• The Korean Journal of Community Living Science
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.749-760
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• 2015

This study establishes a safe and healthy farm certification system for Korean farmers and presents the certification system and assessment items. Existing certification systems for safety and health were compared through a review of local and international studies as well as an examination of advanced examples. Then the certification system and assessment items were objectively verified through an expert evaluation process. As a result, four domains of certification participation, implementation, certification evaluation, and post management were identified as components of the certification system. For assessment measures, 6 categories, 21 factors, and 96 items were derived. The results are expected to be used as basic data in establishing a foundation for the implementation and operation of a certification system appropriate for distinct characteristics of the Korean agricultural sector.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.35 no.10
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• pp.1616-1627
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• 2022

Objective: This work was conducted to investigate the effects of oxidative stress on meat quality, mitochondrial function, calcium metabolism and ferroptosis of broilers. Methods: In this study, a total of 144 one-day-old male Ross 308 chicks were divided into 3 groups (control group, saline group, and hydrogen peroxide [H₂O₂] group) with 6 replicates of 8 broilers each. The study lasted for 42 d. The broilers in the saline and H₂O₂ groups were intraperitoneally injected with 0.75% saline and 10.0% H₂O₂ on the 16th and 37th day of the experimental period respectively, the injection volumes were 1.0 mL/kg of broiler body weight. On the 42nd day of the experimental period, two chicks were randomly selected from each cage, a total of thirty-six chicks were stunned by electric shock and slaughtered to collect breast muscle samples. Results: The H₂O₂ exposure reduced pH value, increased drip loss and shear force of breast meat (p<0.05), impaired the ultrastructure and function of mitochondria. The H₂O₂ exposure damaged the antioxidant system in mitochondria, excessive reactive oxygen species carbonylation modified calcium channels on mitochondria, which impaired the activities of key enzymes on calcium channel, resulted in the increased calcium concentration in cytoplasm and mitochondria (p<0.05). In addition, the H₂O₂ exposure increased the iron content and lipid peroxidation (p<0.05), which induced ferroptosis. Conclusion: Oxidative stress could impair meat quality by causing mitochondrial dysfunction, resulting in calcium metabolism disorder and ferroptosis.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.340-347
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• 2019

We performed a safety survey on residual pesticides in dried agricultural products. A total of 110 samples of dried agricultural products distributed in Gyeonggi-do were analyzed for 263 pesticides according to multi class pesiticide multiresidue method. Ten types of pesticides were detected in 10 samples. Chlorpyrifos was detected in Ricinus communis leaves, chlorpyrifos, hexaconazole, pyridalyl in Chwinamul (wild aster), diniconazole, isoprothiolane, lufenuron in radish leaves, hexaconazole in Cirsium setidens (Korean thistle), bifenthrin, and chlorothalonil, boscalid, and pyraclostrobin in pepper leaves. The detection rate of pesticides was 9.1%, and among these samples, one was detected over Maximum Residue Limits (MRLs). In the validation study, the values of limit of detection (LOD), limit of quantitation (LOQ), coefficient of determination ($R^2$) and recovery were in the range of 0.002~0.027 mg/kg, 0.006~0.083 mg/kg, 0.9964~1.0000 and 74.8~118.9%, respectively. The Positive List System (PLS) was newly introduced as part of the safety management of residual pesticide in agricultural products in Korea in 2019. With the application of the PLS, if the MRL is not established, 0.01 mg/kg limit is applied uniformly. In spite, these of strengthened residue limits, the MRLs of dried agricultural products are still insufficient. Therefore, this study could be utilized as basic data for the setting of proper MRLs.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.55 no.3
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• pp.289-296
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• 2022

