Padina pavonica (Linnaeus) Thivy 1960 is a brown algae that is antioxidant, antimicrobial, and anticancer effects and is generally used in soup, salad, and other dishes. However, no studies have been reported on safe consumption in humans to date. For this purpose, this study was conducted to determine the cytotoxic and genotoxic effects of P. pavonica on lymphocytes cultured from human blood. The water extract of P. pavonica was added into culture tubes at various concentrations (0.5-1000 μg/mL). Cytotoxic effects were determined by MTT assay. Antioxidant/oxidant status was evaluated by total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and total oxidative status (TOS) assays. Genotoxic effects were investigated by sister chromatid exchanges and micronucleus assays. Our results showed that P. pavonica had no genotoxic effects, even at higher concentrations. 1000 μg/mL concentration of P. pavonica caused an increase (P

Tomato is one of the most consumed fruits in the world. Tomato sauce, a tomato product, is one of the mother sauces that has been developed by Escoffier (1846-1935). Nowadays, tomato sauce has been adapted by each country according to their own culinary culture. In the current study four different tomato sauce recipes were investigated in the context of their antioxidant activity and total phenolic content. Hydrophilic and lipophilic extractions of samples were evaluated separately. It was found that there is a relationship between total phenolic content and antioxidant activity in hydrophilic extraction. However, no similar correlation was found between total phenolic content and antioxidant activity in lipophilic extraction. According to the results, the highest antioxidant activity of both hydrophilic and lipophilic extractions was observed in S1 with the values 25.53±1.01 and 45.48±2.06 respectively. In lipophilic extraction, S2 had the lowest antioxidant activity with 32.77±1.07, because of the lack of the ingredients high in lipophilic antioxidant compounds. It was observed that the shortest cooking time with 10 min provide the highest retention of antioxidant activity and total phenolic content in this sauce. Also, antioxidant activity of lipophilic extraction for longer cooking time applied sauces (S4) could be kept high with ingredients such as carrot. It can be suggested that adding of ingredients which have antioxidant activity may be useful for providing bioactive properties in long cooking time procedures and it should be noted that the length of cooking time negatively affected the TPC values.

In this study, six types of Kashar cheese, five with added herbs and one without any additives, which is determined as a control sample were produced. Urtica dioica L. (nettle), Petroselinum crispum (parsley), Mentha piperita (mint) and Eruca vesicaria (arugula), Chaerophyllum byzantinum Boiss. (mendek) were added to cheese clot in proportion as 0.1% amounting to 0.1-0.3 cm split particles depending on the milk used. Then, all the cheeses were vacuum-packed and ripened at 7 ±1°C for 3 months, and their L*, a*, b* colour values and textural parameters including resilience, hardness, elasticity, gumminess, cohesiveness, adhesiveness, and chewiness were determined using texture profile analyses (TPA). It was observed that neither cohesiveness, adhesiveness and elastic parameters of texture profile differed in terms of cheese type, nor important statistical difference was identified (P˃0.10), differences regarding the ripening process found out though (P<0.05).

Corn snacks are commonly produced and consumed snack foods. The nutritional and functional properties of extruded snacks that were produced using corn semolina are rather poor. In this study, the effects of wheat bran addition to extruded corn snack formulation were investigated. For this purpose, the extrusion conditions were first optimized using Central Composite Design - Response Surface Methodology (CCD-RSM), based on the physical properties of the products (hardness, crispness, brittleness, expansion rate, apparent density and porosity). Upon optimization, the best extruded snack production conditions were determined (moisture content of the mixture 14%, die temperature 120°C, bran: corn semolina ratio 10%, corn starch: bran + corn semolina ratio 10%) and the results were verified via experimental studies. Then, the bran ratio of the mixture was gradually increased from 10% to 22% and 5 different extruded snacks with varying bran contents (10%, 13%, 16%, 19% and 22% bran) were produced . Chemical composition (moisture, protein, fat and ash) and nutritional properties (phytic acid, dietary fiber, total phenolic substance and total antioxidant capacity) of the extruded corn snacks with bran additions (ECSwBA) were determined. The addition of bran at the optimized rate (%10) positively affected the physical properties of extruded corn snacks. Further increase in the bran addition partially weakened the physical properties of corn snacks. However, as the bran addition ratio increased, the nutritional and functional properties of the extruded corn snacks increased significantly.

