In recent years, with the awareness of people, the interest in natural and functional foods has increased. Sourdough is a dough piece in which industrial culture yeasts (Saccharomyces cerevisiae), endogenous yeasts, lactic and acetic bacteria from the air and the ingredients used (flour, water, etc.) are active. In sourdough fermentation, yeast and lactic acid bacteria work together to form the natural flora. It has been proven by studies that breads prepared from sourdough have many advantages such as greater volume increase, stronger aroma, better crumb structure and long shelf life. In addition, sourdough fermentation has very important positive effects on human health. Various additives (malt flours, emulsifiers, microbial enzymes, dairy products, soy flour and potato flour) are used to delay the staling of bread. In the production of sourdough bread, high quality and long shelf-life breads can be obtained without the need for these additives. Thus, both natural and additive-free and functional breads are produced. In this review, it is aimed to raise awareness by giving information about the advantages of using sourdough in bread production. In the study, the concept of sourdough was discussed and information was given about the content of bread prepared using sourdough and its benefits on health.

Genetically modified (GM) crops are being planted at large scale worldwide. In most of the countries, GM crops are processed into livestock feed. The land is used for cultivation of GM plants has been increased in recent years; in 2012 GM plants were grown on over 170 million hectares in 28 countries by 17.3 million farmers and extended to 185.1 million hectors in 2016 worldwide. GM plants have been used as feed for animals and the number of studies has proved their safety for animal and public health. This paper reviews the possible effects of GM crops on livestock, poultry, and aquatic animals by reviewing different type of studies, in which parameters such as performance, reproductive and health assessment were investigated. The most of peer-reviewed papers evaluating the effects of feeding animals with transgenic crops were based on GM plants with improved agronomic traits i.e. herbicide-tolerant plants and pets-tolerant plants; however, in some cases GM plants with boosted nutritional properties assessed. In most experiments, either Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) maize, Roundup Ready (RR) soybean or both fed to animals. Measurable differences in various parameters were mostly observed in Bt maize and soybean fed separately or simultaneously to animals. In this review, scientific studies showing the effects of the use of GM products in the nutrition of domestic animals on performance, health and reproductive parameters are investigated.

Consumption of vegetables, having a significant place in nutrition of humankind, is increasing day by day as their health-improving effects have been better understood nowadays. For such vegetables, certain criteria such as organic production, season production, regional production etc. are taken into consideration. The objective of this study is to research about existence of Bacillus cereus and Salmonella spp. in the locally-grown vegetables offered in local bazaars. Parsley, lettuce, spinach, turnip, carrot, chard, Brussels sprouts and radish produced in the province of Giresun were used in the study. Bacillus cereus and Salmonella spp. analyses were carried out in line with International Organization for Standardization quality standards. Among 89 vegetable samples analyses, Salmonella spp. and B. cereus were not detected in all and 5 of the samples respectively (

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of kefir as a probiotic on the performance and health status of calves. Thirty Holstein female calves with 3-day-old were randomly allocated to three treatment groups: Control (without any probiotic), probiotic (a commercial probiotic mixture-3 g/d/calf bacteria-based and 2 g/d/calf yeast-based) and kefir (20 ml/d/calf). The calves were weaned at 56 days of age. The experiment was performed in 70 days. Treatment had no effect (P>0.05) on weaning and final body weight and starter intake. Although differences in weight gain were not significant (P>0.05), there were trend to increase by probiotic treatments during 0-14 days. Probiotic treatments tended to have a positive effect on the population of the fecal lactic acid bacteria at 14 days. The results of the study indicated that kefir as a natural probiotic in calf nutrition may be beneficial during the first weeks of life.

Since the ban on the use of antibiotics to promote growth in animal production in 2006, there has been a growing interest in alternative feed additives for animal production. Postbiotics, which have been utilized for this purpose in recent years, are highly promising feed additives that substitute banned substances like antibiotics. In recent years, there have been numerous studies on the utilization of postbiotics in ruminant animal nutrition. This article includes the definition of postbiotics, their properties, methods of obtaining them, and their potential applications in ruminant animal nutrition and health.

Healthy life in a sustainable environment is possible with accessible food production. The Covid-19 epidemic is a serious threat worldwide. This epidemic has revealed the importance of agricultural products. One of the most important areas of the epidemic affecting the whole world is exports; however, increased demand for agricultural products and exports in the epidemic process in Turkey. Turkey has a say in the trade of seedless dried grapes in the world. Seedless dried grape is on the healthy products list of the WHO. In 2019/2020, it had a share of 36% of world exports (with 246 thousand tons of export). This study was performed to evaluate their thoughts and farmers’ problems with the adoption of organic farming in Besni district of Adıyaman. The research conducted in-depth interviews with the farmers producing organic grapes. Also, a face-to-face survey was conducted with 50 farmers. According to the findings, the land width of the farmers is not much. It has an average growing area of 37.52 decares. An average yield of 1.808 kg da-1 is obtained from this area. Serious differences have been found between conventional and organic farming. Moreover, government supports, high product prices, income, health, sustainability, and environmental protection are reasons farmers switch to organic farming.  However, farmers argue that organic farming is less costly than conventional farming. Access to chemicals and marketing are major problems. As a result, farmers should be informed about organic farming. Additionally, it is thought that these studies will increase the productivity and product quality of the farmers. It is predicted that it will prevent rural to urban migration in the region.