Turkish sucuk and pastırma are traditional meat products commonly consumed in Turkey. These products are generally known as dry fermented meat products (FMP), fermented and ripened naturally. Curing is a preparation method for FMPs used for prolonging shelf life. As well as additives such as nitrate and nitrite are used to obtain the desired colour and flavour, also inhibit the mentioned bacteria. Despite the advantages of the curing agents, FMPs may pose a risk for human health via uncontrolled (out of limits) usage. The present study was conducted to investigate the incidence of Salmonella spp., Listeria monocytogenes and Escherichia coli O157 and nitrate-nitrite contents in 132 sucuk and 66 pastırma samples collected from producers and retailers in Istanbul, Adapazari, Afyon and Kayseri. Salmonella spp. and L. monocytogenes were detected 2.52% and 2.02% in all samples, respectively. All samples were negative for E. coli O157. The nitrate level of sucuk and pastırma samples were found was in the acceptable range. Only, 5 of sucuk samples exceeded the nitrite limit value. The results indicate that meat products may be contaminated with pathogens and nitrosamines can be present in meat products. Furthermore, the essential precautions should be taken to apply sanitation procedure and improve the quality of production technology. Keywords

Globally, the spread of antibiotic resistance via chicken meat consumption cause serious public health concerns. With this respect, the current study aimed to investigate the prevalence of thermophilic Campylobacter species isolated from raw meat chicken samples and their genetic determinants of resistance to various classes of antibiotics. A total of 540 chicken raw meat samples collected from various supermarkets and slaughterhouses in Istanbul, Turkey were analyzed according to EN ISO 10272-1:2006 standard procedure. For identification of the genus and species of the isolates, multiplex PCR assay was held. Minimum inhibitory concentrations of the antimicrobial agents (nalidixic acid, ciprofloxacin, tetracycline, gentamicin, kanamycin, and erythromycin) were initially determined using the broth microdilution method. In addition, the genetic determinants of antimicrobial resistance were investigated by PCR assays. In total, 357 (66.1%) Campylobacter isolates were obtained including 268 Campylobacter jejuni and 89 Campylobacter coli. Resistance to quinolones (nalidixic acid and ciprofloxacin) was the most common in all strains (80.1%), followed by resistance to tetracycline's (70.3%). The lowest resistance was determined as resistance to kanamycin (4.2%). Gentamicin and erythromycin resistance was not observed in this study. Only five C. coli isolate (1.4%) was classified as multidrug resistant. On the basis of these data, execute widely presence of antimicrobial resistance to quinolones and tetracycline's in C. jejuni and C. coli isolates from chicken raw meat samples and emphasizes that further multidisciplinary studies and novel strategies in the concept of 'One Health' are needed.

The effect of starter culture combinations on the quality of Turkish type dry fermented sausage (sucuk) were evaluated during ripening and storage periods. Sucuk formulations were produced without (control) and with three different starter culture combinations; i) Staphylococcus carnosus+Pediococcus pentosaceus, ii) Staphylococcus carnosus+ Lactobacillus sakei, and iii) Staphylococcus carnosus+Pediococcus pentosaceus+ Lactobacillus sakei. Analysis of microbiological, physico-chemical and lipase enzyme levels of samples were conducted until the 60 th day. Interactions among the presence of lipolytic starter cultures, lipase enzyme levels and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances were also evaluated both in ripening and drying periods. There were apparent differences on microbiological and chemical properties between samples prepared with starters and control. It has been concluded that the use of lipolytic starter cultures in suitable combination would have positive effect on the acceleration of ripening and improvement of the quality of dry fermented sausages.

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Addition of soy protein sources in food products is widely used because of their functional properties such as water binding, fat binding, beneficial effects on texture and emulsification capability and providing improved economy with increasing yield. However, the use of soy protein in food products causes economical disadvantages because of replacement of an expensive ingredient like meat with a cheaper ingredient like soy and health risks for the consumers as well. Soy is an important allergy source for sensitive consumers. Because of these reasons, the most recent meat products regulation of Turkish Food Codex has banned the addition of soy in doners since 2012, like several other countries. Detection of soy in food products is performed by detection of soy protein or soy DNA. Because DNA is more stable to processing, PCR methods are shown to be more reliable when used in processed foods. In our study, 50 doner samples were collected from various retail sales points. Twenty-five doner samples were collected before and 25 after the regulation was enacted. DNA was isolated from doner samples and PCR testing of these DNA extracts were performed. The detection results of the doner samples showed that any of the 25 samples collected after the regulation enacted did not contain soy ingredient while 3 of 25 sample (12%) collected before the regulation came into force contained soy.