Since the existence of mankind, nutrition is one of the necessities to maintain their vital activities. Nutritional habit, a physiological movement, has progressed in parallel with the development of living conditions of mankind. This instinctive behaviour has started with gathering in the nature originally. People have found edible foods by distinguishing the harmful plants in the nature. Mankind, who had learned cooking with the invention of fire, has discovered foodstuffs that can be obtained from animals in time. Due to this discovery, they had an opportunity to try different flavours and supply a greater variety of needed macro components of their body such as proteins, vitamins and essential oils etc. This nutrition diversity has brought with the taste phenomenon. The major reasons of consumed food variety are the climate of the region they live in, the condition of nature and the kinds of vegetables, fruits, grains that grow in these regions. Furthermore, it is inevitable that the diversity of animals living in the region causes food diversity. This situation, which is the result of ecological balance, has been one of the main causes of cultural differences between societies over time. The culinary culture has been seperated by geographical regions over time and a sub-culture called "regional dishes" has formed. Until today, mankind have developed new tastes by experimenting with many food preparation and cooking techniques. In this study, the development of Turkish food culture and nutrition habits throughout the history have been reviewed.

Advances in diagnostic techniques and their widespread use for infectious agents revealed the considerably high current prevalence of viral agents in foodborne and waterborne diseases. Foodborne and waterborne viruses are indicated to cause not only gastroenteritis and hepatitis but also neurological disorders, respiratory tract diseases, myocarditis, glomerulonephritis and hemorrhagic fever, with a particularly high mortality rate in infants/children and in individuals with immune deficiency. Additionally, due to their resistance to environmental conditions and food processes compared to other microorganisms, elimination of these viruses by heat and high pressure applications, natural antiviral compounds, UV applications and conventional cleaning-disinfection remains difficult even inadequate. In protection from viral infections, vaccine applications together with GMP, GHP and HACCP system approaches in production seem to be the most effective approaches to ensure the minimization of viruses in food environment and in public. In this review article, up-to-date information is presented on the general characteristics and the diseases caused by enterotropic viruses; NoV, AstV, RoV, AdV and hepatotropic viruses; HAV and HEV, with a particularly high worldwide prevalence, as well as their epidemiology, prevention and their control measures.

In this study, it was aimed to enhanced cake formula-tion with purple carrot pow-der (PCP) dried 3 different methods (hot-air (HPC), microwave (MPC) and vac-uum (VPC) dried) and used at 5 different ratios (0, 5, 10, 15, 20%). The effects of purple carrot powder (PCP) on chemical, physical and sensory properties of cake samples were investigated. HPC substituted cake sam-ples had lower batter densi-ty and weight values. PCP usage significantly affected the crust and crumb color value of cake samples (p<0.05). Samples contain-ing MPC had higher firm-ness and lower springiness than others. Lower firmness, volume index, saturation index and higher springiness values were determined with increasing PCP rate. The highest total phenolic content and antioxidant ac-tivity were found in cake samples containing HPC and VPC, respectively. When all cake samples evaluated, the higher overall acceptability scores were obtained with HPC added cake samples at 15 and 20% substitution level compared to control sample.

This study was aimed to determine the microbial load and the hygienic status of household refrigerator surfaces. Psychrotrophic and coliform bacteria counts were carried out to determine the hygienic status of household refrigerators. Surface samples were investigated in 3 groups as housewives’, students’ and workers’ refrigerators, and each group, including ten refrigerators. A total of two hundred and forty samples, one hundred and twenty sides and one hundred and twenty shelves were taken from the side and shelf surfaces of a total of thirty different refrigerators. In general, when the results were examined, it was determined that the sanitation program and effectiveness of the workers’ refrigerators were sufficient, and the sanitation of the housewives’ and students’ should be examined or insufficient.