Objectives: Integrating retail and manufacturing enables limitless potential for food businesses, but also creates challenges for navigating within complex food safety regulations. From public health inspectors' (PHIs) perspective, this study aimed (1) to describe the characteristics of crossover businesses in Louisiana, and (2) to evaluate regulation awareness and food safety education needs for business owners and PHIs who inspect crossover businesses. Methods: A self-administered questionnaire was administered to Louisiana Department of Health PHIs using Qualtrics^®. A descriptive analysis was performed, focusing on the frequency of each item. Results: In total, 1774 retailers were conducting or planned to conduct specialized processes, while 552 food manufacturers were performing or planned to perform retail functions. Reduced oxygen packaging, the use of additives such as vinegar as a method of preservation, and smoking food as a method of preservation were observed by 62%, 36%, and 35% of the PHIs, respectively. The PHIs perceived crossover businesses as "not aware" or "somewhat aware" of the food safety regulations. The current food safety training level for these businesses was reported to range from "no training" to "some training but not sufficient." When asked for a self-assessment, the majority of PHIs reported themselves as being "familiar" with the variance requirement for specialized processing. Their confidence in inspecting crossover businesses, however, leaned towards "not confident" or "somewhat confident." Conclusions: To better guard public health, food safety training is needed for crossover food business owners, as well as PHIs, on regulations and conducting or inspecting specialized processes.

• Journal of Distribution Science
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.53-65
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• 2018

Purpose - The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of gamma - irradiation on the effluent from food distribution in the large agricultural and marine products market. This study will contribute to the distribution process as well as the agricultural and fishery distribution facilities. Research design, data, and methodology - In order to reduce the odor, the smell was examined in the anaerobic digestion process by irradiating gamma rays to the wastewater of mixed food discharged from a large restaurant. An odor determination panel list was constructed to determine if the odor was present in the air dilution drainage and the odor concentration was analyzed by instrumental analysis. Results - It was confirmed that the sulfur content increased gradually from 3 months. Ammonia decreased from 33.57ppm at the initial measurement to 4.12 ppm at the end of the experiment. Methane production was highest at 100kGy when exposed to gamma rays of 0-200kGy at pH 12. In other words, it is considered that gamma irradiation doses are most effective at 100kGy and are suitable for large capacity wastewater treatment facilities in terms of economic feasibility. Conclusions - In pre-treatment of compound food wastewater, gamma irradiation is most cost effective when examined at 100kGy. The economic efficiency of the pre-treatment method by gamma irradiation is much higher than the wastewater treatment in the large-scale agricultural and marine products distribution market.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.164-171
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• 2018

Background: In recent years, the interest in health and safety in the workplace has increased. Agriculture is one of the human work activities with the highest risk indexes. Studies on risk perception of agricultural workers are often referred to as specific risk factors (especially pesticides), but the risk perception plays an important role in preventing every kind of accident and occupational disease. Methods: The aim of this research is to test a new method for understanding the relation between risk perception among farmers and the main risk factors to which they are exposed. A secondary aim is to investigate the influence of training in risk perception in agriculture. The data collection was realized using a questionnaire designed to investigate the risk perception; the questionnaire was given to a sample of 119 agricultural workers in central Italy. Through the use of the "principal components analysis" it was possible to highlight and verify the latent dimensions underlying the collected data in comparison with scales of attitudes. Results: Results show that the highest percentage of strong negative attitude is among the people who have worked for more years, while farmers who have worked for fewer years have a marked positive attitude. Conclusion: The analysis of the questionnaires through the synthetic index method (Rizzi index) showed that agricultural workers involved, in particular the elderly workers, have a negative attitude towards safety; workers are hostile to safety measures if they have not attended special training courses.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.159-165
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• 2022

In this study, heavy metals (lead, cadmium, and mercury) and shellfish poisoning toxins (diarrhetic shellfish poisoning toxins, amnesic shellfish poisoning toxins) were investigated in a total of 104 shellfishes. According to the analysis of heavy metals, lead (Pb) was detected in the range of 0.0177-0.5709 mg/kg, cadmium (Cd) was detected in the range of 0.0226-1.4602 mg/kg, and mercury (Hg) was detected in the range of 0.0015-0.0327 mg/kg. Levels of Pb, Cd, and Hg were acceptable by Korean standards. Okadaic acid (OA) and dinophysistoxin-1 (DTX-1) were investigated for monitoring of diarrhetic shellfish poisoning toxins and OA and DTX-1 were not detected. As a result of monitoring of amnesic shellfish poisoning toxins, domoic acid was detected in 5 of 104 samples and detection ratio was 4.8%. The detection period was found as follows; 1 case in January, 1 case in February, 1 case in May, 2 cases in September. These showed that continuous monitoring for the management of shellfish poisoning toxins and heavy metals is required. In addition, this study can be used as reference data to strengthen managing heavy metals in fishery products.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.248-256
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• 2021

