• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.333-340
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• 2018

Objectives: This study was conducted to analyze the salinity of representative Korean foods high in sodium to generate data for use as a fundamental resource for setting salinity standards in foods. Methods: A total of 480 foods from 16 representative Korean foods high in sodium were collected from 10 households, 10 industry foodservice establishments, and 10 Korean restaurants in four regions (Capital area, Chungcheong Province, Gyeongsang Province, and Jeolla Province) and analyzed for salinity. Results: Among the foods, stir-fried anchovies (4.07~4.45%) showed the highest salinity, followed by pickled onion (1.86~2.62%), cabbage kimchi (1.83~2.2%), braised burdock and lotus root (1.79~2.17%), and sliced radish kimchi (1.78~1.89%) (p<0.001). The salinity of kimchi from home meals (2.2%) was significantly higher than that of foodservice (1.83%) and restaurant (1.93%) kimchi (p<0.05). Salinity in each group of food was highest in kimchi (1.83~2.04%), followed by braised dishes (1.54~1.78%), steamed dishes (1.0~1.22%), stir-fried dishes (1.02~1.18%), and soup or stew (0.74~1.02%) (p<0.001). The salinity of soup and stew from restaurants (1.02%) was significantly higher than that of home meal (0.84%) and foodservice (0.74%) soup and stew. Conclusions: Determination of the salinity of representative Korean foods known to be high in sodium by eating place is expected to be useful to establishing guidelines for reduction of salinity.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.44 no.12
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• pp.1895-1904
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• 2015

Foodborne illness associated with food service establishments is an important food safety issue in Korea. In this study, foodborne pathogens (Bacillus cereus, Clostridium perfringens, Escherichia coli, pathogenic Escherichia coli, Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella spp., Staphylococcus aureus, and Vibrio parahaemolyticus) and hygiene indicator organisms [total viable cell counts (TVC), coliforms] were analyzed for food and environmental samples from foodservice establishments at schools in Gyeonggi province. Virulence factors and antimicrobial resistance of detected foodborne pathogens were also characterized. A total of 179 samples, including food (n=66), utensil (n=68), and environmental samples (n=45), were collected from eight food service establishments at schools in Gyeonggi province. Average contamination levels of TVC for foods (including raw materials) and environmental samples were 4.7 and 4.0 log CFU/g, respectively. Average contamination levels of coliforms were 2.7 and 4.0 log CFU/g for foods and environmental swab samples, respectively. B. cereus contamination was detected in food samples with an average of 2.1 log CFU/g. E. coli was detected only in raw materials, and S. aureus was positive in raw materials as well as environmental swab samples. Other foodborne pathogens were not detected in all samples. The entire B. cereus isolates possessed at least one of the diarrheal toxin genes (hblACD, nheABC, entFM, and cytK enterotoxin gene). However, ces gene encoding emetic toxin was not detected in B. cereus isolates. S. aureus isolates (n=16) contained at least one or more of the tested enterotoxin genes, except for tst gene. For E. coli and S. aureus, 92.7% and 37.5% of the isolates were susceptible against 16 and 19 antimicrobials, respectively. The analyzed microbial hazards could provide useful information for quantitative microbial risk assessment and food safety management system to control foodborne illness outbreaks in food service establishments.

• Food Science and Preservation
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.889-896
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• 2010

We evaluated the sanitation management practices in food delivery companies that supply food and food ingredients to school food-service establishments. We examined the practices 38 food delivery companies located in the Daegu and Gyeongbuk areas of Korea. Sanitation management practices were self-evaluated using a Likert 5-point scale. The total mean score for delivery company sanitation performance was 4.45. Scores for perceived sanitation management performance of the delivery companies were: food ingredient storage and management (4.47); delivery worker (4.47); and management of delivery van (4.38). The personal hygiene score was significantly higher than those of other sanitation inspection items evaluated (p<0.05). Delivery company managers believed that their sanitation management programs kept food hygienically and that the food was delivered to a high level of safety and at optimal quality. However, the managers thought that food quality standardization was needed to ensure transparency in delivery. Food delivery companies wish to obtain sanitation and supply certifications if they meet certain criteria.