In this study, it is aimed to analyze for the presence of Mesophilic Aerobic Bacteria (MAB), C.sakazakii, and the pH values of the enteral nutrition products, which are categorized under the special medicinal dietary products in the Turkish Food Codex. 20 enteral nutrition products were obtained from various hospital pharmacies in the province of Istanbul, and the spread plate method was carried out on suitable media. According to the results of microbiological analysis, no MAB and C.sakazakii were found in any of the samples (100%;

In recent years, there is in-creased awareness of con-scious consumers about the fact that foods they eat are related directly to their health. In meat industry re-search and development, studies have accelerated to formulate healthier meat products formulations using plant sources as additive, which are also expected to improve the functional properties of the product. Pectin is a water soluble fi-ber with a structural com-plexity that occurs naturally in the cell walls of fruits and vegetables, contributes to reducing the risk of can-cer, and has some health benefits. Gelation is the most unique property of pectin; it forms a gel in the presence of Ca2+ ions or sugar and acid. Pectin pre-sents good water and fat binding property. Therefore, it can be used as a gelling agent, film/coating, and emulsifier and in low-calorie meat products as fat and /or sugar substitution (dietary fiber), as a natural component contributes to phosphate substitution and medical delivery systems in meat products. In this paper, it was aimed to discuss the physico-chemical proper-ties, health implications of pectin and its potential ap-plications in meat products.

Carob is used as a source of sugar in many product formulations due to its naturally high sugar content. In addition, carob naturally contains a high content of D-pinitol. D-pinitol is an important food ingredient since it regulates glucose metabolism in the body and can be used in the diets of Type 2 diabetic patients. In this study, spreadable cream was produced using carob powder instead of cocoa. Although there are various studies carried out for this purpose in the literature, the optimum formulation was determined for the first time in this study by using optimization methods. The results of the study showed that the formulation has a significant effect on sensorial properties. It was determined that all sensory parameters except consistency increased with increasing sugar syrup ratio. The formulation, which provides the highest overall acceptability (>7), was calculated as 29% carob flour, 32% sugar syrup and 24% fat. It was determined that L *, b * and DPPH radical scavenging activity values could not be statistically modelled. a * and total phenolic content of samples was increased by increment of carob flour in the formulation. As a result, the formulation that maximizes sensorial properties and total phenolic content was calculated as 25% carob flour, 39.3% sugar syrup and 20.7% fat.

Many microbiological, enzymatic, physicochemical, and biochemical changes occur during the production and storage of fresh and processed meat products, which tend to deteriorate more easily by their nature. Nevertheless, consumers mainly prefer cost-effective foods that have a longer shelf life and minimally modified natural properties, can be easily prepared, and in which fewer additives are used. For these reasons, the food packaging industry has turned towards developing new applications with different functions that are not found in traditional packaging methods, such as antimicrobial packaging systems, especially for the protection and improvement of food quality and safety. In this type of packaging, in addition to improving food safety and quality, the shelf life of the product is extended by slowing down the growth rate of microorganisms. Thus, the existing growth of microorganisms during the transportation and storage of the product is also prevented. Therefore, the preservatives taken into the human body with foods are reduced, and the negative effects on health are also avoided. In these systems, the application of antimicrobial food packaging components to the packaging material can be performed by the addition of antimicrobial agents into the polymer, coating polymer surfaces with antimicrobial agents, immobilizing antimicrobial agents on the polymer, and using polymers with antimicrobial properties. In this review, antimicrobial packaging and application methods were generally explained, and innovative packaging systems and their use in meat and meat products were evaluated.

Innovative combined solar energy assisted air and hot air assisted radio frequency drying system was used to dry unsulphured, sulphured (1 kg/ton and 2 kg/ton sulphur) and pistachio hull extract treated apricots. Unsulphured and sulphured apricots dried under sun were used as the control samples. The effects of different storage temperatures (5, 20 and 35oC) on residual sulphur content, β-carotene and microbial stability characteristics of dried apricots were studied. Also, the effect of storage temperature on the total phenolic content of dried apricots pre-treated with pistachio hull extract was investigated. The obtained results showed that the loss of sulphur and β-carotene was less in the products stored at 5oC compared to the products stored at 20 and 35oC. Sulphur treatment significantly inhibited the loss of β-carotene during storage. The maximum decrease in phenolic content of dried apricots pretreated with extract, was observed in samples stored at 20°C. In addition, extract treatment provided an advantage in terms of storage considering the microbial quality. The combined drying system caused less sulfur loss compared to sun drying.

