Consumers have a consumption perception with food and nutrition news commonly spread in media. However, main aim of this news to rich attraction to be watched, read or clicked more and more. Unfortunately, this news is far from scientific facts. Advertisement of low nutritious products are frequently encountered in media. These advertisements are more or less effective on all consumers especially children. In this article beverages, food supplements, meat and meat products, butterfat and vegetable oils were discussed for perceptions and their effects on nutritional behavior.

Influence of media and social media on consumers is originated from published news, informational programs and advertisements. According to these influence purposes it would be correct to evaluate news and informational programs as a group and news as an another group.

Consumers have a consumption perception with food and nutrition news commonly spread in written and visual media. However, this news which is published in media is prepared with concern of getting attraction to be watched, read or clicked more. Therefore, this prepared news is far from scientific facts at least most of the time.

Public characters or medical specialists are invited as guests of informative programs most of the time instead of nutrition and diet specialists and food engineers. Although, these people do not have scientific competence and specialty in the field that they are giving information, they declare their opinions.

However, specialists who regularly checks recent studies about food and nutrition should be invited to such programs and they should transmit recent scientific truths to society. Sometimes, it is possible to encounter scientific studies with opposite results and proposals. In that case, both opinions should be transmitted to consumers.

Consumers who are constantly exposed to these news and programs, happens to have nutrition perception which is far from scientific facts. Choices made with these perceptions becomes inadequate in terms of both balanced diet and disease prevention; moreover, it has potential to cause bad consumption habits which can result in health problems. On the other hand, food producers are criticized unfairly due to misinform and they have sales decline and become victims since their products are less favored by consumers.

In food industry, foods which have high profitability margin usually have low nutritious value but they are made attractive with colorant, aroma, sweeteners and sugar. Advertisement of these products are frequently encountered in media. These advertisements are more or less effective on all consumers especially children. However, children are most crucial consumer group which should be consuming more natural and nutritious food. In this article beverages, food supplements, meat and meat products, butterfat and vegetable oils were discussed for perceptions and their nutritional effect.

Beverages
Carbonated beverages are the foods with most advertisement. However, food with higher nutritious values compared to carbonated beverages such as milk, ayran (buttermilk drink) and fruit juice are advertised far less. TV programs claiming that fruit juices are harmful due to high calorie values, made with poor quality fruits and containing preservatives, are conducted commonly. These critical approaches against fruit juice are not carried out for carbonated beverages. However, consumers should be informed correctly about alternative options, consumers should be taught and proposed to put their selections in order. It will be more accurate to decide in consequence of assessment criterions between beverage alternatives such as flavor, low calorie, plenitude of food ingredients, not containing preservative/colorant/acid regulator additives and being closer to natural. Furthermore, consuming products like ayran, milk or probiotic milk and dairy products for decreasing the stress level and body soothe can be suggested.

The most consumed and advertised hot drinks in worldwide are black tea and coffee. However, it is possible for individuals to vary hot drink consumption, taste different flavors in addition, gaining many minor components to body with medicinal herb tea as a powerful tool. In medical herb choice, it is possible for individual to make a medicinal herb tea choice with different properties according to feeling and needs at that moment such as relaxing/ tranquillizing and stimulating. Also, medicinal herbs which can be consumed as tea contains many beneficial water-soluble compounds especially phenolic compounds.

Medicinal herbs are mentioned as strictly protective and a complete medicine or cure-all food or food supplement at informative programs and news. It is presented as a hope to consumers who are suffering from diseases, particularly cancer, or want to be protected from diseases. However, many conditions particularly variety of these plants, harvest maturity, climate and cultivate conditions affect components. Thus, if these teas are considered to proposed as a preservative or complementary medicine, these factors are also should be mentioned to consumer.

Food Supplements
Natural or synthetic food supplements are the products which contains one or more active ingredient. In general, food supplements do not contain complex compounds as foods. Components in food usually show beneficial properties by showing synergetic and/or balancing effect. For example, in some studies it is reported that consumption of omega-3 supplement accelerates multiplication of cancer cells whereas some other studies reports opposite as consumption of omega-3 rich foods such as olive oil and walnut shows protective properties against cancer. In interpretation of these different results can be explained with rate of consumption of fatty acids. In a such a way that, it is stated that increasing of omega-3 and omega-6 rate greater than 1, it might cause problems in terms of health. In other words, rather than consumption of single fatty acid in diet, distribution rates of unsaturated fatty acids should be evaluated. This result yet shows, rather than consuming single active ingredient of high amount in body, balanced food consumption in diet can achieve healthy results.

