• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.81-90
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• 2012

This study is to research the use and the demand of the elderly generation that pursue economic ability and active lifestyle. The composition of the meals were "homemade meals" 65.3%, "homemade & convenience meals" 26.7% overall. For the "never miss a meal" category, 70-74 years old was 48.3%, over 80 years old was 60.0%. The elderly under 70 years old showed a high frequency in the use of alternative meals (p < 0.05) and the elderly with higher education used the alternative meals more frequently (p < 0.01). The rice-cakes, bread, tuna cans, Korean side-dishes, beverages, meat, cup-noodles and seafood as alternative meals are in the order of most frequency. Also, 96.0%, 59.0% and 46.5% of the elderly had experience in using "Ready to eat (RTE)", "Ready to heat (RTH)" and "Ready to cook (RTC)". The oldest group surveyed, the elderly at the age of 80 years old and above showed lower preference for "completely cooked state" but showed highest results in the "half-cooked state". This shows the difference between people's perception and the behavior that showed high frequency of 96.0% in the experience with "RTE". This can be inferred that the elderly needs the development of convenience food that is moderately packaged according to the newer lifestyle where the elderly live independent from their children. Moreover, there is a higher demand in the healthy convenience food, which means that there is a need for development in the quality of the convenience food that will allow more faith in convenience food by the elderly.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.375-386
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• 2017

Objectives: Rapid economic growth and industrial development in South Korea have led to a great change in dietary patterns, and the use of convenience foods has continuously increased. This study was performed to evaluate the energy and nutrient contents of convenience foods at convenience stores near the universities as a meal. Methods: Data was collected by visiting 22 convenience stores near some universities in Chungbuk and Seoul and by checking nutrition labels on convenience foods at the stores. Data of a total of 338 food items were collected, and divided into five groups according to the food categories; rice products (n=156), noodles (n=101), burger/sandwiches (n=62), Tteokbokkis (n=11), and dumplings (n=8). Further, rice products, noodles, and burger/sandwiches were divided into subcategories. Results: The proportion of calories from carbohydrates was high in the rice products and tteokbokki, while the rate of calories from fat was high in burger/sandwiches and dumplings. Among the rice products, the proportion of carbohydrate calories was high in a one-dish food, rice with soup, and triangular kimbap, while the proportion of calories from fat in lunch boxes was high. In the noodles category, ramyeon and spaghetti had a high percentage of fat calories, while udong had a high percentage of carbohydrate calories. The ratio of the calorie content in relation to the KDRIs for adults aged 19-29 years, lunch boxes provided about 1/3 of daily required energy. However, the amount of calories as one meal was not enough for other types of rice products except for lunch boxes. Ramyeon was high in calories, fat, and sodium, but low in protein content. The burger/sandwiches had a high percentage of fat and sodium. Conclusions: Our results showed several nutritional limitations of convenience meals in convenience stores according to the type of food. Therefore, college students should limit excessive intake of convenience meals on a regular basis in order to avoid unhealthy food intake patterns. Our results demonstrate the need for educating college students with regard to checking nutrition labels when choosing convenience meals in order to facilitate the selection of food items that contribute to a balanced diet.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.4 no.4
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• pp.332-338
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• 2010

The purpose of this study was to examine consumers' behaviors toward ready-to-eat foods and to develop ready-to-eat food market segmentation in Korea. The food-related lifestyle and purchase behaviors of ready-to-eat foods were evaluated using 410 ready-to-eat food consumers in the Republic of Korea. Four factors were extracted by exploratory factor analysis (health-orientation, taste-orientation, convenience-orientation, and tradition-orientation) to explain the ready-to eat food consumers' food-related lifestyles. The results of cluster analysis indicated that "tradition seekers" and "convenience seekers" should be regarded as the target segments. Chi-square tests and t-tests of the subdivided groups showed there were significant differences across marital status, education level, family type, eating-out expenditure, place of purchase, and reason for purchase. In conclusion, the tradition seekers consumed more ready-to-eat foods from discount marts or specialty stores and ate them between meals more often than the convenience seekers. In contrast, the convenience seekers purchased more ready-to-eat foods at convenience stores and ate them as meals more often than the tradition seekers. These findings suggest that ready-to-eat food market segmentation based on food-related lifestyles can be applied to develop proper marketing strategies.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.177-187
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• 1996

