General Information

With the rapid increase in the world population, the decrease and contamination of natural resources, the need for healthy and reliable foods is constantly increasing. Adequate and balanced nutrition is one of the fundamental conditions for people to live healthy lives, and it plays a crucial role in increasing societal well-being. A healthy life can only be sustained by ensuring food security and safety. When formulating policies for ensuring food security and safety, protecting and improving health, preventing diseases, preserving the environment, and achieving socio-economic development, it is essential to address the concepts of food and health together. Today, one of the biggest factors threatening public health is the presence of toxic chemicals in food. This issue is among the priority issues of United Nations organizations such as WHO, FAO and the European Union Commission. These toxic substances, which can be found in foods, are mostly caused by fertilizers used in agricultural production, plant protection products and chemicals transmitted from environmental sources. The production of food products that do not contain such chemicals, in line with appropriate technology, and thus the provision of higher quality food to consumers is of vital importance for human and environmental health.

Approximately half of Turkey's EU acquis covers agricultural issues, and a significant portion of these agricultural issues are related to food safety, plant, and animal health. The most important issue regarding food safety is the control of residues and preventing them from threatening animal and human health by keeping them below a certain level. Furthermore, Turkey exports around 50% of its agricultural products to the EU, which implements the most widespread and stringent measures on food safety. For all these reasons, it is crucial for Turkey to closely monitor and implement developments in food safety. Turkey is one of the world's top five countries in agricultural production, especially in fruit and vegetable production. Antalya, which is the locomotive of Turkey's agricultural production, alone accounts for 35% of the country's protected cultivation and 33% of fruit and vegetable exports. Alongside its contribution to Turkey and global agricultural inputs, the use of chemical substances in agriculture in Antalya has increased significantly, particularly in the last 10 years, reaching an annual total of 5,500 tons of agricultural pesticides alone. Recognizing the importance of identifying toxic chemical substances and specialized agricultural research in a region where modern agricultural techniques and chemicals are extensively used, the Department of Food Engineering submitted an R&D project to the State Planning Organization in 2008. With the acceptance of the project, its implementation began in 2009.

In Turkey, various government institutions are involved in the determination and control of toxic chemical substances in food, and research is conducted in relevant departments of universities. However, there is currently no fully equipped "Food Safety and Agricultural Research Center" that comprehensively addresses these substances in food, leads the establishment of a national database, provides methodological support, and keeps track of scientific and technological advancements to develop faster and more accurate analysis methods. The center established through a DPT (State Planning Organization) project under the Department of Food Engineering within our university has the capacity to conduct comprehensive analysis, monitoring activities, research, and development studies on toxic chemicals and agricultural research. The establishment of this center has significantly contributed to our university's R&D infrastructure. With the analytical instruments and equipment available in the center, advanced research on food safety can be conducted. The research infrastructure has been designed to be able to accomplish everything possible in the field of food safety. Efforts are ongoing to ensure laboratory accreditation to enhance the center's international recognition and the reliability of the services provided.