Genetically modified organisms (GMO), or transgenic products, are products formed by changing the gene sequence of the organism, or by transferring a new gene to the organism and giving it a feature that it does not have. The use of these products in the production of vaccines and drugs, in organ transplants and in the treatment of diseases, ensuring the resistance of plants to pests, long shelf life and increasing food quality are positive; allergic reactions, toxic effects, and damage to ecological diversity are negative effects. In the rese-arch, it was aimed to measure the awareness levels of the personnel about GMOs and their effects on human health. In this context, the universe of the research is composed of all public hospitals in Sinop province, and the sample is composed of personnel working in Sinop Atatürk and Gerze State Hospital. The data of the research were obtained through the questionnaire form created and by the face-to-face interview technique and random sampling method. In this context, data obtained from a total of 312 hospital employees were analyzed with the SPSS 21 package program. As a result of the analysis, it has been determined that the level of social awareness of the participants in GMO foods and their awareness about the presence and harm of GMOs in foods is high. In addition, it was determined that there were differences in terms of gender and marital status of participants according to their perception level of research dimensions.

Herbal medicines and beverages have started to take an essential place in our daily lives. S. officinalis is one of the most used herbal tea species in the sage family. Secondary metabolites, especially essential oils, plays an important role in its biological properties. S. officinalis essential oil is mostly rich in camphor and thujone, which of these compounds could be toxicological. In the present study, six spontaneous hybrid plants and their parents were analyzed for their essential oil contents. Male sterile S. officinalis were used as maternal plant, S. fruticosa and S. aramiensis were probable paternals where they were cultivated nearby. Grown plants were analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Essential oil compounds were used to identify their relation to each other. The main components of S. officinalis were thujone (40.97%), 1,8-cineole (24.65%) and camphor (19.37%). 1,8-cineole content of hybrid genotypes were varied between 35.13-64.92%. Camphor level of hybrids were varied in lower levels as between 2.92-26.35% while thujone content were very low compared to the maternal S. officinalis as 0.95-6.83%.

Totally 101 meat and meat product samples obtained from local markets and restaurants were analyzed for incidence and contamination level of Clostridium perfringens. The typical colonies grown anaerobically on Tryptose Sulfite Cycloserine Agar supplemented with 4-Methyliumbelliferyl (MUP) were confirmed by biochemical tests. Forty-eight of the samples (47.5%) were contaminated with C. perfringens. The highest incidence of the pathogen was determined in uncooked meatball samples (72.2%) followed by ground beef samples (61.3%). The incidence of C. perfringens in chicken meat, cooked meat döner, cooked chicken döner and emulsified meat product samples were 33.3, 33.3, 28.6 and 16.7%, respectively. Thirteen out of 101 samples (12.9%) yielded typical colonies on TSC-MUP Agar, but could not be confirmed as C. perfringens. Average contamination levels in sample groups ranged from 8.3 to 1.5×102 cfu/g, with the highest ground beef and the lowest chicken meat.

The main objective of the present study was to develop and validate a new alternative modelling method to predict the shelf-life of food products under non-isothermal storage conditions. The bacterial growth data of the Pseudomonas spp. was extracted from published studies conducted for aerobically-stored fish, pork and chicken meat and described with two-step and one-step modelling approaches employing different primary models (the modified Gompertz, logistic, Baranyi and Huang models) under isothermal storage temperatures. Temperature dependent kinetic parameters (maximum specific growth rate ‘µmax’ and lag phase duration ‘λ’) were described as a function of storage temperature via the Ratkowsky model integrated with each primary model. The Huang model based on the one-step modelling approach yielded the best goodness of fit results (RMSE = 0.451 and adjusted-R2 = 0.942) for all food products at isothermal storage conditions, therefore, was also used to check it’s the prediction capability under non-isothermal storage conditions. The differential form of the Huang model provided satisfactorily statistical indexes (1.075 > Bf > 1.014 and 1.080 > Af > 1.047) indicating reliably being able to use to describe the growth behaviour of Pseudomonas spp. in fish, pork and chicken meat subjected to non-isothermal storage conditions.

