"On-Shelf Quality" from the Perspective of Consumer Trends and Sustainability

This year's Quality and Product Experience Seminar will address "Shelf Quality" from the perspective of "Consumer Trends and Sustainability". Taking place on 23-24 November at İstinye University, the seminar will feature expert academics and industry leaders who will discuss the power of design and its impact on consumer behavior, recovery strategies in food processing and sustainability, and evaluate shelf quality from a sustainability perspective. Organized by Karma Grup, which provides specialized solutions for the food sector and conducts training, workshops and consulting services, the "Quality Product Experience Seminar" will take place at İstinye University Topkapı Campus Conference Hall.

"Özer: Consumers now buy what they notice, not what they understand"

According to ortakalan.org, one of the opening speakers at the Quality and Product Experience Seminar, where Shelf Quality will be addressed from consumer trends and sustainability perspectives, will be M. İmer Özer, Chairman of the Board of PLAT Private Label Product Manufacturers and Suppliers Association. Özer stated that the Quality and Product Experience Seminar is an excellent initiative bringing together sector stakeholders to present the right products to consumers and create a fair competitive environment, and said the following: "I believe the outputs of this organization will be highly beneficial to both the food and beverage sector and end consumers. Previously, consumers tended to buy products they understood. However, due to changing generations and increasing product diversity, consumers now buy what they notice, not what they understand. Therefore, manufacturers should focus on producing in areas where consumers can make a difference."

The biggest obstacle: "Food Loss"

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Zeynep Tacer Caba from Bahçeşehir University, who will give a presentation titled "Food Loss" on the second day of the seminar, highlighted that food loss is one of the biggest obstacles in building sustainable food systems.

Caba made the following assessments on the subject:

"Today, the concept of 'experience' is highly valuable in the food sector, as it is in many other disciplines. In this sense, the synergy created by professionals, academics and students in the food industry is very valuable and important. I believe the Quality and Product Experience Seminar creates a very important opportunity for this sharing by bringing together academic and sectoral perspectives." Noting that food loss is defined by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) as 'the decrease in the quantity of edible food available for human consumption at various stages of the supply chain', Assoc. Prof. Dr. Caba continued: "According to current data, global food loss averages around 14 percent. Food loss is today one of the biggest obstacles in building sustainable food systems. For this reason, by learning, understanding and effectively applying new approaches to solving the food loss problem, significant impacts can be generated on many issues such as food safety, nutrition, environmental pollution, and loss of water resources."