• Culinary science and hospitality research
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.82-90
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• 2012

This study was conducted to evaluate a take-out food safety perception instrument that could be used by foodservice establishments. A total of 324 responses was collected via online survey, and 299 responses (92.3%) were used for the statistical analysis. Data was randomly split into two groups. Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) was performed on the first split-half sample (n=150) to identify a factor structure using standard principal component analysis. EFA revealed three dimensions, titled "Consumer food safety perception," "Take-out food handling," and "Elements impacting on purchase decisions." Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) was performed on the remaining half sample (n=149) using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). CFA revealed acceptable absolute model fits for three dimensions and excellent comparative model fits for the instrument. These findings propose standardized measures that can be useful in assessing the take-out food safety perception.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.310-321
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• 2007

Effective and systematic sanitation management programs are necessary to prevent foodborne disease outbreaks in school foodservice operations. The purpose of this study was to identify the elements to improve in order to ensure the safety of school food service by evaluating sanitation management practices implemented under HACCP-based programs. The survey was designed to assess the level of hygiene practices of school food service by using an inspection checklist of food hygiene and safety. Fifty-four school foodservice establishments considered as poor sanitation practice groups from two year inspections by Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education were surveyed from September to December in 2005. Inspection checklists consisted of seven categories with 50 checkpoints; facilities and equipment management, personal hygiene, ingredient control, process control, environmental sanitation management, HACCP system and safety management. Surveyed schools scored $68.0{\pm}12.42$ points out of 100 on average. The average score (% of compliance) of each field was 10.7/20 (53.3%) for facilities and equipment management, 7.4/11 (67.2%) for personal hygiene, 7.4/11 (74.1%) for ingredient control, 22.4/32 (69.8%) for process control, 8.9/12 (73.8%) for environmental sanitation management, 4.2/7 (59.7%) for HACCP systems management, and 7.2/8 (89.7%) for safety management, respectively. The field to be improved first was the sanitation control of facilities and equipment. The elements to improve this category were unprofessional consultation for kitchen layout, improper compartment of the kitchen area, lacks of pest control, inadequate water supply, poor ventilation system, and insufficient hand-washing facilities. To elevate the overall performance level of sanitation management, prerequisite programs prior to HACCP plan implementation should be stressed on the school officials, specifically principals, for the integration of the system.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.45 no.10
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• pp.1497-1507
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• 2016

The purpose of this study was to conduct importance and performance analysis of sanitation management in workers at small and medium foodservice industries using HACCP prerequisites. Questionnaires were distributed to 500 small and medium foodservice industry workers in Seoul Gyeonggi province, and a total of 458 responses were used for analysis. Factors with relatively low comparison degree were as follows. 'Handwashing and clean uniform of employee in the workplace', 'regular checking and managing of trapped vermin and rodents', 'checking stocked raw materials', 'recording and filing the results of improved food safety factors', and 'regular cleaning and sterilizing of monitoring tools' factors must be improved along with their performance levels through sanitation education. According to the IPA results, among the 15 HACCP prerequisite factors with high importance but low performance were '2. Regular checking and managing of trapped vermin and rodents', '4. Handwashing and clean uniform of employee in the workplace', '14. Preventing food cross-contamination'. Furthermore, the small and medium foodservice industry IPA with high importance but low performance were 'Regular checking and managing of trapped vermin and rodents', 'Handwashing and clean uniform of employee in the workplace', and 'Preventing food cross-contamination' for the small foodservice industry, along with 'Vermin and rodents control' and 'Recording and filing the results of improved food safety factors' for the medium foodservice industry. Thus, there is a need for reinforced hygiene education through case studies on actual food service establishments to fulfill sanitation guidelines and set amended guides for much-needed items for small and mid-sized food service.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.42 no.8
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• pp.1318-1324
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• 2013

