• Journal of the East Asian Society of Dietary Life
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.401-417
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• 2011

The purpose of this study was to investigate consumer concerns about hazardous elements on foods and recognition of the roles of government, food producers, and consumers in securing food safety. The data were collected from the 443 adult consumers living in Seoul, Busan, Daegu, Incheon, Kwangju and Daejeon through a self-administered questionnaire. Frequencies, t tests, analysis of variance and Duncan's multiple range tests were conducted using SPSS Windows. The results of the survey were as follows: (1) the respondents were worried about health risks related to hazardous elements on foods, (2) many respondents were more worried about preservatives of imported foods than those of domestic foods, and (3) most respondents mentioned that observance of enforcement regulations by producers was the most important factor for ensuring food safety in the future. These results imply that regulations regarding the safety of imported foods should be increased.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Culture
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• v.24 no.5
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• pp.451-456
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• 2009

When globalizing Korean food, it is important to conduct regional consumer research before entering the market so that an effective market strategy can be developed. This study was conducted to compare the perceptions regarding Thai, Chinese, Japanese and Korean food between Swedish and Yugoslavian university students in $V{\ddot{a}}xj{\ddot{o}}$, Sweden, where regional market research is lacking. As immigration increases worldwide, comparison of consumer perceptions of immigrants and domestic individuals will provide meaningful insight for use in the development of marketing strategies for areas where immigrant populations are increasing rapidly. In this study, six attributes of Asian food, fresh vegetables, low fat, chicken and sea food, exotic ingredient, value for money and unknown food, were compared. The perception of fresh vegetables and low fat of Chinese food differed significantly among the two groups. Because both of these attributes are health related, these findings indicate that recipe modification may be necessary to adapt to the preferred taste of target customers in this prospective market.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.31 no.7
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• pp.1007-1016
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• 2018

USA beef production is characterized by a diversity of climates, environmental conditions, animal phenotypes, management systems, and a multiplicity of nutritional inputs. The USA beef herd consists of more than 80 breeds of cattle and crosses thereof, and the industry is divided into distinct, but ofttimes overlapping sectors, including seedstock production, cow-calf production, stocker/backgrounding, and feedlot. Exception for male dairy calves, production is predominantly pastoral-based, with young stock spending relatively brief portions of their life in feedlots. The beef industry is very technology driven, utilizing reproductive management strategies, genetic improvement technologies, exogenous growth promoting compounds, vaccines, antibiotics, and feed processing strategies, focusing on improvements in efficiency and cost of production. Young steers and heifers are grain-based diets fed for an average of 5 months, mostly in feedlots of 1,000 head capacity or more, and typically are slaughtered at 15 to 28 months of age to produce tender, well-marbled beef. Per capita beef consumption is nearly 26 kg annually, over half of which is consumed in the form of ground products. Beef exports, which are increasingly important, consist primarily of high value cuts and variety meats, depending on destination. In recent years, adverse climatic conditions (i.e., draught), a shrinking agricultural workforce, emergence of food-borne pathogens, concerns over development of antimicrobial resistance, animal welfare/well-being, environmental impact, consumer perceptions of healthfulness of beef, consumer perceptions of food animal production practices, and alternative uses of traditional feed grains have become increasingly important with respect to their impact on both beef production and demand for beef products. Similarly, changing consumer demographics and globalization of beef markets have dictated changes in the types of products demanded by consumers of USA beef, both domestically and abroad. The industry is highly adaptive, however, and responds quickly to evolving economic signals.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.31 no.7
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• pp.951-960
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• 2018

