Food safety practices, levels of knowledge, and problems of dairy companies in Turkey

Milk contains a large number of essential nutrients that should be consumed at every stage of human life. As a subsector, the dairy industry is extremely important to the national economy. The dairy industry constitutes 16% of the output of the food industry in Turkey. Burdur is one of the major cities in Turkey in terms of the dairy industry. Burdur province has significant potential both in terms of dairy farming and the processing industry. Burdur province produces 258,000 tons of milk annually. There are 16 milk processing plants in the province. The total capacity of these enterprises is 184,807 tons per year, but capacity use is only 69,480 tons per year. In addition, milk powder and whey powder are available at only one processing facility; the capacity of this facility is 4,554 tons per year. Although the province's milk processing capacity is 68.44%, only 26.9% of the milk produced in the province is traded in the province; 73.1% is processed outside the province. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: In this study, we examine the general characteristics of the 13 operating dairies in Burdur province. We used questionnaires to determine problems and solutions concerning food safety, the level of information on food safety among managers, resources, and current practices. This study used an in‐depth interview method to survey business managers and employees. We surveyed managers and employees concerning their knowledge of food security, sources of information, and problems and solutions.