• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.115-123
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• 2013

Food safety management should be based on scientific evidences. FAO and WHO presented risk analysis as one of four principles in food safety management. WTO also admits the self safety regulation only when it is made on the basis of risk assessment. Without scientific analysis, tracing and eliminating the cause of food poisoning is impossible. Research and development plays a key role to produce scientific evidences. The Korean government ran over 40 programs in 11 agencies from 2008 to 2010. However, there is no statistics on food safety R&D at present. In this research, food safety projects conducted from 2008 to 2010 are listed up by means of analysing National Science and Technology Information Service (NTIS). The analytical criteria are the name of programs, national standard classification of science and technology, and keywords. As result, Korea Food and Drug Administration, Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, and Rural Development Administration play major role in the food safety R&D. The portion of more than one year projects should rise up in order to achieve the data for risk assessment, which is strongly required to improve. Besides, the research should be deeper so as to publish more SCI papers. The R&D portfolio should be changed in direction to raise up the portion of biological hazards such as norovirus. In order to do so, a large number of food safety programs should be emerged. The categories of food safety management and the hygiene/quality management of the agricultural and livestock products in the national standard classification of science and technology should be emerged because they are set up reflecting agencies' interests in spite of few differences between them.

• Journal of the Korean Dietetic Association
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.172-184
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• 2006

This study was aimed to provide safety management guidance by evaluating the microbial quality of cooked dried-seafoods in school foodservice operations. Nineteen seafood items were collected from six elementary schools, those were dried-anchovy, dried-seaweed and dried-fish, which were classified as cooking process. The temperatures at receiving and after cooking were measured and the analyses of cooking processes and microbial quality were performed. The temperatures of all foods after cooking were higher than the temperature limit of $74\^circC$. The number of total aerobic bacteria and S. aureus in dried-anchovy over the limit of $10^5$ and even the level of S. aureus was found to be unsatisfactory. The count of total aerobic bacteria was 2.1x$10^8$ CFU/g and the number of total aerobic bacteria after cooking was over the limit in one school. The level of E. coli (3.1x$10^3$ CFU/g) was over the limit at one school and the number of S. aureus (1.2×$10^4$ CFU/g) was considered as unacceptable. Dried- tangle and green laver were contaminated with total aerobic bacteria showing the over the limit. The numbers of total aerobic bacteria in dried- filefish, pollack and squid were 4.3x$10^6$, 3.4x$10^6$-3.9x$10^7$ and 4.6x$10^5$-4.1x$10^7$ CFU/g, respectively, which were in acceptable or unsatisfactory level. The E. coli in dried- filefish and pollack were over the limit. The total aerobic bacteria levels, 4.6x$10^5$-1.5x$10^6$ CFU/g in dried-pollack and 8.0x$10^5$-2.2x$10^7$ CFU/g in dried-squid, were over the limit after cooking except dried-filefish. The E. coli levels, 4.3x$10^3$ CFU/g in dried-filefish and 2.5x$10^2$ CFU/g in dried-pollack, were over the limit of $10^2$ CFU/g. The numbers of Enterobacteriaceae were either acceptable (3.3x$10^3$ CFU/g) or unsatisfactory (1.6x$10^4$ CFU/g) level in dried-pollack. S. aureus was unsatisfactory level (6.5x$10^4$ CFU/g) in dried-filefish while unacceptable in dried-pollack both before and after cooking. Unacceptable levels of S. aureus, 2.4x$10^4$ and 1.3x$10^5$ CFU/g were found from two schools, respectively. These results suggest that the contamination of raw materials and the seasonings added after cooking should be controlled to manage the microbial safety of cooked dried-seafoods.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.18 no.11
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• pp.540-549
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• 2018

This study was conducted on 238 dental hygienists working in Daegu and Gyeongbuk area. In order to understand the status of harmful transmission of dental materials by type of work, we compared the differences in exposure time and work environment characteristics of hospital types and investigated the difference in the degree of recognition of material safety data. The results of the study were as follows: In case of hospitals, the exposure time of dust generated from chemicals was the longest. Resin filling, contact with disinfectant. 37 workers (29.4%) and 14 workers (12.5%) answered that they perceive the question about whether they are aware of the material safety data sheet (MSDS) for dental materials. There were 18 hospital workers and 6 clinic workers who had experience reading MSDS before using dental materials. The respondents who answered that they provided the material safety data of the dental materials used had a 2.39 times MSDS in hospital workers. Therefore, by recognizing the health hazards of chemical substances in accordance with the characteristics of each type of hospital and continuing to conduct health and safety education, the work environment should be improved by establishing proper recognition of MSDS information. It suggests the necessity of a system that can strengthen the management of chemical information provision and guarantee the strategic approach and workers' right to know.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.22-31
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• 2019

