Lactic acid bacteria are the substantial source for producing polysaccharides used in technological applications as thickeners and viscosifiers in the food industry. A broad variety of lactic acid bacteria species secrete structurally diverse exopolysaccharides that contribute to their surface attachment, protection against abiotic or biotic stress factors and nutrient uptake. The exopolysaccharides are produced naturally during fermentation process by living lactic acid bacteria cells and accepted as postbiotic for these metabolites having various physiological health-promoting effects. Exopolysaccharide producer lactic acid bacteria encode a great number of enzymes and regulatory proteins involved exopolysaccharide biosynthesis process. This process is a complex and occurs through presence of multiple genes. However, it is crucial the understanding of structure, composition, function, chemical, and physical properties of exopolysaccharides which vary from one type of bacteria to another via chemical analysis methods. In this review, the use of lactic acid bacteria exopolysaccharides, their structures, genetic modules and biosynthesis, and the use of exopolysaccharides derived from lactic acid bacteria in the food industry are described, discussed and focused on recent developments.

Syria is a middle-income developing country with an economy that heavily depends on the food and agricultural sectors. However, with the recent Syria crisis/war, which started in March 2011, Syria’s food and agricultural industries have badly been affected. While the most of the processing factories and agricultural facilities such as industrial zones, food plants, greenhouses, irrigation canals and pumps have been damaged in the conflict areas, this resulted in a huge recession in the food and agricultural productivity of Syria. It is estimated that this will impact the country to meet the future food requirements as well. In this study, the agricultural and food potential of Syria was analysed based on agricultural area, available lands, irrigation, food sectors etc. for the future planning food policies.

Geographical indications and designation of origins is an industrial property right describing a product originated from any region or attributable to any region due to its quality, reputation or other characteristics. Particularly, the geographical indications (GI) provide information about the raw material or final products’ geographical roots to consumers and characterize the degree of its quality. Two types of GI were defined: Protected Designations of Origin (PDO) and Protected Geographical Indication (PGI). On the other hand, the products that cannot be registered as a designation of origin or geographical indication could be registered as Traditional Speciality Guaranteed (TSG) products specialty guaranteed if it can be proven that the product is on the traditional market for at least 30 years. The main goal of this research is to examine Turkey’s current status about labelled geographic agricultural material with a comparative statistic overview.

Geographical indications and designation of origins is an industrial property right describing a product originated from any region or attributable to any region due to its quality, reputation or other characteristics. Particularly, the geographical indications (GI) provide information about the raw material or final products’ geographical roots to consumers and characterize the degree of its quality. Two types of GI were defined: Protected Designations of Origin (PDO) and Protected Geographical Indication (PGI). On the other hand, the products that cannot be registered as a designation of origin or geographical indication could be registered as Traditional Speciality Guaranteed (TSG) products specialty guaranteed if it can be proven that the product is on the traditional market for at least 30 years. The main goal of this research is to examine Turkey’s current status about labelled geographic agricultural material with a comparative statistic overview.

Lactic acid bacteria are the substantial source for producing polysaccharides used in technological applications as thickeners and viscosifiers in the food industry. A broad variety of lactic acid bacteria species secrete structurally diverse exopolysaccharides that contribute to their surface attachment, protection against abiotic or biotic stress factors and nutrient uptake. The exopolysaccharides are produced naturally during fermentation process by living lactic acid bacteria cells and accepted as postbiotic for these metabolites having various physiological health-promoting effects. Exopolysaccharide producer lactic acid bacteria encode a great number of enzymes and regulatory proteins involved exopolysaccharide biosynthesis process. This process is a complex and occurs through presence of multiple genes. However, it is crucial the understanding of structure, composition, function, chemical, and physical properties of exopolysaccharides which vary from one type of bacteria to another via chemical analysis methods. In this review, the use of lactic acid bacteria exopolysaccharides, their structures, genetic modules and biosynthesis, and the use of exopolysaccharides derived from lactic acid bacteria in the food industry are described, discussed and focused on recent developments.