• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.325-331
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• 2012

Food allergy refers to an immunologically mediated adverse reaction to food, mainly to proteinaceous constituents. Health implications vary between those individuals who experience mild physical discomforts to those with fast-acting, life-threatening anaphylactic reactions. The prevalence of food allergy is higher in children than in adults, estimated around 4-8% and 1-2% respectively in developed countries. Food allergy has no effective cure at the present time and total avoidance of causative foods is the most reliable prophylactic method currently recommended by the medical community. To help food allergic patients to make informed choices of their foods, mandatory labeling of selected food allergens has been introduced in several countries. All food allergen labelling provisions specify a set of allergens common to the regulated countries. Policy divergence, however, exists between countries by inclusion of additional allergens unique to specific countries and enforcement of specific labelling requirements. Such variations in food allergen labelling regulations make it difficult to manage allergen labeling in imported pre-packaged food products. This paper addresses two current issues in food allergen regulation: 1) an urgent need to determine true prevalence of food allergy in the Asia-Pacific region. This will enable refinement to the food allergen regulation to be more country-specific rather than simply adopting CODEX recommendations. 2) There is an urgent need for harmonization of food allergen regulation in order to prevent food allergen regulation becoming a trade barrier.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.322-326
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• 2014

According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, USA) recently it was reported that the children (< 5 year-old children) were more susceptible to Foodborne-illness. Confectionery products should be strictly controlled because they are children-preferred foods. Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS, South of Korea) tried to monitor contamination of organisms in confectionery products (such as biscuits, candies, chewing gums and ice candies) distributed in South Korea. MFDS evaluated the levels of indicator organisms: total aerobic bacteria, coliforms, Escherichia coli as well as the levels of food-borne illness organisms: Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus, Clostridium perfringens. Experimental plans for microbiological test were in accordance with the International Commission on Microbiological Specifications for Food (ICMSF). For this study, 1,005 samples were collected and from Seoul and Gyeongin region, South Korea. The average level of total aerobic bacteria in 1,005 samples was 1.7 log Colony Forming Unit(CFU)/g and the detection rate was 26.8%. The average level of Bacillus cereus was detected in 1.7 log CFU/g and the rate was 0.9%. There was no detection of coliforms, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Clostridium perfringens. The results of this study will be provided as the basic data to set the reasonable microbiological criteria of Korea Food Code.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.288-291
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• 2004

The development of land classification and soil productivity rating systems (SPR) are examined for their application to valuation of agricultural land in South Dakota, USA. For current and impending environmental and agricultural land issues, there is virtually no hard data available. Therefore, the study works with government and private sector clients to identify needs, and develop and apply a variety of techniques to mine data and carry out appropriate assessment methods. The application of SPR data to land valuation work conducted by real estate appraisers, tax assessors, and economists are discussed along with an assessment of its benefits and limitations. However, the actual value of the agricultural land can be determined by fulfilling the agricultural's vision of protecting and improving the environment by agricultural activities besides the safe food production. Therefore, it is increasingly important that we understand the impacts of farming and forestry on land, water and air.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF CROP SCIENCE
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• v.57 no.2
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• pp.113-126
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• 2012

Northern corn leaf blight caused by Exserohilum turcicum Pass is considered the most important disease infecting corn (Zea mays L.) in the Peoples' Republic of Korea (North Korea). It contributes to the food shortage in North Korea. The objectives of the current research were to study resistance expression and responses of corn crosses made between ten hybrids from North Korea and inbreeding lines ($S_{3-4}$ stage) from the Republic of Korea (South Korea). The experiments were conducted in six trials with a total of 184 crosses including two commercial hybrids in each trial. The trials were conducted at two locations in North Korea (Mirim and Eunsan) and one location in South Korea (Gunwi) under natural infestation of E. turcicum. Host plant responses were rated on a scale of 1 (highly tolerant) to 9 (highly susceptible). A total of 111 crosses (62.4%) showed significant tolerant or susceptible response variations among three locations; 42 crosses (22.8%) at two locations and 69 crosses (39.0%) at one location, respectively. At least 8 crosses of high level of tolerance and 12 crosses of high level of susceptibility showed significantly different biotic responses (P = 0.05). The results of the current study and historical reviews of E. turcicum epidemics in both North and South Korea suggest that breeding of tolerance with quantitatively inherited genes should be carried out for a sustainable corn production in North Korea.

• Food Industry
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• s.206
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• pp.26-41
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• 2008

Recently, Korea have experienced numbers of FTAs with other countries, including Chile, EFTA(European Free Trade Association), Singapore, ASEAN(Association of South-East Asian Nations), and U.S. In particular, FTA with U.S. are expected to cause huge impact on food markets as well as agricultural sector in Korea. Many researches have analyzed and discussed about the impact on agricultural sector after Korean-U.S. FTA, but very small number of studies focus on the impact of Korean-U.S. FTA on food markets. The purpose of the paper is to discuss the impact of Korea-U.S. FTA on Korean dairy market. For the numerical simulations, this paper focus on the impact on cheese and butter markets. The results of numerical analysis in the paper will be helpful for the future research, because few (maybe no) studies conduct the numerical analysis to measure the impact of Korea-U.S. FTA on Korean food market.

• Korea Trade Review
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• v.44 no.2
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• pp.287-305
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• 2019

The export of agricultural, fisheries, and food products acts as an engine of growth for developing countries in particular. However, exporting these items is easier said than done since issues of certification and inspection, so-called technical barriers to trade (TBT) and sanitary and phytosanitary measures (SPS), in developed markets have worked as major obstacles for exports. This paper examines the institutional aspects and recent trends of South Korea's TBT/SPS-related cases against exporting firms of the developing countries. We suggest a win-win partnership model that can promote cooperative synergies between Korea and developing employing trade-related technical cooperation or ODA (Official Development Aid). Technical cooperation such as the provision of on-spot field consulting services on TBT/SPS-related issues for exporting firms and Korean OEM firms of developing countries can lead to mutual gains. This cooperative partnership can create gains from "the trade-development nexus" for both sides while promoting sustainable trade and investment relationships between Korea and developing countries.

