MAUN Team Examines Food Safety in Areas Affected by the Earthquake

MAUN researchers who were assigned to the earthquake zones to conduct field research within the scope of the fund 'Natural Disasters Field Study Emergency Support Program' by TUBITAK completed their studies.

Asst. Prof. Necattin Cihat İçyer and Res. Asst. Fatih Bozkurt from the Department of Food Engineering stated that while there were studies on disaster management, construction-building, logistics, health and psychology in natural disasters, food safety was neglected. The researchers who carried out field studies in Kahramanmaraş and Hatay in the second week of the earthquake within the scope of their project supervised the establishments that produce and distribute food in the region, and examined the food storage, how food was prepared for consumption (washing, sorting, cooking, serving, etc.), the status of the personnel preparing the food, accessibility to food used by people with special food needs (celiac, blood pressure, phenylketonuria, lactose intolerance disorders, etc.) and the water sources used. In addition, by personally interacting with earthquake survivors, they obtained data on their post-earthquake nutritional status, possible discomfort caused by the food offered, the situation of those with special food needs, and their access to drinking water.

MAUN Rector Prof. Fethi Ahmet Polat said, “I sincerely congratulate our professors who have completed their studies on food safety, which was often ignored after the disaster that caused thousands of deaths in our country. I strongly believe that these efforts will be beneficial to the country and our nation in such disasters. May Allah not let such a disaster happen to our country again."