The purpose of this study was to improve the satisfaction of industry contracted foodservice customers by analyzing the correlation between satisfaction with foodservice and customer loyalty. To accomplish this, a questionnaire was distributed to 300 customers at five industry contracted foodservice establishments. The average customer satisfaction score was 3.51/5.00, and customer satisfaction was highest with sanitation, followed by service, food, and environment. Blue collar workers showed significantly higher foodservice satisfaction than white collar workers with respect to menu, service, sanitation, and environment (P<0.01). The average customer loyalty score was 3.46/5.00 and revisit intentions, word-of-mouth intentions, and intentions not to switch were 3.60, 3.52, and 3.46, respectively. Blue collar workers had significantly higher customer loyalty than white collar workers for word-of mouth intentions and intentions not to switch (P<0.01). Revisit intentions correlated significantly (P<0.01) with food (r=0.649), service (r=0.636), sanitation (r=0.648), and environment (r=0.579). Word-of mouth intentions and intentions not to switch showed significant (P<0.01) positive correlation with service. The explanation power ($R^2$) of foodservice satisfaction and revisit intention was 0.483, word-of-mouth intention was 0.526, and intention not to switch was 0.3641. The sanitation satisfaction had the highest positive influence on revisit intentions (P<0.01). Service and food satisfaction had a significant (P<0.01) positive influence on word-of-mouth intentions and intentions not to switch.

• Preventive Nutrition and Food Science
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.68-73
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• 2005

A significant number of cases of illness has been attributed to food consumption in restaurants, and as the number of meals eaten away from home continues to rise, the potential for large-scale, foodborne illness outbreaks will continue to increase. It is critical that hospitality and culinary arts students preparing for careers as professionals in foodservice establishments or restaurants have an appropriate understanding of food safety. The level of food safety knowledge was similar between hospitality and culinary arts students, and an analysis of 266 questionnaires indicated that specific areas, such as hand washing, cross contamination in refrigerator, reheating leftovers, refrigeration of cooked food within two hours, proper temperature of food storage, using of thermometers to monitor temperatures, proper egg handling, and possible food borne illness caused by fruits, should be the primary focus of educational resources. Student respondents showed a higher awareness level of responsibility in their roles for food safety, but more emphasis needs to be given to the correct understanding of food safety issues. Hospitality and culinary arts educators can use this precise information to develop food safety education materials and programs to assist in the prevention of foodborne illness and to knowledgeably educate their graduates about food safety.

• Culinary science and hospitality research
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.56-72
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• 2008

Molecular gastronomy is a science that deconstructs the classic haute cuisine and applies science knowledge and laboratory techniques to create textures and flavors in unusual ways. The term 'Molecular Gastronomy' was introduced in 1988 by French chemist 'Herve This' and Oxford physicist 'Nicholas Kurti'. It has since been adopted by both world culinary establishments and scientists, from 'El Bulli' to 'Harold McGee'. Since most world-top prestigious restaurants and chefs were enthralled by this revolunary culinary movement, molecular gastronomy and molecular cooking have drawn a growing interest of lots of Korean people in the food industry until now. However, Korean foodservice industry is unlikely to be ready to develop this advent-garde culinary movement because molecular gastronomy is still an insufficiently established concept of culinary science and philosophy in Korea. Besides, there are many clumsy abuses of putative and clinically unproven bio-chemical components in kitchens and restaurants in the name of culinary science or culinary arts. Such a careless approach and attitude towards an important exercise like a cooking is highly deplorable. Thus it is still too far early to expect the prospective path of molecular gastronomy in Korea without understanding the core principle of molecular gastronomy and having any cultural support.

• Food Science and Preservation
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.234-240
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• 2006

The purpose of this study was to evaluate microbiologically cooking utensils, equipment employees, and environment in 12 large Korean, Western, Chinese, and Japanese restaurant. Microbiological testing was conducted for pathogens including E. coli, Samolnella, L. monocytogenes, S. aureus, E. coli O157:H7, V. parahaemolyticus, B. cereus, and Y. enterocolitica as well as total plate count and coliforms. The results showed cooking water and drinking water in some Korean restaurants and drinking water in some Western and Japanese restaurants were unsatisfactory, especially, barley tea, which was cooled after being boiled, was unsatisfactory. Most cooking utensils such as knives, cutting boards, kitchen towels, tongs, and basket had total plate and coliforms count in excess of standards, and knives and cutting boards at some Chinese restaurant had E. coli. At some restaurant, S. aureus was found on some food worker's hands. Also, the total plate count of the air showed a high count around worktables, inside the refrigerator, and in the kitchen in most restaurants. These result suggest that sanitation needs improvement in the environments in these foodservice establishment.