• Title/Summary/Keyword: Food and Agriculture Industry

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The Japanese Wagyu beef industry: current situation and future prospects - A review

  • Gotoh, Takafumi;Nishimura, Takanori;Kuchida, Keigo;Mannen, Hideyuki
    • Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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    • v.31 no.7
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    • pp.933-950
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    • 2018
  • In Japan, Wagyu cattle include four Japanese breeds; Black, Brown, Shorthorn, and Polled. Today, the renowned brand name Wagyu includes not only cattle produced in Japan, but also cattle produced in countries such as Australia and the United States. In recent years, the intramuscular fat percentage in beef (longissimus muscle) from Japanese Black cattle has increased to be greater than 30%. The Japanese Black breed is genetically predisposed to producing carcass lipids containing higher concentrations of monounsaturated fatty acids than other breeds. However, there are numerous problems with the management of this breed including high production costs, disposal of untreated excrement, the requirement for imported feed, and food security risks resulting from various viral diseases introduced by imported feed. The feeding system needs to shift to one that is more efficient, and improves management for farmers, food security for consumers, and the health environment for residents of Japan. Currently, we are developing a metabolic programming and an information and communications technology (ICT, or Interne of Things) management system for Wagyu beef production as future systems. If successful, we will produce safe, high-quality Wagyu beef using domestic pasture resources while solving the problems of how to utilize increasing areas of abandoned agricultural land and to make use of the plant-based feed resources in Japan's mountainous areas.

Determination of Heavy Metal Contents in Various Packaging Boards (지류 포장재 종류에 따른 중금속 함량 측정)

  • Kim, Jin-Woo;Seo, Joo-Hwan;Youn, Hye-Jung;Lee, Hak-Lae
    • Journal of Korea Technical Association of The Pulp and Paper Industry
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    • v.41 no.2
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    • pp.55-63
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    • 2009
  • This study was performed to evaluate the heavy metal contents in various packaging board. Domestic and foreign OCC (old corrugated containers) and old duplex boards were used as raw materials. Tests were made for the printed and unprinted parts of the sample. Heavy metal contents of old food packaging boards made from virgin pulp fibers were also evaluated. The contents of heavy metals including lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), barium (Ba), arsenic (As), antimony (Sb), selenium (Se), and mercury (Hg) were determined using ICP-AES (Inductively Coupled Plasma - Atomic Emission Spectrometer), and CV-AAS (Cold vapor-atomic absorption spectrometer) after digesting the samples in a microwave oven. The contents of heavy metals contained in domestic packaging board were higher than those in overseas samples, and OCC showed higher contents of heavy metals than old duplex boards. Printed parts gave greater heavy metal contents than unprinted parts. Results indicate that recycling of paper and paperboard products increases the heavy metal contamination of the paper packaging products and this derives mostly from the heavy metals contained in printing inks. Recycling processes that decrease heavy metals in recycled fibers and new printing inks that contains less heavy metals should be developed to solve the problem associated with the heavy metals in packaging paper products.

Variation in the reproductive rate of Trypoxylus dichotomus (Dymastinae: Sacarabaeidae: Coleoptera) by partition

  • Seo, Won-Jun;Park, Sang-Eun;Youn, Young-Nam
    • Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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    • v.47 no.4
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    • pp.867-884
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    • 2020
  • Trypoxylus dichotomus is highly utilized in the domestic insect industry and bred at many farms nationwide. Recently, the number of farmers has been increasing due to the expansion of its use in food and medicine. However, the traditional breeding methods have high economic costs, which include relatively large breeding boxes, large amounts of sawdust and a 2 to 1 ratio (or higher) of female to male. Thus, it is essential to develop a cost-effective breeding method. In this study, a breeding cage with a partition was designed and used to investigate the reproduction rate of T. dichotomus with only a single pair of male and female insect. According to the investigation, the average number of eggs laid in the un-partitioned breeding cage was 93.6, and 121.3 eggs were laid in the partitioned breeding cage. This result shows that T. dichotomus lays more eggs in the partitioned breeding cage rather than in the un-partitioned breeding cage. In addition, it was found that T. dichotomus tends to lay more eggs in compressed sawdust, which was harder than the common fermented sawdust. Through a wind-tunnel assay, it was shown that the ovipositing female recognizes the eggs and avoids them to disperse their eggs elsewhere. These results indicate that the partitioned breeding cage may increase the hardness of the sawdust, restrict the adult's movement and provide a new place for oviposition for the female, and therefore results in an increased reproduction rate with less cost.

