• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
• /
• v.42 no.spc
• /
• pp.4-7
• /
• 2009

Agricultural soils contaminated by cadmium (Cd) are common problems in Asia due to rapid industrial development, so the risks of Cd exposure from food crops consumption are concerned by public and authorities. The latest data on Cd concentration in plant-based food and the dietary intakes of Cd around the world are presented in this review. In general, Cd concentrations in major plant-based commodities seldom exceed 0.05 mg/kg fresh weight and decline in the order as: cereals > pulses > vegetables > roots and tubers > fruits in Far Eastern region. In Middle Eastern and European regions, the order is vegetables > cereals > roots and tubers > pulses > fruits. Rice has the highest Cd levels among cereals in Asian countries, but in Middle Eastern and European region the highest level of Cd occurred in leaf vegetables. The dietary intakes of Cd from plant-based commodities around the world declined in the order as: cereals > vegetables > roots and tubers > fruits > pulses. Rice is the largest contributor to total dietary Cd intake (58%) in the Far Eastern region and contributed 36% of Provisional Tolerable Daily Intake (PTDI). For high foodstuffs consumers, intake of Cd from all diets may exceed PTWI, especially for high rice consumers in Asian countries. The World Health Organization (WHO) conducted impact assessment of different maximum levels (MLs) of Cd and demonstrated that each of the four possible MLs for rice had little impact on dietary Cd intake. Since many Cd-contaminated soils in Asian countries still producing crops due to the growing population, the cost-effective techniques for reducing Cd contents in crops especially rice grain are absolutely required.

• Environmental Analysis Health and Toxicology
• /
• v.11 no.1_2
• /
• pp.19-29
• /
• 1996

Human exposure to volatile compounds in tap water can occur from inhalation and dermal absorption as well as direct ingestion. The relative contribution to total human exposure from these pathways has been considered to be important especially for VOC's (volatile organic compounds). In an attempt to reduce the uncertainty of the risk assessment, it has been suggested that the exposure assessment process could be significantly improved by adopting Monte-Carlo simulation. However, there is no actual data in Korea for each exposure parameter to determine the level of exposure, and the distributional pattern. Therefore, we surveyed water use patterns and behavior related to multi-route exposure to VOC's in household tap water in Korea, and compared these values to the those in western countries. In the first survey, we calculated daily water intake using data from a sample of 1322 persons of several cities in Korea. In the second survey, we obtained questionnaire data on exposure time for showering, bathing and household activities, and tap water intake from 851households in Korea. In the last survey, we measured the exposure parameters (exposure time, water use rate etc.) related to showers, baths, toilets, dish washing, washing and cooking, and tap water intake was surveyed. Also, the subjects were measured their body weight, height and tidal volume, etc. A diary, a flow meter and a measuring cup were used to measure these values as precisely as possible. Average daily water intake was ranged 0.79-1.71 L/day for adults in three surveys. Tap water intake measured by log-sheet during one week in third survey was 1.26 (average), 1.98 L/day (90 percentlie), respectively. These results were comparable with results from EPA (1.4, 2L/day). The average amount of water used by housewives in the third survey was 515.0 $\pm$ 564.6L/day. In usual activity, the amount of water used in the bathroom, the laundry and the kitchen was 140.0 $\pm$ 538.9, 148.0 $\pm$ 174.5, 229.3 $\pm$ 205.4 L/day, respectively. Exposure parameters such as water intake rate, exposure duration, body weight, inhalation rates in surveyed data of Korean people differed from those published from western countries. This could be attributed to variations in lifestyle, dietary habits and physiological characteristics.

• Journal of the East Asian Society of Dietary Life
• /
• v.5 no.1
• /
• pp.101-107
• /
• 1995

Staphylococcus aureus, the most salt-tolerant food-borne pathogen, produces enterotoxins which may cause symptoms such as vomiting, diarrhea, nausea, and cramps. Since this bacterium has been able to grow at extremely high osmolarity its identity in foods with low water activity values such as salted or dried foods is of great concern. In this study, the growth of S. aureus at high osmolarity has been studied and the doubling time of S. aureus grown at TSB medium containing 15% NaCl has been found to be increased to 4∼5 hours. The stimulation of proline uptake after exposure of cells to high concentration of both extracellular KCl and sucrose was not increased. Stimulation of proline uptake at these environment only occured when 25mM NaCl was present I transport buffer. In additional experiments, the time required to reach mid-logarithmic phase in defined medium of high osmolarity found to be reduce by the presence of glycine betaine, proline, and choline.

