The increase in cheese production, sale, and consumption due to the settled lives of societies has led to an increase in cheese-related diseases. It has become essential to better understand cheese-borne diseases and to develop control measures. In this study, cheese-related diseases and precautions taken in the Ottoman Empire from the 19th to the 20th centuries were investigated in Ottoman archival sources. Of these documents, cheese spoilage was detected in 12 and cheese-related disease in 9. Cheeses that caused diseases or disorders in the relevant period were called spoiled cheese. One document states that a person died of a cheese-borne illness. Cheese poisoning occurs mainly from unsalted, fresh cheeses. It has been determined that tin-free copper pots were used in cheese production and sales and covered with herbs such as hemlock during maturation. In the relevant period, microbiological and chemical analyses of cheeses in terms of health were carried out in food control laboratories. Since the mercury chloride solution is used to disinfect animal udders, it has been stated that it contaminates the milk used in cheese production. Authorities have requested a boric acid solution (5% boric acid in hot water) instead of this solution for udder disinfection. In the Ottoman Empire, it was requested to take necessary sanitation and hygiene measures to prevent spoilage and cheese-related diseases in the production areas or sales places of cheese. Clean and tinned containers should be used in cheese production, storage, and sale, and poisonous herbs should not be used during cheese ripening. It was also essential to analyze them in laboratories at internal and external customs. Knowing the precautions taken in the past to prevent the deterioration of food or the occurrence of diseases has led to modern food safety practices being applied today.
Keywords: Ottoman archive; cheese spoilage; disinfection; foodborne disease; hemlock.
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