THE GLOBAL WINDOW OF TURKISH FOOD AND AGRICULTURE The Global Window of Turkish Food and Agriculture Sector
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Today, SARS-CoV-2 has seriously disrupted all industries globally. Since SARS-CoV-2 entered our lives, maximum hygiene measures have been taken everywhere. Food businesses in particular are more sensitive in this regard.
Agricultural production, food processing, distribution, service retail, etc., those working in the fields are among the ‘essential critical infrastructure elements’ of the countries. Therefore, it is not possible for these sectors to stay at home. The continuation of the food and agriculture sector in this process is critical for the continuity and rapid recovery of the society. There are about 650 thousand food enterprises in Turkey.
The fact that the world population has increased from 1.6 billion to 7.6 billion since the beginning of the 20th century and the significant increase in agricultural consumption per capita is possible with the expansion and productivity increase in agricultural production, on the other hand, the agriculture and food sector gradually started to push more. To meet the demands, agriculture must produce 50% more food, feed and biogas in 2050 than in 2012.
Although there is SARS-CoV-2 genetic material (RNA) in the stool, it has been isolated from the stool samples of infected patients, but no fecal-oral transmission has been reported to date. In this context, it is imperative that the food sector also take measures in the current virus protection.
Among the SARS-CoV-2 measures, the wastes that will come out of the food establishments should be well planned and disposed of with a process. As it is known, there is an environment that contains the most microorganisms and can provide rapid reproduction. Therefore, the zero waste project becomes much more important here.
It is vital that the personnel working in this waste management unit work by taking more stringent measures regarding SARS-CoV-2. It should not be overlooked that especially those working in this unit may cause cross contamination. It is necessary to make compost in order to turn a compost, garbage bin, something we dislike, into a home for many beneficial microorganisms.
BECAUSE THERE IS NO WASTE IN THE NATURE.
The best evaluation solution for the waste generated can be with the establishment of compost facilities. The important thing here is to collect the garbage according to its source. This is very important for the quality of compost. This also means: A system should be established to collect all waste separately in food establishments. Here is the goal:
RECOVERING WHAT WE TAKE FROM NATURE AGAIN.
Compost can be made in many ways. My suggestion is to have a closed system especially for food businesses. In addition, systems that do not require enzymes should be preferred in order to reduce operating costs and to work effectively. The most important thing here is that the temperature of the process does not exceed 70 degrees. The fact that it does not require enzymes will provide profit from labor as well as operating costs. One of the countries that make the best systems in compost is Canada. Compost systems produced with a Canadian license are systems that have proven themselves all over the world.
Bacteria actinomycetes, which grow at a temperature of 40-50 degrees, decompose hardly degradable substances in solid wastes. Basically all harmful microorganisms, except a few spores, die within 1-2 hours in the part of the compost that reaches a temperature of 60-70 degrees. When thermophilic bacteria consume the nutrients available to them, they stop producing heat and the compost starts to cool. Thus, the product obtained becomes a sterile product.
Compost is not fertilizer. While fertilizer provides the soil with the nutrients necessary for the development of plants, compost provides the structural order of the soil (ground). However, it is possible to obtain high quality fertilizers by adding certain amounts of Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium (N, P, K) into the compost. In addition, because the raw material is natural, the artificial taste problem in products produced in agricultural areas is eliminated.
The utilization of waste, which is the most important and last link of the hygiene chain in food businesses, by composting will be an example of innovative approaches today. Unless we do not have innovative approaches, we will fall behind other countries. Service is a whole. As SARS-CoV-2 teaches us to give importance to environmental awareness, we should do our part as food industrialists. In this way, we can be one step ahead of other countries. It should not be forgotten that development is necessary in our country and nature is inherited from our ancestors. We must have fulfilled our responsibility to future generations.
REFERENCES:
1) Şenol YILDIZ, Esra Ölmez, Alpaslan KİRİŞ Compost Technologies and Their Applications in Istanbul, Composting Systems and Usage Areas of Compost Workshop 18 – 19 June 2009
2) Korkut N., Erol V., Biological Methods in Waste Disposal, Composting and
Recovery (2007) TURKAY2007
3) Ayral1 D., Öztürk İ., Altınbaş M., Arıkan O., Demir İ., Yıldız Ş., Hoşoğlu F.
(2008) Operation in Istanbul Kemerburgaz Recycling and Compost Facility
Conditions and Quality of Compost, Urban Management, Human and
Environmental Problems Symposium
4) Ertuğrul Erdin Dokuz Eylül Environmental Engineering. Compost Production in Turkey
5) Emre Rona Compost Guide Buğday Association for Supporting Ecological Life Buğday Association for Supporting Ecological Living – Transformation Library – 5
6) was https://tr.euronews.com/2020/05/14/turkiye-de-ciftci-sayisi-yuzde-38-dustu-tarim-alani-yuzde-12-azal
7) http://zmo.org.tr/genel/bizden_detay.php?kod=30984&tipi=24&sube=0
8) https://tradefive.com/gida-sektoru-ve-ihracat/
9) https://www.milliyet.com.tr/yazarlar/abdullah-karakus/2019-da-1-2-milyon-gida- control-yapilacak-2839493
10) chrome-extension: // ohfgljdgelakfkefopgklcohadegdpjf / https: // setav.org/ assets / uploads / 2019/04 / 137R.pdf
11) http://gidaguvenligi.ankara.edu.tr/2020/04/19/covid19-ve-gida-guvenligi/
12) http://www.gidateknoloji.com.tr/haber/2020/04/koronavirus-gunlarda-hijyen-uygulamalari
Erkan Sarıcan, M.Sc.
erksarican@hotmail.com