• The Korean Journal of Pesticide Science
• /
• v.16 no.1
• /
• pp.21-27
• /
• 2012

Dietary exposure assessment by ages was performed in this study using pesticide residues data examined in vegetable commodities collected in Seoul from 2007 to 2009, and the vegetable intakes for Seoulites which were obtained after analysing the Korea National Health and Nutrition examination survey data of 2008. There was a statistical difference for vegetable intakes by ages (P<0.001). Vegetable intake was the highest in 40~59 age group and was the lowest in under 5 age group. The %ADI was calculated using vegetable pesticide residues and vegetable intake for Seoulites by ages. Considering below 1 of the %ADI by ages, the risk caused by pesticide residues in vegetables was very low and vegetable intake was safe.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
• /
• v.33 no.5
• /
• pp.617-625
• /
• 2013

The present study was carried out to assess dietary exposure and risk for the infant population by lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), and arsenic (As) exposure through modified milk powder and formulas. Analysis of heavy metals was performed using a microwave device and inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry, the method for which was fully validated. Various samples (n=204), including modified milk powder, modified milk, follow-up modified milk powder, infant formula and follow- up formula, were collected from retail outlets and markets across Korea. The mean contents of heavy metals were Pb 0.0004 (modified milk)-0.010 (infant formula) mg/kg, Cd 0.002 (modified milk)-0.007 (follow-up formula) mg/kg, and As 0.004(modified milk)-0.040 (infant formula) mg/kg, respectively. For risk assessment, daily intakes of heavy metals through maximum intake of modified milk powder and formulas were calculated and compared with reference doses established by JECFA and WHO. The dietary exposures of heavy metals were $0.78-1.04{\mu}g$ Pb/d, $0.65-0.87{\mu}g$ Cd/d, and $2.25-3.00{\mu}g$ As/d, corresponding to 2.0-4.5%, 7.1-16.0%, and 0.4-0.9% of reference doses, respectively. Therefore, the level of overall dietary exposure to heavy metals for Korean infant through food intake was below 20% of the reference dose, indicating a low risk to infant consumers.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
• /
• v.45 no.3
• /
• pp.364-369
• /
• 2013

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) have been studied during the past few decades because of their potential impacts on the environment and human health. PCBs are toxic environmental pollutants and persistent organic pollutants (POPs). This study was carried out to assess the dietary exposure and risk to PCBs for the general Korean population through food intake. Various samples (n=389) covering 28 kinds of food were collected from 5 cities in Korea. The PCB content was not detected-$182.4{\mu}g/kg$ (mean of $5.4{\mu}g/kg$) in the food. The mean dietary exposure of PCBs for the general population was 9.54 ng/kg bw/day with an intake of 0.19% of tolerable daily intake (TDI) ($5{\mu}g/kg$ bw/day). Therefore, the level of overall dietary exposure to PCBs for the Korean population through food intake is below the recommended TDI levels.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
• /
• v.44 no.1
• /
• pp.106-113
• /
• 2012

The present study was conducted to assess the dietary exposure to mercury and the associated risks for Koreans resulting from their food intake. The probabilistic approach in the Monte Carlo simulation was used to estimate dietary exposures. Based on several reports regarding heavy metals published by KFDA in the 2000s, 178 types of representative foods were selected and data were collected on the occurrence of mercury. The contents of mercury in foods ranged: agricultural products 0.1 (fruits)-45.4 ${\mu}g/kg$ (mushrooms), 3.7 ${\mu}g/kg$ (meat), and 9.3 (Echinodermata, chordata)-194.9 ${\mu}g/kg$ (fish). Others categories investigated were alcoholic beverages (0.7 ${\mu}g/kg$) and processed food (4.4 ${\mu}g/kg$). The mean and 95th percentile for exposure to dietary mercury were 4.29 and 12.48 ${\mu}g/day$, corresponding to 13.6% and 39.7% of PTWI (Provisional Tolerable Weekly Intake), respectively. Therefore, overall level of mercury exposure for Koreans through food intake is below levels recommended by JECFA, indicating the least possibility of risk, and is less than or similar to levels reported in other countries.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
• /
• v.26 no.3
• /
• pp.313-324
• /
• 1993

