Food Safety and Adulteration Problem
In recent years, Türkiye has been facing serious problems regarding food security. Especially adulteration Food adulteration, known as adulteration, has become one of the biggest threats to public health. Food fraud endangers the health of consumers while also damaging the reputation of reliable food producers. In this article, we will examine in detail the dimensions, effects and solutions of food adulteration.
What is Adulteration?
Adulteration means adding unauthorized or incorrect substances to food. This is both ethically and legally unacceptable. For example, in meat products The use of prohibited meats such as donkey, horse or pork poses a serious threat to the health of consumers. Such frauds are often carried out to reduce costs and this puts food safety at risk.
Inadequacy of Controls
Inspections carried out by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry in recent years reveal how widespread food adulteration is. 110 brands of sausage food fraud has been detected. Inspections conducted in provinces such as Afyonkarahisar, Kayseri and Adana, it was determined that many companies were using prohibited additives. This situation shows that inspections are inadequate and that stricter measures should be taken.
Afyonkarahisar: Capital of Adulteration
One of the most famous sausage production centers in Türkiye Afyonkarahisar, also stands out as the city with the highest rate of adulteration. It has been determined that 65 companies operating here use poultry meat, leather and prohibited additives in their sausages. It is understood that these companies offer products to consumers in a misleading manner. This situation in Afyonkarahisar poses a serious threat to public health.
The Situation in Adana and Kayseri
Adana, is another important city where adulteration is done in sausages. Butchers and meat producers operating in the Yüreğir district are adulterating sausages by adding horse and donkey meat. In recent days, 5 different companies have been found to be adulterating in Adana. Similarly, Kayseri It has been determined that 14 companies in the province have resorted to prohibited practices. This situation is extremely worrying in terms of food safety.
Awareness of Citizens
It is of great importance to raise public awareness about food safety. The Alo 174 Food Line is an important tool in this regard. This line, which was put into service on February 14, 2009, has been 3 million 212 thousand 19 It has been determined that 1 million 141 thousand 157 of these applications were related to food notifications. Applications made to the Alo 174 line are considered an important step towards ensuring food safety.
The Health Effects of Food Cheating
Food adulteration is not only an economic problem but also poses serious health risks. Internal Medicine Specialist Dr. Ayça Kaya, emphasizes that additives and synthetic food colorings are dangerous for everyone, especially children. Fraudulent products can cause food poisoning, bacterial risks and disruptions in the intestinal flora. In addition, health problems such as carcinogenic effects can also occur in the long term.
Solution offers
To solve the problem of food adulteration, some measures need to be taken:
- Intensification of Inspections: Regular inspection of food production facilities will be effective in preventing adulteration.
- Raising Public Awareness: Increasing consumer awareness about food safety will reduce the use of adulterated products.
- Food Safety Training: Providing training to producers on food safety will encourage the production of healthy products.
- Effective Use of the Complaint Line: More effective use of complaint lines such as Alo 174 will make it easier to detect fraudulent products.
As a result, food adulteration is a serious problem that threatens public health. In order to solve this problem, both increasing inspections and raising public awareness are of great importance. Food safety is not only the responsibility of producers, but also of the entire society. Consuming healthy and safe foods is of critical importance for our future.
