Transmission of pathogenic microorganisms from contaminated surfaces to hands could cause various diseases. In this study, the microbiological status of shopping carts was investigated in İzmir. To determine where the samples will be taken from and to get user’s opinions about hygiene, a survey was carried out. Total of 100 samples were taken from shopping carts in 20 different markets between February and April, and total viable counts and Escherichia coli counts were applied in samples. Total viable counts of shopping cart handles for 100 samples were found between 0,82– 4,88 log CFU/10 cm2. Coliforms and E.coli were not found in the analysed samples. According to the results, it is seen that the shopping carts have different levels of microbial load; the market environment and the users are effective on these profiles. It has been determined that cleaning and disinfection processes should be applied to improve the hygienic condition of shopping carts and high numbers of microorganisms in the shopping cars might be a potential risk for public health.

The aim of this study was to determine students' consumption behavior based on their awareness of food safety. Data were collected using survey method. Study sample consisted of 400 students of Ünye Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, Ordu University, Turkey. Chi-square test was used to determine whether participants’ levels of awareness of food safety differed by socio-economic characteristics. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to determine differences in mean scores among awareness groups (low, medium and high) in terms of reading the nutrition information on food labels, food purchasing venues to be reliable and factors affecting food purchase decisions. Results showed that expiry date was the most important factor in food purchase decisions, followed by dates of production and packaging. Participants’ levels of awareness of food safety significantly differed by the proportion of monthly income allocated to food and their preference for cheap foods containing GMO. Supermarkets were ranked the most reliable venues for safe food purchasing, followed by groceries and greengrocers. Results also showed that food purchase decisions of the low and medium awareness groups were mostly affected by their families while those of the high awareness group were mostly affected by their doctors. Results indicate that firstly parents' awareness should be raised about food safety and safe food consumption so that future generations can be more conscious of these issues. In addition, courses on these matters should be included in curricula, and seminars or workshops should be held to raise students' awareness of food safety.

Boron is an important micronutrient for growth and development of crop plants. Plant species differ in their requirement of boron for growth. This study was conducted to determine the effect of boron application on the plant characteristics of maize during early leaf stages. The experiments were conducted in Tel – Kaliş agricultural research area at the Mustafa Kemal University in 2015 and 2016 growing seasons. The field experiments were arranged in a split plot design with three replications. Four boron dosages (control, 4, 6 and 8 mg/m2) were applied at three growing stages (V2, V4 and V2V4 (at V2 and V4 stages in two equal parts) as foliar spray. The results revealed that the effects of foliar application of B were positive but statistically insignificant on plant characteristics. Further researches should be conducted for suitable boron application time at different growth stages of maize.

Aim of the study to analyse the competitiveness of Turkish olive oil sector. For this purpose, leading countries was selected according to their shares in the world olive oil export and evaluated with Revealed Comparative Advantage and Vollrath indexes which are commonly used to measure competitiveness. Based on index results, it was found that Turkey has Revealed Comparative Advantage and Relative Competitive Advantage over Morocco and only Relative Competitive Advantage over Portugal. Except for Morocco and Portugal, international competitiveness of Turkey was found significantly lower than other selected countries. It was concluded that competitiveness of Turkey should be increased by increase quality, supporting producers’ organisations and sustainability in production.

In this study, we investigated the effect of SNP haplotypes on insulin-like growth factor gene (IGF-1) related with weights of body, back, chest, leg and wing in the fifteen generation selected Japanese quail (C. coturnix japonica) lines according to the 5th week live weight. 8 SNP haplotypes were identified in the 167-bp DNA sequence of the IGF-1 gene coding region identified in a total of 108 individuals from three quail lines (control, high body weight: HBW and low body weight: LBW). ANOM (Analysis of Means of Analysis) was performed to determine the relationships between carcass components with SNP haplotypes and to compare quail genotypes. There were significant differences between the quail lines in terms of SNP haplotypes. As a result, it was determined that fifteen-generation selection in Japanese quails resulted in differences in insulin-like growth factor-1 gene and these differences were reflected in carcass components.

Poor soil fertility is important constraints that limited crop production in Ethiopia. The Masha district was highly prone to phosphorus fixation with ions like Aluminum ion since soil of the area is prone to acidity. This experiment was therefore conducted to investigate the effect of of phosphorus fertilizer with agricultural lime, coffee husk ash and coffee husk charcoal on yield of faba bean and agronomic efficiency of the fertilizer on acidic soils of Masha district. Field experiment involving two rates of phosphorus (23 and 46 kg P2O5/ha) and the three soil amendments was in randomized complete block design with three replication. The result indicated that significantly high grain yield was obtained from integrated application of 46 kg P2O5/ha with the agricultural lime, coffee husk ash and coffee husk charcoal with the observed values of 2265, 1953 and 1943 kg/ha, respectively. Agronomic efficiency significantly great values were obtained from treated with the agricultural lime+23 kg P2O5/ha, agricultural lime+46 kg P2O5/ha, coffee husk ash+23 kg P2O5/ha and coffee husk charcoal+23 kg P2O5/ha with the observed values of 14.86, 14.60 and 10.07, respectively. It can be concluded that 46 kg P2O5 with 2.5 ton agricultural lime, 7.5 ton coffee husk ash or 7.5 ton coffee husk charcoal per hectare on acid soils for high yield and yield components on faba bean at Masha district. When 23 kg P2O5/ha was integrated with the soil amendments, relatively high agronomic efficiency was observed.