Hanwoo cattle are an important food source in Korea and their supply can have a major impact on meat availability for Korean consumers. The Hanwoo population was 1.8 million head in 2005 and gradually increased to 2.6 million in 2015. Per capita beef consumption has also increased, to 11.6 kg per year in 2015, and is expected to continue to increase. Because intramuscular fat percentage is a critical contributor to meat quality, Hanwoo cattle are fed a high-energy corn-based diet for long fattening periods. Long fed diet causes significant alterations in fat percentage in the loin muscle and other areas of the carcass. However, these long feeding periods increase feeding costs and beef prices. Recently, there has been increased Korean consumer demand for lean beef which has less fat, but is tender and priced more reasonably. These consumer demands on the Korean beef industry are driving differing beef production systems and also changes to the beef grading methodology. Korean government has made a significant investment to select bulls with favorable production traits using progeny testing. Progeny tested bull semen has been disseminated to all Hanwoo farmers. A beef traceability system has been employed for all cattle breeds in Korea since 2009. Hanwoo cattle are ear-marked with a 12-digit identification number from birth to slaughter. This number allows traceability of the management history of individual cattle, and also provides information to consumers. Traceability including management information such as herd, farm, year of birth, and carcass data can determine estimated breeding values of Hanwoo. For a sustainable Hanwoo industry, research scientists in Korea have attempted to develop feeds for efficient fattening periods and precision feeding systems based on genetic information for Hanwoo cattle. These initiatives aim to Korean consumer demands for beef and provide more precision management in beef production in Korea.

• Journal of the East Asian Society of Dietary Life
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.119-132
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• 2013

The aim of this study was to identify sushi choices underlying food-related lifestyle and to study the sushi attribute. The Food Choice Questionnaire (FCQ), the most popular tool for lifestyle research, which measures the relative importance of nine factors important in food choice, and food-related lifestyle was administered to 200 Americans (over 20 years of age) residing in Korea. From an analysis of food-related lifestyle through factor analysis, four factors emerged: health, taste, economy, and convenience. The Food Choice Questionnaire (FCQ) structure was verified using factor analysis, and eight factors were found: mood, natural content, health, sensory appeal, convenience, weight control, familiarity and price. These data are important in demonstrating the different motives underlying sushi choice. Moreover, the results suggest that an American's food-related lifestyle is considerably different in consumer behavior and sushi choice. Further research is needed to test our hypotheses.

• Journal of the East Asian Society of Dietary Life
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.271-277
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• 2016

This study was performed to identify sensory characteristics of the Korean traditional cookie Yakgwa prepared by partially replacing wheat flour with glutinous rice flour as well as to conduct cross-cultural comparison of the sensory descriptions of the Yakgwa sample set between Korea and Chinese panelists. Korean and Chinese highly trained panelists identified 22 sensory attributes by descriptive analysis. The addition of glutinous rice flour decreased soybean oil odor, moistness, oiliness and increased hardness, crispness of the Yakgwa samples. In the consumer test, consumers from Korea (n=89) and China (n=56) participated. Yakgwa with 50% glutinous rice flour had a significantly higher overall acceptability than other the Yakgwa samples by Korean and Chinese consumers.

• Journal of the East Asian Society of Dietary Life
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• v.24 no.5
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• pp.529-543
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• 2014

The objectives of this study were to perform a descriptive analysis to characterize and compare the sensory properties of commercial Makgeolli products as well as a cross-cultural comparison of the sensory descriptions of these products between two sensory panels (Korean and Japanese). The samples used in this study were seven different types of Makgeolli, which were commercial products. A total of 10 Korean and 7 Japanese panelists were selected in Korea. Each group was trained, and they identified product attributes and performed descriptive analyses independently. The Korean and Japanese panelists generated 34 and 28 sensory attributes, respectively, to describe appearance, odor/aroma, taste/flavor, texture, and after flavor of the products. There were significant differences among the samples for 24 attributes by Korean and 23 attributes by Japanese panelists. Although there was not a large difference in the number of descriptors between Korean and Japanese panels, the Korean panelists generated more various attributes associated with flavor than the Japanese panelists, and the attributes of Japanese panelists included references to non-food products such as rotten grass. Multiple factor analysis (MFA) was applied to the descriptive analysis data from the Korean and Japanese panels to delineate the associations between Makgeolli samples and their sensory characteristics. Both the Korean and Japanese panels clustered the JRM, JSM, KRM and KSM samples into one group and the CRM and BSM samples into another group. The ESM sample was distinguished from the other six samples. These results of the cross-cultural comparison suggest that comparative analyses of sensory profiles between cultures should be conducted regularly in future studies, and further research such as consumer acceptance tests should be conducted to determine the sensory characteristics that drive consumer acceptance of Makgeolli products in the context of increasing food product exports to other countries.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.113-119
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• 2020