Bu çalışmada Bitlis ilinde iki farklı yöntemle (salamura ve basma) geleneksel olarak üretilen otlu peynirlerin besin kompozisyonunun ve kimyasal bileşiminin saptanması ve belirlenen kalite parametrelerinin farklı standartlara (Türk Standartları Enstitüsü (TSE) otlu peynir standardı (TS 13205), Türk Patent Enstitüsü (TPE) Van otlu peyniri coğrafi işaret (No: 405) ve Türk Gıda Kodeksi (TGK) peynir tebliği) göre değerlendirilmesi amaçlanmıştır. Numunelerin kuru madde, kül, yağ, protein ve tuz miktarları ile enerji değerleri belirlendikten sonra yağ ve tuz miktarının kuru maddedeki değerleri ile yağsız peynir kitlesindeki nem oranı (PYKN) değerleri hesaplanmıştır. Bitlis otlu peynir numunelerinin nem miktarının TSE otlu peynir standardına uygun olduğu, basma peynir numunelerinin kuru madde ve yağ miktarının TPE Van otlu peynir coğrafi işaret tescilinde belirtilen üst değerden daha yüksek olduğu tespit edilmiştir. Numunelerin (ikisi hariç) enerji değerlerinin TPE Van otlu peynir coğrafi işaret tescilinde belirtilen ortalama değerden yüksek olduğu belirlenmiştir. Basma peynir numunelerinin (biri hariç) TGK peynir tebliğinde belirtilen PYKN değerlerine göre yarı sert peynir kategorisine girdiği bulunmuştur. Bitlis otlu peynirinin yağ, protein ve enerji değerleri açısından besinsel değerinin oldukça yüksek olduğu saptanmış, ancak kalite parametrelerinin değişkenlik göstermesi sebebiyle modern, endüstriyel ve standart üretim yönteminin geliştirilmesinin ve uygulanmasının oldukça önemli olduğu ortaya çıkmıştır.

Milk is composed of water, proteins, lipids, lactose, vit-amins, and minerals. More than 80% of most mam-mals’ milk proteins are con-stituted by caseins. Casein is a group of proteins and they are sub-divided into αs1-, αs2-, β- and -casein families. Among these ca-sein families, -casein is the second most abundant pro-tein. Different mutations in the cow milk -casein gene led to 12 genetic variants and most common of these are genetic variants A1 and A2. The A1 and A2 variants differ only at amino acid position 67, which is histi-dine in A1 or proline in A2 milk. This difference in amino acid sequence sug-gests a conformational change in the secondary structure of the expressed β-casein. Milk that contains A1 β-casein and A2 β-casein are known as A1 milk and A2 milk, respectively. A1 β-casein milk releases an amino acid bioactive pep-tide called beta-casomorphin-7 (CM-7) in small intestine. Beta-casomorphin-7 released from A1 β-casein is respon-sible for many human dis-orders like type-1 diabetes, autism, schizophrenia, alz-heimer’s disease (AD), at-tention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), multiple sclerosis (MS) and heart diseases.

A large amount of avocado is produced every year, and processing of avocado re-sults in the production of large quantities of peel, which is usually disposed as waste without any further application. Avocado peel is a rich source of diverse phy-tochemicals known as he-alth-promoting compounds, and these compounds can be used to produce high eco-nomic value products. How-ever, the amount and com-position of phenolic com-pounds vary regarding dif-ferent factors, such as level of ripening and maturation, growing conditions and the country of origin. Phenolics within avocado peel have been reported to exhibit an-tioxidant, antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory effects, and associated with exten-sive health benefits. Thus, it is of great importance to recover these compounds from the peel for usage in food and health industries. This review focuses on the phytochemical compounds together with main factors influencing their types and amounts in avocado peel, and the possible utilisation of this by-product in the food, pharmaceutical and some other industries.