Meat and Meat Products
There is a present perception in public that in broiler chicken raising, due to usage of excessive growth hormone chicks transform to slaughter-size chickens in a few weeks. Whereas, years of improving studies were carried out and as a result of these studies chicken species with high ratio of feed to meat transformation and chicken species can be raised in a short time were developed. In other words, in broiler chicken raising, it should be transmitted to consumers that raising of chickens in a short time is caused by chicken species rather than used feed type.

Although, production of red meat feed and chicken raising feed are in same plant with similar raw materials, it is a wrong perception that chicken feeds contain growth hormone whereas there is no such risk in red meat. Raw material and additives used in broiler animal raising are appropriate to related legislations. Furthermore, it should not be forgotten that chicken meat is can be more healthy because red meat fat content is higher.

Consumers desire bright red colored products for fermented sausage, salami, sausage like meat products. This color is originated from nitrate and nitrite usage. Reaction of nitrate/nitrite with meat amino acid produces nitrosamine. It has been reported that high dose of nitrosamine consumption may cause health problems. Whereas, consumer in natural product search should prefer dim red or brown color instead of bright red color.

During cooking meat products by exposure with fire at barbecue or high temperature, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons can be formed. On the other hand, meat and meat products contains high amount of saturated fat. During cooking at barbecue, without exposure to high temperature cooking can prevent PAH formation as well as saturated fatty acids melt from meat/meat products and after removal of saturated fatty acids it can reach healthier situation.

Fish meat contains high amount of unsaturated fat. Therefore, removal of these fats during cooking is not wanted. Thus, cooking of fish at barbecue is not suggested. Fish oil can be consumed along with fish with cooking methods including fry-pan, stewing or oven cooking.

Meat of fishes caught in sea or ocean contains high amount of unsaturated fat because they feed with compounds containing high amount of unsaturated fat especially planktons. Fishes produced with culture fishing do not contain high amount of unsaturated fat as much as sea/ocean fishes because of the feed type. Therefore, in terms of unsaturated fat content it is more beneficial to prefer sea/ocean fish.

Vegetable Oils
It is advised to use olive oil in the foods and fries in some TV programs and news. However, usage of olive oil which is obtained at 26OC, above 200OC is a contradiction. Production without exposure of phenols, aromatic compounds and vitamins, particularly vitamin E, to high temperature (<26OC) is aimed in cold-press olive oil production. In this way, compounds that are prevented from deterioration improves quality of olive oil and increase its price. Buying such valuable oil and exposing it to high temperatures will cause deterioration of these compounds before consumption, and consumer will not be able to make use of these compounds. Thus, olive oil produced based on cold system should also be used in low temperatures. Therefore, it should be consumed with cold food/salad/appetizer types of food. In frying processes, frying oils produced with that purpose is advised.

Negative sensation of consumption against refined oils has been formed and there is a unjust perception that all refined oils are harmful. However, refined oils are not harmful but like extra virgin olive oil or phenols, they do not contain nonfat components. It is wrong to cause a perception that less beneficial product is harmful, in case of one product is more beneficial than other one. At this point, price listing should be made and choosing proper oil should be advised according to consumption type. Also, production of sunflower seed oil with similar fatty acid composition to olive oil is possible with cross breeding. Therefore, included to high oleic acid group and high amount of polyunsaturated fatty acid containing these type of new products of fat can be preferred in hot foods.

Some consumers have wrong sensation that vegetable margarines contain high amount of saturated fat, they are changed to solid state by harmful chemical reactions at room temperature and containing high amount of trans fat; thus, being harmful. In fact, there is no solidification with harmful chemical reactions. Trans fat formation is little if any. Margarine contains high amount of unsaturated fatty acids. Harmful chemical reactions do not take place solidification is provided by interesterification of liquid oils at room temperature. More over at short timed, 10-15 minutes short, frying operation far more trans fatty acid formation is possible.

Ridiculous claims such as “Even fly does not land on margarine. This explains why margarine is harmful”, “Margarine does not get moldy. This explains why margarine is harmful” are poles apart from science. Unfortunately, these ridiculous and incompatible perceptions with reality are commonly shared on social media.

Butterfat
There is a perception about butterfat about being harmful due to having high saturated fat. The need of consumption of high amounts of unsaturated fatty acids in diet is a fact. However, claim that directly butterfat is harmful since it contains high amount of saturated fat, does not match with scientific facts. Instead of commenting on usefulness or harmfulness of a product based on fatty acid content, consumption of high amount of unsaturated and low amount of saturated fat content should be balanced in whole diet.

Nutritional habit of animal which milk and butterfat is obtained from is extremely important. Aromatic substance values and nutritious property of milk will be very different from the animals feed with ready feeds and green crop. Therefore, nutritional habit of the animal that milk is obtained should be considered, In the studies of buttermilk.