Time-temperature relationship and microbiological quality were assessed and critical control points were identified through hazard analysis during the phases of production in two different packaged meals (Dosirak) manufacturing establishments (A, B:Kim Pab). Microbiological tests on foods, equipments and utensils were done according to standard procedures and included total plate count, coliforms and fecal coliforms. The results of the study are summarized as follows : time-temperature control management was needed because time-temperature abuse more than 8 hours at dangerous temperature zone (5-6$0^{\circ}C$) was observed from pre-preperation to distribution phase; Poor sanitary practices of employees were observed in hand washing and using disposable gloves; Microbiological analysis results of equirpments and utensils showed possible cross-contamination risks when foods were contacted with them; Kim Pab needed thorough quality control because it included various mixed ingredients of cooked and uncooked and had many apportunities of cross-contamination either by equipments or hands through whole production processes.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Culture
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• v.4 no.3
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• pp.237-243
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• 1989

A secondary survey was conducted to investigate the customers' opinions on fast foods at thirty noodle chain restaurants in Seoul from November 16 to 25, 1988. The results are summarized as follows: 584 customers were surveyed consisting 42% of male and 58% of female. Proportion of age groups was 32.9% of adolescents, 38.7% of young adults, and 28.4% of adults. Females and young adults visited more than once or twice a week. The majority of customers had a favorable opinions to 'convenience in diet' and 'use on busy', but unfavorable to 'consistant quality of meals is keeping', and 'consistency in service is keeping'. The priority of important factors in purchasing fast foods were the cleanliness, taste of meals, convenience, and the price. Customers were most satisfied with atmosphere, while least satisfied with the price.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Culture
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.163-177
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• 2014

This study aimed to investigate the perception, consumption, and acceptability of convenience mealsin low-income female elderly attending a lunch program at a community well fare center. Using in-depth interviews, qualitative data were collected 11 elderly females ($62.5{\pm}11.2y$) living in Seoul. Participants tried to eat various foods in small-portionsat home, although they ate out what they were offered. Elderly females preferred lunch box-type meals containing a bowl of rice served with toppings, gruel, or Bibimbop due to the growing unavailability of cooking or preparing a meal. Side-dish type convenience mealswere also preferred among elderly females since boiled rice can be easily prepared according to individual preferences. In addition, participants preferred healthy foods. Convenience meal planning and production, appropriate kinds of foods, cooking methods, menus, and packaging should be selected based on the elderly's functional atrophy in chewing, swallowing, digestion, and metabolic diseases. Furthermore, food preferences and comfort foods among the elderlyneed to be identified and characterized. Therefore, more information, including bite size, cutting size, and food texture, should be provided to understand and develop convenience meals for the elderly.

• Journal of the Korean Dietetic Association
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.45-57
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• 2022

This study aimed to evaluate the perception of nutrition teachers about emergency meals in all schools affiliated with the Seoul Office of Education. The purpose of this study was to suggest the need for emergency meals and provide directions for future development, thereby assisting meal service sites. An online survey was conducted from May 26 to 31, 2021, analyzing 130 collected samples. The summary of the results is as follows: First, the nutrition teachers recognized the need for school meal services for the prevention of the spread of infectious diseases and considered the variance among school meal consumers. Also, they generally thought of emergency meals due to the need for social distancing and the decrease in the distribution of food. Secondly, in terms of the differences in the perception about emergency meals, nutrition teachers (45.4%) who have provided emergency meals (t=2.584, P<0.05) were more aware of the need for emergency meals than nutrition teachers (54.6%) who had not provided emergency meals. Nutrition teachers conceived emergency meals to minimize the contact between people (45.6%) and to rectify the imbalance in nutrition (37.5). Next, emergency meal attributes were observed to be ranked in the order of convenience (3.49), safety (3.15), and satisfaction (2.88). Fourthly, although there were no meaningful differences in emergency meal attributes, there were statistically significant differences in the safety of the cooking process, menu familiarity, the low unit price compared to regular meals and the excellent satisfaction with nutrition provided (t=2.603, P<0.05), (t=2.039, P<0.05), (t=2.154, P<0.05), (t=2.477, P<0.05) respectively.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.155-163
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• 2017