Variations in Root and Tuber Crops Production due to Climate Change

  • Hwang, Sung-Eun;Chon, Chun-Hwang;Park, Geon-Young
    • Journal of Integrative Natural Science
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    • v.8 no.2
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    • pp.135-140
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    • 2015
  • Climate change which occuring the recent abrupt fluctuations in meteorological and climatological elements is bound, brings about more significant impacts and changes in human life One of the most important problems due to the impacts of climate change tends to have been decreased the food production, which is expected to make crop resources more and more important. Accordingly, agricultural meteorology should also become more important. In this study, the correlation between meteorological elements and root and tuber crops (potatoes and sweet potatoes), which are emergency crops, and meteorological elements were analyzed, and the impacts of climate changes on the production of such crops were examined. This study concludes that agriculture and food resources are important, and suggests that we should prepare for changes in crops, the weaponization of food, and the lack of water resources in the future. The meteorological element and crops element correlation analysis results. Sweet potatoes, which are negatively influenced by climate change, need breeding improvement and cultivation method development, and potatoes, which are positively influenced by climate change, require preparations for climate changes that exceed the climatic limit. The variations of agricultural production contributed to changes in crop production. Therefore, the importance of agricultural meteorology and the food crop industry should be fully recognized to prepare for climate change.

Proximate and Total Fatty Acid Compositions of the Reproductive Organs of Male and Female Common Squid Todarodes pacificus

  • Moon, Soo-Kyung;Kim, Kyeong-Dae;Kang, Ji-Yeon;Sung, Nak-Ju;Jeong, Bo-Young
    • Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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    • v.10 no.4
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    • pp.171-178
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    • 2007
  • We analyzed the compositions of proximate and total fatty acids in the reproductive organs of male (testis, vas deferens, seminal vesicle, and spermatophore sac) and female (ovary, oviduct, oviducal gland, and nidamental gland) common squid. The protein contents were 12.1-22.7 and 13.2-19.4% for males and females, respectively, and the lipid contents were 1.0-2.7 and 2.1-8.0%, respectively. The prominent fatty acids in all reproductive organs were 22:6n-3, 20:5n-3, 16:0, 20:1n-9, 18:0, 18:1n-9, and 20:4n-6. Females had 28.6-32.0% of 22:6n-3 and 11.3-22.6% of 20:5n-3, while males had 20.8-26.8% of 22:6n-3 and 14.4-28.7% of 20:5n-3. These results indicate that the reproductive organs of both male and female squid are potential sources of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid.

The Study of Characteristics of Electrolytic Water (전해수의 특성에 관한 연구)

  • Lee, Chan-Woo;Bae, Kie-Seo
    • Textile Coloration and Finishing
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    • v.18 no.6 s.91
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    • pp.43-48
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    • 2006
  • Electrolytic water(EW), studied in recent decades in the Japan, Russia and United State of America, have shown promise as a method of disinfection whereby low levels of free chlorine, sodium hypochlorite, or hypochlorous acid may be produced in situ in Nacl-containing solution. These methods have shown promise in destruction of microorganisms in medical, dental environment, and in the agriculture and food industry. A recently EW treatment system was evaluated for reducing scouring agent and other surfactants in the washing and scouring process of textile industry Unfortunately, there is, to my knowledge, no serious studies of the properties of EW for textile industry In order to study the characteristics of EW and confirm the possibility of applications in textile industry processes, the pH, surface activity, penetration force, surface tension, and contact angle of EW was measured under various conditions. In general terms, What all this shows is that there is fundamental difference between the properties of EW and that of distilled water.

Mathematical Models for the Biofilm Formation of Geobacillus and Anoxybacillus on Stainless Steel Surface in Whole Milk

  • Karaca, Basar;Buzrul, Sencer;Cihan, Arzu Coleri
    • Food Science of Animal Resources
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    • v.41 no.2
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    • pp.288-299
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    • 2021
  • Biofilm formation of Geobacillus thermodenitrificans, Geobacillus thermoglucosidans and Anoxybacillus flavithermus in milk on stainless steel were monitored at 55℃, 60℃, and 65℃ for various incubation times. Although species of Geobacillus showed a rapid response and produced biofilm within 4 h on stainless steel, a delay (lag time) was observed for Anoxybacillus. A hyperbolic equation and a hyperbolic equation with lag could be used to describe the biofilm formation of Geobacillus and Anoxybacillus, respectively. The highest biofilm formation amount was obtained at 60℃ for both Geobacillus and Anoxybacillus. However, the biofilm formation rates indicated that the lowest rates of formation were obtained at 60℃ for Geobacillus. Moreover, biofilm formation rates of G. thermodenitrificans (1.2-1.6 Log10CFU/mL∙h) were higher than G. thermoglucosidans (0.4-0.7 Log10CFU/mL∙h). Although A. flavithermus had the highest formation rate values (2.7-3.6 Log10CFU/mL∙h), this was attained after the lag period (4 or 5 h). This study revealed that modeling could be used to describe the biofilm formation of thermophilic bacilli in milk.