A total of 120 samples corresponding to 12 categories of dried processed fishery products distributed in Gyeonggi-do were examined for radioactivity contamination (¹³¹I, ¹³⁴Cs, ¹³⁷Cs) and heavy metals (lead, cadmium, arsenic, and mercury). One natural radioactive material, ⁴⁰K, was detected in all products, while the artificial radioactive materials ¹³¹I, ¹³⁴Cs and ¹³⁷Cs were not detected at above MDA (minimum detectable activity) values. The detection ranges of heavy metals converted by biological basis were found as follows: Pb (N.D.-0.332 mg/kg), Cd (N.D.-2.941 mg/kg), As (0.371-15.007 mg/kg), Hg (0.0005-0.0621 mg/kg). Heavy metals were detected within standard levels when there was an acceptable standard, but the arsenic content was high in most products, although none of the products had a permitted level of arsenic. In the case of dried processed fishery products, there are products that are consumed by restoring moisture to its original state, but there are also many products that are consumed directly in the dry state, so it will be necessary to set permitted levels for heavy metals considering this situation in the future. In addition, Japan has decided to release contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant into the ocean, so there is high public concern about radioactivity contamination of food, including fishery products. Therefore, continuous monitoring of various food items will be necessary to ease consumers' anxiety.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.140-146
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• 2014

This paper presents a case study to develop e-learning contents of agricultural safety based on the assessment of risks of 4 selected crops and stock farming: rice, potatoes, apples, tomatoes and stock raising. The aged farmers, who are main workforce of current Korean agriculture and relatively more vulnerable to various risks of agricultural work compared to younger workers, were considered as the main users of the contents in developing them. The safety guidelines were presented as simple as possible and the interfaces were designed to be simple and easy to use so that the older users can use it without much difficulty. In making the scenarios of the contents, risk assessments were carried out for each crop and stock farming with the focus being on occupational diseases rather than accidental injuries. To make the contents more attractive to the farmers, the functions requiring active responses from the users, such as answering simple questions, were included in the contents. Usability evaluation by experts of ergonomics and agricultural tasks were carried out in modifying the draft version, whereas formal usability test was not included in the case study. Though there are some limitations in the developed contents in the aspects of evaluation of usability and effectiveness, this case study shows the structured procedure of developing e-learning safety contents based on the risk assessments on agricultural tasks. The developed e-learning contents are expected to be used practically and easily in educating and training older farmers about safety and health of agricultural tasks.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.239-248
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• 2018

Background: Workers may be exposed to various types of occupational hazards at the same time, potentially increasing the risk of adverse health outcomes. The aim of this review was to analyze the effects of multiple occupational exposures and coexposures to chemical, biomechanical, and physical hazards on adverse health outcomes among agricultural workers. Methods: Articles published in English between 1990 and 2015 were identified using five popular databases and two complementary sources. The quality of the included publications was assessed using the methodology developed by the Effective Public Health Practice Project assessment tool for quantitative studies. Results: Fifteen articles were included in the review. Multiple chemical exposures were significantly associated with an increased risk of respiratory diseases, cancer, and DNA and cytogenetic damage. Multiple physical exposures seemed to increase the risk of hearing loss, whereas coexposures to physical and biomechanical hazards were associated with an increased risk of musculoskeletal disorders among agricultural workers. Conclusion: Few studies have explored the impact of multiple occupational exposures on the health of agricultural workers. A very limited number of studies have investigated the effect of coexposures among biomechanical, physical, and chemical hazards on occupational health, which indicates a need for further research in this area.