Sister chromatid exchange(SCE) has recently become a common cytogenic assay system for detecting exposure to chemical mutagens and carcinogens. One application of SCE is the monitoring of populations believed to be exposed to such agents. A cross-sectional study of SCE frequency in peripheral blood lymphocytes from 40 college students aged 18 to 26 years was conducted. The effects of cigarette smoking alcohol and coffee consumption, dietary and environmental factors on SCE were assessed. A mean spontaneous SCE per cell for the smokers(4.88$\pm$0.17). The SCE levels of the smokers were associated with the personal smoking amount ; the observed increase in the SCE frequency correlated with the number of cigarettes smoked per day (P<0.05). There was no effect of age on SCE. There were positive linear relationship between SCE and food frequency score of meat and fish group (P<0.05) or instant food group(P<0.01) in non-smokers. But in smokers, a significant inverse association between SCE and food frequency score of green and yellow vegetable group(P<0.05). Alcohol intake produced a significant increase(P<0.01) of SCE in comparison with the mean SCE for those not drinking alcohol in combine subjects. Other dietary parameters, including coffee intake, use of artificial sweetners and processed foods, did not show any increase in SCE. SCEs were inversely related to blood glucose and serum cholesterol levels of the combine subjects. No significant correlations were found between SCE frequencise and any other hematological parameters of the subjects.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
• /
• v.55 no.1
• /
• pp.1-9
• /
• 2022

In the past few decades, great progress has been made on understanding the interaction between nutrition and health status. But despite this wealth of knowledge, health problems related to nutrition continue to increase. This leads us to postulate that the continuing trend may result from a lack of consideration for intra-individual biological variation on dietary responses. Precision nutrition utilizes personal information such as age, gender, lifestyle, diet intake, environmental exposure, genetic variants, microbiome, and epigenetics to provide better dietary advices and interventions. Recent technological advances in the artificial intelligence, big data analytics, cloud computing, and machine learning, have made it possible to process data on a scale and in ways that were previously impossible. A big data platform is built by collecting numerous parameters such as meal features, medical metadata, lifestyle variation, genome diversity and microbiome composition. Sophisticated techniques based on machine learning algorithm can be used to integrate and interpret multiple factors and provide dietary guidance at a personalized or stratified level. The development of a suitable machine learning algorithm would make it possible to suggest a personalized diet or functional food based on analysis of intra-individual metabolic variation. This novel precision nutrition might become one of the most exciting and promising approaches of improving health conditions, especially in the context of non-communicable disease prevention.

• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
• /
• v.28 no.2
• /
• pp.105-115
• /
• 2011

Mercury is a toxic, persistent pollutant that bioaccumulates and biomagnifies through food webs. People are exposed to methyhnercruy mainly through their diet, especially through the consumption of freshwater and marine fish and of other animals that consume fish (e.g., marine mammals). All humans are exposed to low levels of mercury. Dietary patterns can increase exposure to a fish-eating population where the fish and seafood are contaminated with mercury. The primary toxicity targets of mercury and mercury compounds are the nervous system, kidneys, and cardiovascular system. It is generally accepted that developing organ systems are most sensitive to the toxic effects of mercury. The fetal-brain mercury levels appear to be significantly higher than the maternal-blood mercury levels, and the developing central nervous system of the fetus is currently regarded as the main system of concern as it demonstrates the greatest sensitivity. The subpopulation that may be at greater risk for mercury toxicity are those exposed to higher levels of methylmercury due to carnivorous fish, including sharks.