There are similar inflammatory reasons behind non-contagious chronic diseases. The prevalence of these diseases increases everyday both in our country and around the world. That's why scientists have begun looking for strong antioxidants that could help prevent and treat such inflammatory diseases. Curcumin is one of those antioxidants. Curcumin is one of the components of turmeric, which belongs to the ginger family. Many studies showed that the curcuminoids in turmeric can be used to prevent and treat cardiovascular, autoimmune and endocrine diseases, cancer as well as various inflammatory diseases. With this study, we aim to interpret these recent studies conducted with curcumin.

The present study evaluated the effect of extraction techniques (ultrasound-assisted extraction (U) and shaking water bath extrac-tion (WB)), solvents (etha-nol, acetone and distilled water) and concentration (2.5% and 5%) on total phe-nolic content (TPC), anti-bacterial and antioxidant activities of extracts ob-tained from feijoa leaves, peel and pulp. The antibac-terial activity of feijoa ex-tracts were tested in vitro against 6 pathogens bacteria by the disc diffusion method and the antioxidant activity was evaluated by 2,2 diphe-nyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical assay. The results indicated that leaves and peel extracts exhibited stronger antibac-terial activity than that of pulp. In generally, WB-A5%, WB-W5%, U-A5% and U-W 5% extracted with acetone (A) and water (W) at 5% concentration from feijoa leaves, peel and pulp showed more antibacterial activity against all tested pathogen bacteria. The leaves, peel, and pulp ex-tracts had high antioxidant activity with 85.78-90.82%, 89.86-91.60%, and 81.49-91.31%, respectively. Peel extracts had slightly higher antioxidant activity than leaves and pulp extracts. TPC of leaves, peel, and pulp extracts were in the range of 488.99-554.00, 349.17-517, and 115.64-345.46 mg gallic acid equivalents (GAE)/100 g of extract. The overall findings suggested that different part of feijoa (especially leaves and peel) could be used as a natural antibacterial and an-tioxidant for functional foods.

Polyphenols are the secondary metabolites of plants and has an important role in human nutrition as the leading antioxidants. According to the carbon number-based classification of polyphenols, resveratrol is a natural polyphenol in the stilbene group with antioxidant and anticarcinogenic effects. Its beneficial effects on cardiovascular diseases have also been reported. It was first identified in 1940 and has recently gained importance especially in medicine and pharmacy. Researchers have carried out various studies on resveratrol and its time-honored use in traditional eastern medicine has been reported. Resveratrol is a food ingredient that has the potential to be used in the treatment of various diseases, but also has antiviral effects. The study focuses on resveratrol’s physical and chemical properties, effects on health, antiviral effects and use in foods as a functional component.

Ground beef as commonly consumed among animal products may be suitable for bacterial growth under unhygienic production and storage conditions. Aeromonas spp. can be widely found in the environment and it is associated with water. With contaminated water used in production, microorganisms pass into products and may pose a threat to public health. People are often infected by consuming contaminated water and meat products. Aeromonas spp. causes various disorders such as vomiting, diarrhoea and gastroenteritis. In addi-tion, children and older people are more susceptible to these bacteria. In this study, the presence of Aeromonas spp. was investigated by classical culture method in 100 ground beef samples which were sold in Afyonka-rahisar city centre. The suspected Aeromonas spp. were confirmed with VITEK® 2 Compact. The detected A. hydrophila strains were further investigated by PZR in terms ofaerA and hlyA genes. At the end of the analysis, A. hydrophila was identified in 3% of the ground beef samples. It was detected that all three bacteria have both the aerA and hlyA genes. In addition, only one of the identified strains was found to be resistant to amoxicillin and nalidixic acid. As a result, it is recommended to take necessary hygiene measures in all stages of red meat production according to farm to fork, to give attention to storage, heat treatment and inform consumers.

