Food quality and safety situation in Turkey: governance and barriers to success

The institutional environment for food quality and safety in Turkey is rapidly changing in the last decade but there are still some inconsistencies compared with the EU. High costs of establishing quality assurance systems (QAS), inefficient capacity of the institutional frame, unknown consumer attitudes, low level of production techniques and lack of awareness of producers and consumers are important weaknesses, when evaluating the current food quality and safety situation in Turkey. Whereas, rapid development of QAS, increase in consumer demands, harmonisation of legislation with the EU, increase in the research and incentives for quality production, and production potentials were determined as strong points. When analysing the socio-economic situation of farms, producers’ knowledge, perception and interest in quality with Rapid Rural Appraisal (RRA), it is found that producers did not accumulate capital because of the low profits, a handicap for expanding and investing into production and product quality. Moreover, the producers' knowledge is limited and their quality perception mainly focuses on food safety. As a result, academic studies and research projects needs to be extended and the adaptation of the Turkish legislation with the EU should be completed accordingly.Food Quality Governance, SMEs Barrier for Food Quality, Food Quality Assurance, Agricultural and Food Policy, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

Food Quality Assurance Schemes in Turkey

In 2008 and 2009, JRC-IPTS cooperated with Akdeniz University (UNIAKD) to analyse food quality assurance schemes in Turkey. The governance structure of food quality assurance in Turkey is explained, which includes public, semi-public and private institutes, laws and legislations, policies and research. Lack of consumer and producer quality awareness is determined as the main problem by SWOT and Logical Framework Matrix (LFM) studies. A Rapid Rural Appraisal (RRA) study was conducted by interviewing local stakeholders. Turkish producers' knowledge is limited and their quality perception focuses mainly on food safety. There are barriers in exports due to quality that reduce the Turkish share in world food markets. The study concludes with several recommendations on how problems in Turkish food quality assurance schemes could be effectively overcome.JRC.DDG.J.5-Agriculture and Life Sciences in the Econom

Polarizacija citokina Th1 / Th2 u mlijeku u odnosu na patogene uzročnike subkliničkog mastitisa kod krava

The aim of this study to determine the Th1/Th2 cytokine balance in milk according to the bacterial species that cause subclinical mastitis in cows. The California Mastitis Test (CMT) was applied to the selected cows. The cows were divided into four groups: cows with negative CMT (n = 45); Escherichia coli (E. coli) group included only cows with E. coli growing in CMT-positive milk samples (n = 45); Streptococcus agalactiae (S. agalactiae) group included cows with only S. agalactiae growing in CMT-positive milk samples (n = 45); Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) group included cows with only S. aureus growing in CMT-positive milk samples (n = 45). Somatic cell count (SCC) in fresh milk samples was measured using the DeLaval Cell Counter device. Also, cytokine analyses were performed using Species-specific commercial ELISA kits. Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) and interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) concentrations were relatively high in the E. coli group, but the interleukin (IL)-2 concentration was low. The lowest concentration of IL-4 was found in the CMT-negative group. The highest IL-5 concentration was found in the S. agalactiae group, while the highest milk IL-10 concentration was found in the S. aureus group. Also, T helper (Th1/Th2) polarization shifted towards Th1 in milk with mastitis caused by E. coli. Th1/Th2 polarization was shifted to Th2 in milk with mastitis caused by S. aureus and S. agalactiae. Based on our findings, cellular immunity should be maintained in mastitis cases due to E. coli, and humoral immunity should be supported in mastitis caused by S. aureus and S. agalactiae.Cilj ovog rada bio je odrediti ravnotežu između citokina Th1 i Th2 u odnosu na bakterijske uzročnike subkliničkog mastititsa kod krava. Pri tom su krave bile podjeljene u slijedeće testne skupine: krave s negativnim testom na mastitits CMT- (n = 45); grupa oznake Escherichia coli (E. coli) uključivala je jedinke kojima je određen samo porast soja E. coli u uzorcima s pozitivnim CMT testom (n = 45); Streptococcus agalactiae (S. agalactiae) grupa uključivala je jedinke kojima je određen samo porast soja S. agalactiae u uzorcima s pozitivnim CMT testom (n = 45); Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) grupa uključivala je jedinke kojima je određen samo porast soja S. aureus u uzorcima s pozitivnim CMT testom (n = 45). Broj somatskih stanica (SCC) u uzorcima svježeg mlijeka određivan je pomoću brojača DeLaval Cell Counter. Analize koncentracije citokina provedene su ELISA metodom koristeći gotove selektivne kitove za pojedinu bakterijsku vrstu koja je određivana. Koncentracije alfa tumorskog faktora nekroze (TNF-α) i gama-interferona (IFN-γ) bile su relativno visoke u grupi E. coli, no koncentracija interleukina (IL)-2 je bila niska. Najniža koncentracija IL-4 određena je u grupi CMT-odnosno u jedinki koje nisu imale mastitis. Najviša koncentracija IL-5 određena je u grupi S. agalactiae, dok je najviša koncentracija IL-10 određena u grupi S. aureus. Također, ravnoteža pomoćničkih T-limfocita (Th1/Th2) polarizirala se u smjeru koncentracije Th1 u uzorcima mastitičnog mlijeka grupe E. coli. S druge strane u grupama S. aureus i S. agalactiae ravnoteža Th1/Th2 se polarizirala u smjeru Th2. Uzimajući u obzir rezultate ovog istraživanja, nalaže se zaključak da je kod mastitisa uzrokovanog bakterijom E. coli potrebno održavati stanični imunitet, dok je kod mastitisa uzrokovanog bakterijama S. aureus i S. agalactiae potrebno održavati humoralni imunitet

