Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt University (AYBÜ) attracted the attention of national and international participants with its academic studies in the fields of food safety, microplastic pollution, and sustainability within the scope of the United Nations Climate Change Conference COP31.
Prepared under the coordination of Assoc. Prof. Dr. Elif Tuğçe AKSUN TÜMERKAN, the exhibition area on "Applied Food Safety and Microplastics" offered visitors the opportunity to conduct hands-on experiments regarding microbiological risks that may be encountered in food products, cutting boards, and various kitchen utensils, as well as microplastic analyses in different food samples.
The event area, which also provided an opportunity to promote our university's scientific research capacity and technical infrastructure, received intense interest from local and foreign members of the press and citizens attending the summit. Visitors had the opportunity to obtain information on the impacts of microplastics on food safety and human health while closely examining the analysis processes.
During the event, the technical infrastructure, research capacity, and next-generation analysis applications of the AYBÜ Microplastic Laboratory—described as Turkey's most comprehensive microplastic laboratory—were also shared with national and international participants.
SUSTAINABILITY-FOCUSED COLLABORATIONS ARE BEING DEVELOPED
Throughout COP31, efforts were also made to establish academic and industrial collaboration consortia focusing on zero waste and sustainability. Emphasis was placed on innovative practices aimed at reducing the environmental impacts of microplastics, transforming waste into high value-added products through advanced technological processes, and remediating environmental pollution.
Continuing its activities under the leadership of Assoc. Prof. Dr. Elif Tuğçe AKSUN TÜMERKAN, the AYBÜ Microplastic Laboratory has brought together representatives from academia, the public sector, and industry through six training programs organized over the past two years. It was stated that efforts to develop the research capacity and technical infrastructure of the laboratory are ongoing.
Through its scientific and applied studies at COP31, AYBÜ contributed to the transformation of the knowledge and research accumulation of universities into social awareness and international collaborations in the fields of climate change, food safety, and environmental sustainability.
PANEL ON FOOD SAFETY AND CLIMATE CHANGE HELD
Within the scope of the summit, AYBÜ Faculty of Health Sciences Faculty Member Assoc. Prof. Dr. Esma Atasoy also served as a moderator in the panel titled "The Impacts of Climate Change on Food Safety and Human Health" and in the talk on "Preventing Waste in Turkish Cuisine and the Zero Waste Philosophy." During the panel, the impacts of climate change on food systems, food safety, and human health were addressed from various perspectives.
