5.4.2 Area: EPIDEMIOLOGY OF FOOD-RELATED DISEASES AND ALLERGIES
(T2.1) Validated Food Information Database for Europe– NOE

Objective:

The project group would like to be involved in project consortiums carried out or being developed in the area of food information databases through partnerships for collaborative scientific research with institutions in Europe.  We believe that such collaboration will enhance the scope of European food composition database with a special emphasis on the Turkish traditional foodstuffs.  The project group is also capable of finding Turkish SMEs particularly for database linking and management.

Targeted Role:

As participation from all over Europe is necessary to cover all relevant foods groups, including traditional and novel foods, at all relevant stages of processing (from raw material to high-added value foods and prepared foods) within the database, the research group aims to providing data for Turkish traditional foods.

• The research group can coordinate work on Mediterranean traditional foods.
• The research group can identify which Turkish traditional foods are required to be included in the dataset of the project.
• The group can extensively carry out the analysis of nutrients, non-nutrients and food additives and contaminants of Turkish traditional foods. 
• As such analysis may also require methodology development for some foods, the group will investigate the accuracy, precision and recovery of methods.

For the targeted dissemination activities the research group may host and organize the workshops, conferences or seminars in Istanbul. The expert faculty members may give presentations in such seminar or conference series for food and health scientists, agrifood industry, the retail sector, consumers and regulatory authorities.

Project Group:

The project group at ITU Food Engineering Department considers food safety and quality as one of the most important research area and gives it a high priority in research activities.  The number of researchers is totally 5 and 80% of the group is women.

Professor Dilek BOYACIOGLU, Ph.D., Phone: (90) 212 285 60 39-40, E-mail: boyaci@itu.edu.tr (Coordinator)
Research Interests: Food quality control; Food safety; Implementation of HACCP system; Good Laboratory Practices; Chemical food analysis; Mycotoxins; Sensory analysis.

Assistant Professor Gürbüz GÜNES, Ph.D. Phone: (90) 212 285 60 40, E-mail: gunesg@itu.edu.tr  
Research Interests:Fruits and vegetable processing, minimal processing of foods, combination of nonthermal food preservation techniques such as modified atmosphere packaging and irradiation for assurance of quality and  microbial safety of foods.

Assistant Professor  Beraat ÖZÇELIK, Ph.D., Phone: (90) 212 285 60 42, E-mail: ozcelik@itu.edu.tr
Research Interests: Food chemistry; Sensory analysis; Food analysis

Professor Artemis KARAALI, Ph.D., Phone: (90) 212 285 60 38, E-mail: karaali@itu.edu.tr
Research Interests: Food Chemistry; Food additives; Food toxicology; Food quality control; Food legislation, Chemistry and technology of dietary fats

Assistant Professor Meral KILIÇ, Ph.D., Phone: (90) 212 285 60 16, E-mail: meral.kilic@itu.edu.tr
Research Interests: Dairy technology; Food stability and shelf-life; Quality changes during storage