传媒淲e have taken note of the application from Turkey with some astonishment,sa国际传媒� Germanysa国际传媒檚 Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture said in a statement to The Associated Press.

sa国际传媒淭he kebab is part of Germany, and the diversity of its preparation methods reflects the diversity of our country sa国际传媒� this must be preserved. In the interests of the many fans in Germany, we are committed to ensuring that the doner kebab can remain as it is prepared and eaten here,sa国际传媒� the ministry said.

It appears that vegetables, turkey and some veal kebabs sa国际传媒� all of which are popular in Germany sa国际传媒� would no longer be allowed under Turkeysa国际传媒檚 application because it does not specifically mention them, causing confusion in the German food industry.

sa国际传媒淭he kebab belongs to Germany. Everyone should be allowed to decide for themselves how it is prepared and eaten here. Theresa国际传媒檚 no need for guidelines from Ankara,sa国际传媒� Cem 脰zdemir, Germanysa国际传媒檚 federal food and agriculture minister who also has Turkish roots, .

Buchholz of Kebap With Attitude said he isnsa国际传媒檛 worried about possible regulations.

Although he said it might be a way to keep the quality high for the traditional d枚ner kebab sa国际传媒� he believes it has lapsed in some places sa国际传媒� he added that shop owners might have to harness Berlinsa国际传媒檚 legacy of creative solutions to keep their expanded menus.

sa国际传媒淲e will go the Berlin way and wesa国际传媒檒l find a solution to name it different,sa国际传媒� he said, like calling it a sa国际传媒渧eggie sandwich.sa国际传媒�

D枚ner kebab impacts the political sphere, too. Anger over kebab costs that have risen into the double-digits led the Die Linke, the Left party, to ask German Chancellor Olaf Scholz for a sa国际传媒減rice breaksa国际传媒� that would have subsidized the street food and set a maximum price for customers. Scholz declined, but to explain that increasing food costs come in part from sa国际传媒� which are fueled by

And German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier engaged in sa国际传媒渄枚ner diplomacysa国际传媒� when he brought a third-generation kebab-shop owner, as well as a full skewer of meat, to Turkey in April. The trip was the first official visit there by a German president in a decade, even as Turkeysa国际传媒檚 populist president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, is seen as having instincts. Erdogansa国际传媒檚 reputation has made some Turkish citizens who own kebab shops in Germany fearful of speaking out against the proposed regulations for fear of facing reprisals when they go home.

In its objection, the German Hotel and Restaurant Association wrote that Turkeysa国际传媒檚 proposals differ from typical German preparations for d枚ner, and that the regulations could lead to economic problems for kebab shops sa国际传媒� as well as potential legal challenges.

The German d枚ner kebab economy should not be held to Turkish rules, the association said in a statement.

sa国际传媒淭he diversity of the kebab must be preserved,sa国际传媒� the association said.