This study analyzed the relationship between consumers' awareness of marine products and the food index level, which is a sub-domain of the Pukyong Maritime Index. Specifically, the evaluation of marine products by Korean consumers verified the relationship between taste, nutrition, diversity, price, and safety-related systems and the food index. The analysis results were as follows. First, it was found that consumers' awareness of marine products had a significant positive correlation with the food index. Second, as a result of the regression analysis, the food index had an effect on the order of nutrition, taste, and price. These findings are required to understand consumers' awareness of aquatic products, and the food index can be used as the center of northeast asia sea region to provide a framework for improving consumer's satisfaction.

• Journal of the East Asian Society of Dietary Life
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.190-198
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• 2012

This research evaluated and analyzed the level of acceptability of spinach according to blanching time by testing consumer taste of corresponding countries for the purpose of globalizing Korean food. General taste, appearance, flavor, and texture of spinach blanched for 20 seconds were highly evaluated by Koreans and Japanese ($p$<0.05), who are used to the method of slightly blanching, mixing, and eating spinach. On the other hand, general taste, appearance, flavor, and texture of spinach blanched for 5 minutes was highly evaluated by the French ($p$<0.05), who are used to eating boiled spinach. Concerning the result of JAR, there were clear differences in hardness and boiling level according to country among spinach samples, even though they were blanched for the same time and mixed with the same spices. Koreans and Japanese evaluated that hardness and boiling level of spinach blanched for 20 seconds were proper, whereas the French evaluated that spinach scalded for 20 seconds was too raw and crispy. Under the same context, French consumers evaluated that hardness and boiling level of spinach blanched for 5 minutes was proper, whereas Koreans and Japanese evaluated that spinach blanched for 5 minutes was boiled too much. These results show that familiarity level is an important driver of affecting the preference levels for three kinds of spinach according to country.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.32 no.12
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• pp.1923-1932
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• 2019

Objective: We investigated visual marbling level (VML) influence on pork loin physicochemical traits, consumer palatability responses, VML liking, purchase intent, and their relationships. Methods: For each of five slaughtering dates, at 24-h postmortem, nine paired Duroc castrated male boneless Longissimus dorsi (LD) muscles were categorized into low (LM, score 1 to 2, n = 3), medium (MM, score 3 to 4, n = 3), and high (HM, score 5 to 6, n = 3) VML. Meat physicochemical quality traits and consumer responses (n = 389) on palatability and VML liking, and purchase intent were evaluated. The experiment was in randomized complete block design. Analysis of variance, Duncan's multiple mean comparisons, and correlation coefficients were determined. Results: VML correspond to crude fat (r = 0.91, p<0.01), but both were reversely related to moisture content (r = -0.75 and -0.91, p<0.01, respectively). As VML increased, ash (p<0.05) and protein (p = 0.072) decreased, pH and $b^{\star}$ increased (p<0.05), but drip, cooking (p<0.05) and thawing (p = 0.088) losses decreased. Among treatments, muscle fiber diameter, sarcomere length, total and insoluble collagen contents, $L^{\star}$, and $a^{\star}$ did not differ (p>0.05). Compared to the others, HM had lower collagen solubility percentage (p<0.05), but similar (p>0.05) Warner-Bratzler shear force (WBSF). No differences (p>0.05) were found in juiciness, overall flavor, oiliness, and overall acceptability, but HM was more tender (p<0.05) than the others. Based on VML, consumers preferred MM to HM (p<0.05), while LM was similar to MM and HM (p>0.05). Corresponding to VML preference (r = 0.45, p<0.01), consumers (83%) would (p<0.01) definitely and probably buy MM, over LM (74%), and HM (68%), respectively. Conclusion: Increasing VML in pork LD altered its chemical composition, slightly increased pH, and improved water holding capacity, thereby improving its tenderness acceptability. Marbling might reduce chewing resistance, as lower collagen solubility in HM did not impact tenderness acceptability and WBSF. While HM was rated as most tender, consumers visually preferred and would purchase MM.