The aim of this study is to understand Turkish consumers’ perception of functional dairy products in three different categories, namely milk, yogurt, and cream cheese, as well as their willingness to buy products with health claims. In this study, 50 untrained participants from the city of İstanbul, Turkey, were enrolled to evaluate three types of milk (calcium & vitamin fortified, soy, and whole), three types of yogurt (probiotic, strawberry flavoured probiotic, and plain) and four types of cream cheese (calcium, phosphate & vitamin fortified, reduced fat, light, and regular) using free listing testing and check-all-that-apply (CATA) questions together with Yes/No questions. Twenty-five participants were recruited from Yeditepe University’s Food Engineering Department and 25 participants from public places to form two clusters. In the free listing analysis, the number of frequent terms related to health dramatically decreased after the tasting session for all products, whereas sensory related terms became more important. CATA analysis showed that consumers look for different product properties in different dairy categories. The findings of both analyses showed that, regardless of their education and awareness, consumers still are not willing to compromise on the taste of dairy foods independent of how healthy the product might be. Their preference of functional dairy products was only 22%, 26% and 14% for fortified milk, probiotic yogurt, and fortified cream cheese, respectively. Moreover, only 30% of the participants were found to believe the health claims on the package, which is another obstacle the functional food industry has to face.

Main aim of this study was to determine the effects of different salt contents (75 mM, 150 mM and 225 mM NaCl), heavy metal (0.2 mg/L FeCl3, NiCl2, ZnCl2), lime (2 mg/L CaCO3), drought (50%) and pollution (0.2 mg/L dust of factories) on photosynthetic pigments, malondialdehyde (MDA), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) levels, the ascorbate peroxidase (APX), catalase (CAT), guaiacol peroxidase (GPOX) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) in Siyez wheat (Triticum monococcum L.). All experiments were carried out under laboratory conditions with 16 hour-day and 8 hour-night photoperiod in an incubator at 23 ± 1°C. Results showed that mean chlorophyll-a concentration was highest in the siyez seedlings treated with the pollution, while both mean chlorophyll-b and total chlorophyll concentrations were highest with 75 mM salt application. Mean total carotenoid was, however, highest with the drought treatment and mean relative water content was highest with NiCl2 application. Mean MDA and H2O2 contents were found to be highest in the siyez seedlings treated with 225 mM salt, whereas they were lowest with NiCl2 treatment. Mean proline content was highest with the NiCl2 treatment compared to the lowest concentration in the control siyez seedlings (82 µmol/g). Mean APX, CAT and GPOX activities were noted to be highest in the siyez seedlings treated with NiCl2. In general, the siyez seedlings showed high tolerance to the pollution, NiCl2 and drought with having highest photosynthetic pigments, proline, protein content and enzymes activities. Among all treatments, 225 mM NaCl and CaCO3 negatively influenced chemical compounds of the siyez seedling. When all data are taken into consideration, it can be said that higher photosynthetic pigments, proline contents, antioxidant enzymes activities and lower MDA and H2O2 levels play an important role in the resistance of siyez seedlings against abiotic stress conditions.

In this study, rooting performance of cuttings of local olive types of Northern Cyprus taken in spring and autumn seasons was investigated. Gemlik Olive cultivar was used as the control group and 14 different local olive types constituted the experimental groups. Green cuttings taken from local olive types were initially treated with 4000 ppm indole-3-butyric (IBA) and they were then rooted in perlite medium under fogging unit in a plastic greenhouse. Following 100-days of rooting, rooting ratios, root lengths, number of roots and shooting ratios were determined. As expected, the best rooting ratio was obtained from Gemlik Olive cultivar (control group). Among the local types, the best rooting ratio (58.67%) was obtained from Çamlıköy with Type 8 olive type and the best rooting performance (45.87%) was achieved in cuttings rooted in autumn season.

Particularly in the fruit juice industry, the remaining peels and pulp parts are not available for human consumption after the juices are used. It is possible to evaluate these wastes by adding them to poultry feeds. A number of studies have been conducted by researchers on the nutritional value of many fruit wastes and on the performance of poultry. Natural antioxidant content has been reported to have a positive effect on growth, microbial and immunological parameters when high fruit peels are used as feed additive in poultry feeding.