“Hygiene and Food Safety Training in Food Businesses”, organized in cooperation with Near East University Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Food Hygiene and Technology Department and Gönyeli-Alayköy Municipality, was carried out with intense participation.

The information meeting, hosted by Gönyeli-Alayköy Municipality, with the participation of 14 municipalities, was open to the participation of the police and health personnel of all municipalities. Gönyeli-Alayköy Mayor Hüseyin Amcaoğlu and council members also attended the meeting. At the meeting, Head of the Department of Food Hygiene and Technology, who is also the Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at Near East University. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Beyza Hatice Ulusoy conveyed information about hygiene inspections and food safety standards in processes related to every stage of the food chain. At the end of the training, which took place in the form of mutual questions and answers, hygiene control practice was carried out with materials to measure microorganisms on surfaces and hands.

The training, which aims to reinforce the experience and knowledge of municipal employees on hygiene and food safety inspections, which have a critical role in protecting public health, aimed to ensure that employees adopt hygienic practices and understand food safety standards scientifically in more depth.

Head of Department of Food Hygiene and Technology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Beyza Hatice Ulusoy focused on the inspection of businesses operating in the food sector, food safety, and diseases that can be transmitted to consumers through food. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Beyza Hatice Ulusoy gave information about the power of correct communication during inspections and the role of regular inspections in protecting public health.

Hüseyin Amcaoğlu: “Information meetings are of great importance in strengthening the knowledge and skills of municipal employees in this field.”

Stating that this issue, which directly affects people’s health, should be taken seriously, Gönyeli-Alayköy Mayor Hüseyin Amcaoğlu emphasized that efforts are being carried out to continue such informative events. Amcaoğlu said, “Such training and information meetings are of great importance in strengthening the knowledge and experience of municipal employees in this field. Correct application of food safety rules is of vital importance not only for the success of businesses, but also for the health and safety of consumers.”

Gönyeli-Alayköy Mayor Hüseyin Amcaoğlu thanked Head of Food Hygiene and Technology Department Assoc. Prof. Dr. Beyza Hatice Ulusoy.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Beyza Hatice Ulusoy emphasized the important details that should be taken into consideration during inspections!

Stating that, according to the World Health Organization, approximately 600 million people in the world, that is, almost 1 in every 10 people, get sick every year by ‘consuming contaminated food’, Head of the Department of Food Hygiene and Technology Assoc. Prof. Dr. Beyza Hatice Ulusoy said that the dangers that contaminate food are grouped into three groups: biological, chemical and physical. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ulusoy noted that some basic analyzes can be made to measure the effectiveness of hygiene and food safety management in food businesses and said, “Thanks to these measurement, monitoring and prevention analyses, the surface and equipment cleanliness status, employee hygiene, water microbiological load, air microbiological load and end product microbiological quality in the enterprises are questioned.” Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ulusoy also emphasized some important details that should be taken into consideration during inspections and said, “Within the scope of business food hygiene inspections, attention should be paid to the suitability of infrastructure elements such as entrances, windows, walls and floors, personnel hygiene, as well as the hygiene of materials and tools and equipment that may come into contact with food. In addition to all these technical details, effective communication is also very important during inspections.”