This research was aimed to analyze the food safety knowledge levels between gastronomy and culinary arts students and food work-ers in the Çukurova Region of Turkey. A total of 155 participants (80 students, 75 food workers) have partici-pated in this cross-sectional study. The overall knowledge scores of food workers and the students were 89.33% and 78.89% respectively, and food workers have more scores in all sections (p0.05). A positive correla-tion was found between gender, education status, hygiene certification, and frequency of receiving hy-giene education; but no cor-relation was found between working in any food busi-ness, graduated high schools, and age of the stu-dents (p>0.05). More knowledge gaps of both groups have been found about time-temperature con-trol, holding/storage tem-perature, and cross-contamination. Finally, it is important to measure the reflection of the hygiene training on practices and to make it regular in ensuring food safety.

This research was carried out to determine the levels of some minerals and heavy metals in Urfa cheeses and cow's milk offered for sale in Şanlıurfa. Mineral and heavy metal levels were determined by analysing 18 Urfa cheese and 21 cow milk samples collected from retail outlets with ICP-MS. Mean mineral and heavy metal contents in Urfa cheese samples were; magnesium (Mg) 129.8 ±31.14 mg/kg, calcium (Ca) 2712.66 ±1002.4 mg/kg, potassium (K) 272.06 ±127.21 mg/kg, titanium (Ti) 7.48 ±2.63 mg/kg, zinc (Zn) 40.4 ±16.33 mg/kg, selenium (Se) 10.6 ±3.51 mg/kg. In cow milk samples, average selenium (Se) 0.22 ±0.04 mg/kg, titanium (Ti) 0.07 ±0.009, mg/kg, copper (Cu) 0.0068 ±0.01 mg/kg and chromium (Cr) was detected at the level of 0.019 ±0.001 mg/kg. Arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb) and thallium (Tl) levels were below the detectable levels in Urfa cheese and cow's milk samples. As a result, it was concluded that the samples do not pose a significant danger to public health in terms of heavy metal pollution and can contribute significantly to nutrition with the mineral substances it contains.

This study aimed to determine the effects of cooling on microbiological quality of lamb carcasses. Total Aerobic Bacteria Count (TABC), Enterobactericeae counts and the presence of Salmonella spp. were investigated in accordance with the Turkish Food Codex Regulation on Microbiological Criteria and European Union Commission Regulation 2073/2005. Sampling was carried out on aseptic conditions from the surface of 25 randomly selected lambs brought to slaughterhouse. The results showed that the mean TABC were 2.24±0.087 log cfu/cm2 before cooling and 2.41±0.061 log cfu/cm2 after cooling (P>0.05). The mean Enterobactericeae count was 0.21±0.11 log cfu/cm2 before cooling and 0.69±0.13 log cfu/cm2 after cooling (P<0.01). Furthermore, Salmonella spp. were determined on 3 carcasses before cooling and one another carcass after cooling. The influence of cooling on categorisation according to the legislations presented that it could potentially improve the numbers of acceptable carcasses for TABC and Salmonella spp. Nevertheless, the results exhibited that the hygiene and cooling stage of the slaughter line must be re-evaluated in terms of HACCP requirements and that corrective measures/actions must be taken.

Peanuts are the most dange-rous among food allergens. It is therefore the most common cause of deadly foodborne anaphylaxis in developed and developing countries. Indivi-duals with peanut allergies are in danger of peanut exposure in cases such as the use of raw materials contaminated with peanuts, cross contamination during processing, unintentio-nal transport of allergens from common equipment, deliberate participation or non-compliance with labeling ru-les. In this study, peanut residue in cakes in Istanbul markets was investigated by ELISA to raise awareness and warn both consumers who are allergic to peanuts and food producers. For this purpose, a total of 84 cake samples were collected, including 42 packaged cakes that were declared free of pea-nuts on their labels and 42 un-packaged cakes that were dec-lared free from peanuts by their producer/saller. As a re-sult of the study, indicate that, the peanut residue was detec-ted in one out of 42 analyzed packaged cake samples (2.4%) at a level of 6.15 ppm. Besides, in 6 unpackaged cake samples (14%) the peanut residue le-vels ranged between 2.5 ppm and 20 ppm. Moreover in 10 samples (23.8%) these levels were detected more than 20 ppm. In conclusion, cake samples sold with and without packaging may contain various amounts of peanut residiues and this situation, which does not comply with Turkish Food Codex, can be harmful for the public health and life threat-hening for the allergic induvi-duals.