Studies on the quality of surk sold in Hatay province

The surk that has been delightedly consumed by the local peoples in Hatay province is a food product which is commonly situated in breakfast table. In this study, a total of 60 surk samples (20 from each one of fresh, moldy, and surk stored in olive oil) was examined. The average bacteria numbers of the samples of fresh, moldy and surk stored in olive oil, respectively, were as follows; total mesophilic aerobic bacteria 7.60, 8.50 and 5.82 log10 cfu/g; yeast and mould 4.32, 6.42 and 1.43 log10 cfu/g; Lactobacillus-Leuconostoc-Pediococcus 5.85, 6.85 and 3.87 log10 cfu/g; lactic streptococcus 6.41, 6.66 and 3.76 log10 cfu/g; coliform 1.87, 2.04 and 1.17 log10 cfu/g; Enterobacteriacea 2.99, 2.58 and 1.52 log10 cfu/g; Staphylococcus-Micrococcus 3.30, 2.37 and 1.73 log10 cfu/g; Escherichiacoli 2.29, 1.52 and 1.04 log10 cfu/g; Staphylococcus aureus 1.35, 1.93 and 1.48 and anaerobic 1.22, 1.03 and 1.15 log10 cfu/g. The average chemical levels of the samples, respectively, were as follows; pH 4.49, 5.25 and 5.34; acidity (lactic acid) 1.04 %, 1.62 % and 0.86 %; dry matter 32.27 %, 46.91 % and 60.86 %; salt in the dry matter 5.39 %, 8.41 % and 4.37 %; protein 17.56 %, 19.45 % and 26.68 %; ash 4.42 %, 5.90 % and 3.95 %; fat 9.90 %, 8.81 % and 17.56 %, and aw 0.90, 0.81 and 0.91. Sensorial scores of the samples of fresh, moldy and surk stored in olive oil were 87.59, 68.49 and 91.80, respectively. As a result, quality of the raw materials, processing and storage conditions, packaging materials, personnel hygiene and implementation of HACCP rules are of importance to obtain healthy and standard product. In this way, it is concluded that surk, which is one of the local products, can be easily recognized in national market. Keywords :Surk, microbiological, chemical, sensory, quality.