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: The commercial foodservice industry in Korea has shown rapid growth recently. This study examined Korean adults' consumption of commercially-prepared meals based on where the food was prepared. SUBJECTS/METHODS: Data from a 24-hour dietary recall of the 2001 and 2011 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys were analyzed. A total of 10,539 subjects (n = 6,152 in 2001; n = 4,387 in 2011) aged 19-64 years were included for analysis. Commercially-prepared meals were classified into four food source groups based on where the food was prepared: Korean restaurants, Chinese/Western/Japanese restaurants, fast-food restaurants, and retail stores. Subjects' energy intake, including the amount and proportion of calories, was examined for each food source. The analysis was also conducted by gender for age-stratified groups: 19-29, 30-49, and 50-64 years old. RESULTS: Korean adults' energy intake from commercially-prepared meals increased in the amount of calories (551 kcal to 635 kcal, P < 0.01), but not in the proportion of daily calories (27% to 28%) from 2001 to 2011. The most frequent food source of commercially-prepared meals was Korean restaurants in both years. The amount and proportion of calories from retail stores increased from 83 kcal to 143 kcal (P < 0.001) and from 4% to 7% (P < 0.001), respectively, during the same period. Males aged 30-49 years (34%) and females aged 19-29 years (35%) consumed the highest proportion of daily calories from commercially-prepared meals in 2011. CONCLUSIONS: Korean adults consumed about one-fourth of their energy intake from commercially-prepared meals. In particular, males aged 30-49 years and females aged 19-29 years consumed more than one-third of their energy intake from commercially-prepared meals. Korean restaurants played a significant role in Korean adults' energy intake. Retail stores increased influence on Korean adults' energy intake. These results could be useful for developing health promotion policies and programs.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.567-585
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• 2024

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: This study aims to explore the potential of convenience stores as platforms for healthy food consumption, including low-sodium options, in response to the increasing trend of meal behaviors at convenience stores and the growing demand for healthy eating. SUBJECTS/METHODS: In the study, 627 Korean participants aged 10 to 39 were involved. A self-reported questionnaire survey was used and questions were regarding purchase patterns, consumption behaviors, perceptions and selection attributes of convenience store foods, and consumer perception factors for low-sodium options. Data analysis was conducted using SPSS 26.0 (SPSS, Version 26.0 for Windows, SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA). RESULTS: The study uncovered significant disparities in the consumption behavior and perception of convenience store foods, as well as variations in the importance and satisfaction levels with convenience store food attributes, including consumer perception factors for low-sodium options, based on sex and age. Furthermore, it was observed that awareness of the need for low-sodium options significantly influenced purchase intentions. CONCLUSION: This study analyzed consumer attitude toward low-sodium convenience store foods to assess the potentiality for promoting healthy eating in convenience stores. These findings indicate the important role that convenience stores can play as platforms for healthy food sales.

• Journal of the Korean Dietetic Association
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.262-277
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• 2009

Fresh-cut foods have been widely used in the school foodservice industry due to their convenience and saving effects of labor and working hours. This study evaluated the effectiveness of using fresh-cut foods in school foodservice with respect to cost efficiency, customer satisfaction, employee satisfaction, and productivity. First, in terms of cost efficiency, the cost of the fresh-cut food per meal price significantly increased by 2.6% via the new production plan. Meanwhile, the costs of labor and food wastes significantly decreased by 3.0% and 0.3%, respectively, after implementing the new plan. Second, customer satisfaction towards foodservice significantly increased, from 2.94 points prior to the new plan to 3.45 points. Third, foodservice productivity such as of the number of meals per full-time equivalent employee increased by 5.7 meals, from 143.0 meals to 148.7 meals after intervention. The productivity index of work hours for producing a meal also increased and was reflected by a work time reduction of 0.77 minutes, specifically from 4.25 minutes to 3.48 minutes. The labor cost per meal also decreased by 29.9 won, from 331.91 won to 301.97 won, but there was no significant difference. Through these results, we identified that using pre-process foods in school foodservice has positive effects on labor saving, customer satisfaction, and employee work satisfaction.