Induction of Anticarcinogenic Enzymes by Dichloromethane-soluble Fraction of Physalis alkekengi var. francheti Hort. in Mouse Hepatoma Cells

  • Seo, JiYeon;Kim, Hyo Jung;Kim, Jong-Sang
    • Current Research on Agriculture and Life Sciences
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    • v.32 no.3
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    • pp.119-124
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    • 2014
  • Physalis alkekengi var. francheti Hort. is known as an insecticide and traditional remedy for liver related diseases. Therefore, this study investigated the chemopreventive effects of extracts and several solvent fractions (n-hexane, dichloromethane, n-butanol, water) of Physalis alkekengi var. francheti Hort. First, their cytotoxicity and NQO1 activity were measured using an MTT assay, plus a quinone reductase [NAD(P)H dehydrogenase (quinone); NAD(P)H: (quinone acceptor) oxidoreductase, EC 1.6.99.2]-inducing activity assay was performed using cultured murine hepatoma cells (Hepa1c1c7) and its mutant cells(BpRc1). The reduction of electrophilic quinones by NQO1 is an important detoxification pathway and major mechanism of chemoprevention. When compared with the other solvent soluble fractions with different polarities, the dichloromethane fraction of Physalis alkekengi var. francheti Hort. showed a higher NQO1-inducing activity that was also dose-dependent. Moreover, the dichloromethane fraction of Physalis alkekengi var. francheti Hort. induced ARE-luciferase activities in HepG2-C8 cells that were generated by transfecting the ARE-luciferase gene construct, suggesting the Nrf2-ARE-mediated induction of anti-oxidative enzymes. In conclusion, the dichloromethane-soluble fraction of Physalis alkekengi var. francheti Hort. showed a relatively strong induction of detoxifying enzymes, thereby meriting further study to identify the active components and evaluate their potential as cancer preventive agents.

Current Situation of Environment-Friendly Production of Apples (환경농법에 의한 사과생산 실태 및 경영개선)

  • Park, Heung-Sub;Oh, Kwang-In;Park, Joon-Keun
    • Korean Journal of Organic Agriculture
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    • v.7 no.2
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    • pp.1-16
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    • 1999
  • In this study, questionnaire were made to environment-friendly producers of apples regarding farm management methods in low-input production method. utilizing organic materials, production and marketing of apples with lower agricultural chemical residues. Besides, five apples farms were visited to find out their management situation by employing the low-input production method in order to protect the environment as well as consumer's health. Those five low-input apple farms were scattered in Kyungbuk, Chungnam, and Chonnam Provinces, There were not many low-input apple farms across the nation from the beginning and, as a result, increasing the sample size was basically very difficult. Most of these farms were using 140hrs of labor per 10a, of which 30hrs in pre-season management, 25hrs in plowing and weed control, 15hrs in disease and pest control, 20hrs in harvest and marketing and 50hrs in miscellaneous activities. Relatively, pest control takes much time in that they would spray pesticides 7-10 times a season to control the apple disease, 9 times on the average. The average gross revenue of low-input apple farms was about \2,000,000/10a, and their average yield was 2,000kg/10a, which are 25% and 13% lower, respectively, than the ordinary apple production case. This means the low-input farmers are inefficient in marketing their products. On the other hand, their production costs were 20.4% higher than the ordinary apple farms on the average. Since the imported foreign fruits including apples must use various agricultural chemicals on their way to the export markets, the domestic low-input apples have competitive edge over them in therms of food safety. In order to improve the low-input apple industry, active cooperation is needed among the producers, government and researchers more than ever. Among other things, production cost reduction and quality improvement with lower chemical residues are part of the urgent matters to be done.

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Effects of Rhodiola sachalinensis Extract in Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetic Rats (홍경천 추출물이 Streptozotocin으로 유도된 당뇨쥐에 미치는 영향)

  • Choi Hyung-Taek;Cui Cheng-Bi;Kim Soo-Hyun;Ham Young-An;Lee Deuk-Sik;Ham Seung-Shi
    • Journal of the East Asian Society of Dietary Life
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    • v.15 no.2
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    • pp.158-164
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    • 2005
  • The present study was undertaken to evaluate the effect of Rhodiola sachalinensis root ethanol extract (RS), on the body weight, organ weight, plasma glucose and plasma lipid in diabetic rats caused by streptozotocin (STZ). The body weight decreased more slowly in the RS group than in the diabetic, and the food intake increased significantly in all diabetic groups. The food efficiency was very low in all diabetic groups, but increased significantly in the RS groups than diabetic control (p<0.05). In comparing the weight of organ, the weight of liver and kidney were increased in all diabetic groups than in the control, and decreased slightly in RS groups. The weight of heart and spleen were not different among all test groups. The glucose in serum was decreased significantly in the RS groups fed the RS for 4 weeks, compared to the diabetic control (p<0.05). Total cholesterol, triglyceride and atherogenic index (AI) in serum were significantly higher in diabetic control, compared to the normal (p<0.05), and decreased $16.7\%,\;18.3\%\;and\;45.0\%$, respectively, in the RS fed $300\;\cal{mg/kg}$ of RS. HDL-cholesterol was increased slightly more in the $RS-300\;\cal{mg/kg}$, compared to diabetic control. These findings suggest that RS treatment has protective effect in diabetes.

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