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Pekmez is a traditional Turkish food made by using different fruits such as grape, mulberry, fig, apple, and sugar beet. There are two different kinds of pekmez, either liquid pekmez or solid pekmez, produced in Turkey. The stages for processing liquid pekmez for all fruits, except mulberry, include washing, sorting, crushing, pressing, and boiling. By using liquid pekmez, and solidifying and bleaching its agents solid pekmez is produced. Pekmez is a healthful food due to its nutritional content and is used as a main source of energy based on its chemical composition. The carbohydrates in pekmez are generally in the form of natural sugars like glucose and fructose, which is nutritionally important for babies, children, sportsmen, and active workers. Pekmez production and its chemical composition should be adapted to the modern food technology and food safety requirements; at the same time, this adaptation should conserve the authentic properties of the product.

Turnip juice (Shalgam) is a traditional Turkish beverage with sour flavor and purplish red color, which is produced by the lactic acid fermentation of black carrot. Due to its rich antioxidant content, Turnip juice offers some health benefits. However, the preservation of Turnip juice is a main challenge for the producers. While the growth of bacteria is supressed by lactic acid, wild yeasts can readily grow in Turnip juice. In this study, the effect of pulsed UV light (PUV) on Candida inconspicua in Turnip juice was evaluated. Inoculated Turnip juice samples were treated in a pulsed UV light system at different distances from the quartz window (5, 8 and 13 cm) and for different times (5, 15, 30, 45 and 60 s). A maximum log reduction of 2.80 was obtained after treatment at 5 cm for 60 s. To describe the inactivation of C. inconspicua by pulsed UV light, the first-order kinetics and Weibull model were used. Weibull model was found to be suitable for fitting the inactivation data. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONSTurnip juice (Shalgam) is a traditional fermented beverage produced from black carrots, which is a suitable growth medium for yeasts. The wild yeast Candida inconspicua was identified as a microorganism causing spoilage in Shalgam. The only methods utilized in industry to preserve shalgam are heat pasteurization and addition of chemical food additives. Due to the fact that thermal methods can cause the loss of anthocynanins and colorants, a nonthermal method could be a good alternative to preserve Shalgam. In this research, the effect of pulsed UV light, a novel method considered to be nonthermal for short treatment times, on the yeast C. inconspicua which was isolated from Shalgam was investigated. The results were supported with models to understand the effect of pulsed UV light on C. inconspicua cells for future applications in food industry and to direct other related inactivation studies.

In this study, Turkish fermented sausage (sucuk) samples from different producers were examined with respect to their biogenic-amine contents, including histamine, tryptamine, and tyramine. The difference between amine levels of the samples produced through a starter-facilitated process and those produced without using a starter was investigated. Amines were extracted from the samples using perchloric acid and analyzed by HPLC in an ODS 2 column with a UV/VIS detector at 254 nm after derivatization with dansyl chloride. Histamine and tyramine were found in all samples in the range of 6. 72 to 362. 22 and 208. 66 to 1173. 28 mg/kg, respectively. Tryptamine was detected in 15 out of 20 samples in the range of 25. 01 to 619. 11mg/kg. Statistically significant changes in amine levels of samples obtained from different producers were observed.

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