DETERMINATION OF METOPROLOL IN PURE AND PHARMACEUTICAL DOSAGE FORMS BY SPECTROFLUOROMETRY AND HIGH PERFORMANCE LIQUID CHROMATOGRAPHY

In this study, new and rapid spectrofluorometry and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) methods were developed for determination of metoprolol in pure and pharmaceutical dosage forms. The solvent system, wavelength of detection and chromatographic conditions were optimized in order to maximize the sensitivity of both proposed methods. The linearity was established over the concentration range of 50-4000 ng ml-1 for spectrofluorometry and 5.0-300 ng ml-1 for HPLC methods. The intra- and inter-day relative standard deviation (RSD) was less than 4.14 and 3.86% for spectrofluorometry and HPLC, respectively. The limit of quantitation was determined as 30 and 5.0 ng ml-1 for spectrofluorometry and HPLC, respectively. No interference was found from tablet excipients at the selected assay conditions. The methods were applied for the quality control of commercial metoprolol dosage forms to quantify the drug and to check the formulation content uniformity

Hplc Method For Naproxen Determination In Human Plasma And Its Application To A Pharmacokinetic Study In Turkey

A simple high-performance liquid chromatography method has been developed for the determination of naproxen in human plasma. The method was validated on an Ace C18 column using ultraviolet detection. The mobile phase consisted of 20 mM phosphate buffer (pH 7) containing 0.1% trifluoroacetic acid-acetonitrile (65:35, v/v). The calibration curve was linear between the concentration ranges of 0.10 and 5.0 mu g/mL. Intra-day and inter-day precision values for naproxen in plasma were less than 4.84, and accuracy (relative error) was better than 3.67%. The extraction recovery values of naproxen from human plasma were between 91.0 and 98.9%. The limits of detection and quantification of naproxen were 0.03 and 0.10 mu g/mL, respectively. Also, this assay was applied to determine the pharmacokinetic parameters of naproxen in six healthy Turkish volunteers who had been given 220 mg of naproxen.WoSScopu

FOOD QUALITY SYSTEMS IN TURKEY: PERSPECTIVES IN TERMS OF FOOD DEFENCE

The chapter summarizes the current food quality systems in Turkey from the perspective of food defense. Recently Turkey has formally adopted a number of typical elements of food safety regulations and control systems in the accession period to EU and there are developments dealing with food safety and a few available empirical analyses of food safety applications in Turkey, but still there is a lack of comprehensive study summarizing the efforts. The developments that signal some of the more formal approaches to deal with food defense are shared and a few examples of food safety applications in Turkey are mentioned together with discussing issues about food quality. The policies supported for food safety and security, current situation, related legislations are used to provide information as current indicators. On the other hand food defense is a vital and relevantly "hot" topic as all societies are crucially dependent upon the food supply; therefore, its disruption is an obvious prime target for terrorism

The Impact of Non-tariff Barriers on Trade: The Gravity Model on Turkish Agri-Food Products

The competition between the U.S. and the E.U. agricultural subsidies during 1980s decreased the world prices in agricultural and food markets but caused an extensive distortion in the international trade of agricultural and food products. Under these circumstances, World Trade Organization (WTO) was founded in 1995 as an institute responsible for executing and auditing 1994 Uruguay Agricultural Agreement (UAA) to regulate agricultural subsidies and international trade measures. Import quotas in international trade were repealed or converted into tariff rates, and with time tariff rates were reduced gradually first by UAA initiatives and later by those of the WTO. However, WTO policies allow countries to have rights to take precautions and to impose measures necessary to protect human, animal or plant life or health. In addition, countries continue to have rights to secure quality assurance in production, to protect environment, to regulate information transparency and accessibility, as well as to protect consumers against misleading labeling. These rights do not count as tariffs or quotas and are confirmed by international regulations, also referred to as technical regulations (Maskus et al. 2001). There is evidence that these technical regulations are now being used as political means in bilateral, regional and global trade in place of diminished tariffs and quotas. These regulations are called non-tariff barriers or technical barriers to trade. Developing countries are mostly affected by these regulations since they bear additional expenses to fulfill a mandatory standard imposed by the developed countries (Beghin and Bureau 2001)

DETERMINATION OF METOPROLOL IN PURE AND PHARMACEUTICAL DOSAGE FORMS

Available on line a

Determination of neopterin in urine of industrial workers by HPLC

Abstract This study aimed to determine neopterin levels in the urine of industrial workers by the high-performance liquid chromatography method. Intra- and inter-day precision values for neopterin in urine were less than 3.14, and accuracy (relative error) was better than 3.00%. The limits of detection and quantification of neopterin were 0.3 and 1.0 ng/mL, respectively. Also, the developed method was applied to real samples to determine the neopterin levels in the urines of industrial workers, who have been exposed to various chemicals such as formaldehyde, heavy metals and thinners. Urine neopterin levels of industrial workers including auto painters, bodywork and furniture workers were statistically compared with healthy volunteers. The highest and lowest values of urinary neopterin for industrial workers were obtained 908.96 and 119.86 μmol/mol, respectively. Our investigation demonstrates that there is a meaningful difference in urinary neopterin levels between the workers and the control groups (P<0.05). Workers in the auto paint, body and furniture business may have been exposed to a toxic environmental exposure in their occupation. As a result, an increase in the concentration of neopterin in the urine may be important in the diagnosis and treatment of various diseases