• Journal of the Korean Home Economics Association
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• v.35 no.6
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• pp.289-315
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• 1997

Living culture, which is a pattern of peoples' everyday living, is influenced by the socio-economic conditions as well as ideology of the society. south and North Korean societies have been segregated during the past 50 years with different socio-those two societies share the same traditional culture. This project was developed to identify the differences in living cultures between South and North Korean societies, and to make suggestions for their successful integration. The first part of the project was concentrated on finding out the current living culture of North Korean families. References on North Korean living culture were reviewed, and North Korean movies related to family living were also analyzed. Besides, in depth interview was conducted with ten people who escaped from North Korean after 1990. The subjects with various demographic backgrounds were asked about lifestyles concerning food, clothing, housing, time management, consumption, child rearing, and family living that they experienced when they were in North Korea. The subjects were also asked to respond to the questionnaires measuring collectivism, materialism, and familism, which were developed for the study to find out the relationship between value orientation and lifestyles. This study revealed differences in many aspects of living cultures of South and North Korea, and relationships were suggested between value orientation and lifestyle. This exploratory study was intended to provided ground for more objective study with large number of subjects in the following year.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.51 no.5
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• pp.445-454
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• 2018

Purpose: Changes in eating habits and malnutrition due to dysphagia are important health problems for older adults. This study investigated the effects of an educational program aimed at improving diet quality in community-dwelling older adults at risk for dysphagia in South Korea. Methods: We assessed 27 individuals in the experimental group and 26 individuals in the control group between September and October 2015. All participants were aged 65 years or older and were at risk for dysphagia. A combined diet and exercise program was applied to the experimental group (n = 27) for six weeks. We examined changes in participants' eating habits and their knowledge and attitudes concerning dysphagia risk. The nutrition intake of all participants was measured before and after the intervention using 24-hr dietary recall. Results: There was a significant increase in knowledge of dysphagia risk in the experimental group, with scores increasing from 3.7 to 7.1, out of 10 points (p < 0.001). There were also significant improvements in eating habits after the intervention in the experimental group, with scores increasing from 21.9 to 28.3, out of 36 points (p < 0.001). The attitude score of participants in the experimental group increased significantly, from 15.2 to 16.7, out of 20 points (p = 0.016). Conclusion: Developing educational programs can help older adults living in the community lead a healthier lifestyle and improve their ability to manage their diet.

• International Journal of Advanced Culture Technology
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.172-185
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• 2020

To explore the impact of restaurant service quality for foreigners in South Korea on customer satisfaction, customer trust, and loyalty from three dimensions: quality of physical environment, food quality, and service quality and the influence of perceived price on satisfaction and loyalty, a survey was conducted by collecting 202 valid questionnaires and Amos 23 was used to examine the relationships between variables. The results show that the quality of physical environment, food quality, and service quality have significant positive effects on customer trust, but only food quality has a significant effect on customer loyalty and all three have no significant effects on customer satisfaction. In addition, customer trust has a significant positive effect on customer satisfaction and customer loyalty, but the effect of customer satisfaction on loyalty has not been verified in this study. At the same time, perceived price has a significant positive effect on customer satisfaction, but no significant effect on customer loyalty. Then the study examined the moderating effect of gender by using the SEM multi-group analysis method, founding that there are no significant differences between male and female on the impact of the three dimensions of restaurant service quality on customer satisfaction, and no significant differences between male and female on the impact of perceived price on customer satisfaction and customer satisfaction on loyalty, meaning that gender's moderating effects are not valid. These conclusions of this study are useful for restaurant operators to improve the quality of the physical environment, food quality and service quality, effectively improve customer trust, and thus customer satisfaction and loyalty.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.44 no.3
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• pp.143-154
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• 2020

Background: Korean wild boars (Sus scrofa coreanus Heude), because of their adaptability, are a widespread large mammal; however, they sometimes cause problems by invading farms and eating the crops, creating insufficiencies of some foods in South Korea. To understand the diet composition of Korean wild boars according to sex and body size, we collected their feces from Mt. Jeombongsan, Seoraksan National Park, South Korea. The sizes of fecal samples were measured, and genomic DNA was extracted from the samples. We amplified specific loci targeting plants (rbcL and trnL) and animals (COI) to detect the food sources of this omnivore and amplified the ZF and SRY regions to determine the sex. Results: In the wild boar feces, Rosaceae and Bryophyte were the most frequently detected plant food sources at the family level and Diptera and Haplotaxida were the most frequently detected animal food sources at the order level. As a result of sex determination, the sex ratio of wild boars collected in the Mt. Jeombongsan area was approximately 1:1. Our result suggested that there is no significant difference between the diet composition of male and female boars. Based on the average cross-sectional area of the feces, the top 25% were classified into the large body size group and the bottom 25% were classified into the small body size group. The large body size group mainly preferred Actinidiaceae, and the small body size group most frequently consumed Fagaceae. The diet of the large body size group was more diverse than the small body size group. Conclusions: Our results showed that the wild boars preferred Rosaceae, especially Sanguisorba and Filipendula, as plant food sources, and Diptera and Coleoptera of Insecta as animal food sources. Based on the results, the dietary preferences of wild boar appear to be distinguished by not their sex but their body size. Our study could help to elucidate the feeding ecology and population structure of wild boar, as well as address conservation and management issues.