Abstract Nutritional risk factors can have a significant impact on mental and physical health of the student population. The aim of this study was to assess the nutritional status and quality of diet given to the recommended (RDA) input of nutrients, and to determine the eating habits of the student population of the University of Bihac (Bosnia and Herzegovina). The survey included 428 respondents (60.98% F and 39, 02% M) with an average age between 19 and 23 years. The research results indicate that students can be categorized as normal weight (97.60% of them), while female students (31.03% of them) fall into the category of moderately lean. Both sexes, with regard to daily energy share, take more fat in their diet (29.49 M and 28.50% F) compared to the RDA recommendations. Breakfast is a regular meal of more than half of the students (67.4%), 94.96% of the student body has lunch regularly, and 80.96% of students have their dinner. The most common diet is the “fast food”. Meat and meat preparations are daily consumed by 54.67% of the student body. Fresh fruits were part of daily diet of 34.2%, and fresh vegetables 31.14% of the student body. Milk and dairy products were consumed among 26.30% of the students. The proportion of students who smoke, and those who consume alcohol is too high.

Abstract Tradition is a cultural heritage that is passed down from generation to generation, and refers to their knowledge, crafts, ri tuals, moral codes, and customs. The term “traditional food’ ‘is defined as a way of preparing food and nutrition in rural families in the past up until the mid-twentieth century. Considering that Bosnia and Herzegovina is one of the strategic areas of development in tourism and the development of rural areas, the question is what was the traditional food of the Bosnian Krajina and how many traditional foods, were retained in the design of cuisine. The data was collected by survey, interviewing 50 people over the age of 70 years old. The questions were: what type of food they ate in the past, how the food was prepared, what were the customs of everyday life and during different celebrations? Furthermore, by review different menu's of 30 catering establishments it was determined the number and types of traditional foods represented in today's cuisine.The results show that the traditional lifestyle of the Bosnian Krajina was very simple and poor. The food was prepared from raw materials of vegetable origin, and very rarel y from animal, which was due to the low standard of living. The most common types of food were made from wheat and corn, and the most frequent were cooked foods. Special attention was paid to food for celebrations. Today on offer in Bosnian Krajina, there are a small number of traditional foods, but those that are offered are prepared in the traditional way. The style of presentation is impoverished, where the appearance of traditional decor, objects and ambience are most important. In the promotion of tourism Bosnian cuisine with its very different, unique and nutritional richness, could be used to help it become recognized as a tourist culinary destination and a pleasure for guests in this area.

Abstract Bosnia and Herzegovina is currently undergoing a process that will establish the standards and implementation of a new approach to food safety. The process emphasises the quality of information delivered to consumers, which is part of the new approach on quality and food saftey. Therefore, it is important to continue the successful communication with consumers. The Agency for Food Safety and all the other parties involved in the process of the food safety systems are required to adhere to the law and implement the laws and regulations, such as food labeling, which is now the responsibility of the food industry. The aim of this paper is to investigate the extent to which these laws and the regulations are implemented concerning the labeling of food products as well as what type of information is printed on the declarations in the B&H market. We also investigated the behavior of consumers towards food labeling, particularly in relation to nutritional information and health claims. The study included reviews of the declarations from three groups of food products. Random surveys of 208 consumers examined their attitudes towards the information described in the declaration. It was found that the product labels were in accordance with the standards in most cases, however, the declaration is often not visible and/or translated into appropriate languages. The results show that the 43% of consumers review the declaration, and that most of them (62%) pay attention to the shelf life. Only 16% read the nutritional information and 27% the health claims. There were statistically significant differences (ANOVA, Duncan's post-hoc test p

Consumers in developed countries, when choosing food products, pay more attention to quality and food safety. A significant trend can be detected in the consumption of “light” products, of organic food or of food without genetically modified ingredients (GM). In contrast to these countries, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BH however no data has been published about consumers’ attitudes and preferences in B&H. This study examined consumer attitudes, behaviors and perception in connection with food products in different markets in the northwestern part of B&H. In the autumn 2009 we examined the factors that affect consumers’ decisions when they choose a trademark or product, as well as their attitudes concerning product origin, quality and “light” or GM labels. The data were collected in several markets in two areas (Bihac and Cazin) using survey methods. The survey included 920 consumers, of which 54.4% were female. The results showed that 81.65% of examinees decided what to purchase on the basis of quality, although 56.32% of consumers didn’t know what the product quality is. 56.44% of examinees selected domestic products while 25% preferred imported products, or checked the country of production. Only 37.71% of consumers were familiar with the meaning of the label “light”, and 45% of the label GM. There were statistically significant differences (ANOVA, Duncan's post-hoc test p < 0.05) in the attitudes and behavior of consumers depending on their gender.