The flammable liquid conductivity is an important factor in determining the generation of electrostatic in fire and explosion hazardous areas, so it is necessary to study the physical properties of flammable liquids. In particular, the relevant liquid conductivity in the process of handling flammable liquids in relation to the risk assessment and risk control in fire and explosion hazard areas, such as chemical plants, is classified as a main evaluation item according to the IEC standard, and it is necessary to have flammable liquid conductivity measuring devices and related data are required depending on the handling conditions of the material, such as temperature and mixing ratio for preventing the fire and explosion related to electrostatic. In addition, IEC 60079-32-2 [Explosive Atmospheres-Part 32-2 (Electrostatic hazards-Tests)] refers to the measuring device standard and the conductivity of a single substance. It was concluded that there is no measurement data according to the handling conditions such as mixing ratio of flammable liquid and temperature together with the use and measurement examples. We have developed the measurement reliability by improving the structure, material and measurement method of measuring device by referring to the IEC standard. We have developed a measurement device that is developed and manufactured by itself. The test results of flammable liquid conductivity measurement and the data of the NFPA 77 (Recommended Practice on Static Electricity) Annex B Table B.2 Static Electric Characteristic of Liquids were compared and verified by conducting the conductivity measurement of the flammable liquid handled in the fire and explosion hazardous place by using Measuring / Data Acquisition / Processing / PC Communication. It will contribute to the prevention of static electricity related disaster by taking preliminary measures for fire and explosion prevention by providing technical guidance for static electricity risk assessment and risk control through flammable liquid conductivity measurement experiment. In addition, based on the experimental results, it is possible to create a big data base by constructing electrostatic physical characteristic data of flammable liquids by process and material. Also, it is analyzed that it will contribute to the foundation composition for adding the specific information of conductivity of flammable liquid to the physical and chemical characteristics of MSDS.

• Journal of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute of Korea
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• v.34 no.6
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• pp.409-415
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• 2021

Medical waste management is becoming increasingly important, specifically in light of the current COVID-19 pandemic, as hospitals, clinics, quarantine centers, and medical research institutes are generating tons of medical waste every day. Previously, a traditional incineration process was utilized for managing medical waste, but the lack of landfill sites, and accompanying environmental concerns endanger public health. Consequently, an innovative sterilization shredding system was developed to resolve this problem. In this research, we focused on the design and numerical analysis of a shredding system for hazardous and infectious medical waste, to establish its operational performance. The shredding machine's components were modeled in a CAD application, and finite element analysis (FEA) was conducted using ABAQUS software. Static, fatigue, and dynamic loading conditions were used to analyze the structural stability of the cutting blade. The blade geometry proved to be effective based on the cutting force applied to shred medical waste. The dynamic stability of the structure was verified using modal analysis. Furthermore, an S-N curve was generated using a high cycle fatigue study, to predict the expected life of the cutting blade. Resultantly, an appropriate shredder system was devised to link with a sterilization unit, which could be beneficial in reducing the volume of medical waste and disposal time, thereof, thus eliminating environmental issues, and potential health hazards.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.31 no.5
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• pp.321-333
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• 2022

In this study, the concentration and distribution characteristics of BTEX (benzene toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene) emitted from Daesan Petrochemical Industrial Complex were examined to determine their potential hazards to local residents. Residents living nearby the complex areas may be exposed to the chemicals through various media (air, water, and soil), especially by air. This study evaluated human health risks by inhalation using both deterministic and probabilistic risk assessment approaches. As a result of the deterministic risk assessment, the non-cancer risk was much lower than the regulation limit of hazard index (HI 1.0) for all the points. However, in case of cancer risk evaluation, it was found that the risk of excess cancer for benzene at point A located in the industrial complex was 2.28×10^-6, which slightly exceeded the standard regulatory limit of 1.0×10^-6. In addition, the probabilistic risk assessment revealed that the percentile exceeding the standard of 1.0×10^-6was found to be 45.3%. The sensitivity analysis showed that exposure time (ET) had the greatest impact on the results. Based on the risk assessment study, it implied that ethylbenzene, toluene, and xylene had little adverse effects on potential human exposure, but benzene often exceeded the cancer risk standard (1.0×10^-6). Further studies on extensive VOCs monitoring are needed to evaluate the potential risks of industrial complex areas.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.57 no.2
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• pp.211-227
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• 2024

Introduction: Seaweed is a sustainable and underexplored source of bioactive compounds with potent anti-inflammatory activities. However, studies on the interaction between seaweed and genes on inflammation are limited. Purpose: We aimed to evaluate the relationships between seaweed consumption and the polygenic risk scores (PRS) and their interactions with high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) levels. Methods: Information on seaweed consumption was collected using a food frequency questionnaire, which included laver, kelp, and sea mustard among the items consumed. A total of 31 hs-CRP-related single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were selected using genome-wide association studies and clumping analysis, and the individual PRS were calculated by weighting the effect size of each allele in the selected SNPs of 39,369 middle-aged (≥40 years) Koreans using the Korean Genome and Epidemiology Study (KoGES)-Health Examinees (HEXA) cohort data. To investigate the interaction between seaweed intake and the PRS on hs-CRP levels >1 mg/L, hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were assessed using multivariable Cox proportional hazards models. Results: During a mean follow-up period of 4.8 years, we recorded 436 patients with elevated hs-CRP levels. Women in the highest tertile of the PRS with the lowest quartile of seaweed intake had an increased incidence of elevated hs-CRP levels compared with women in the lowest tertile of the PRS with the lowest seaweed intake quartile (HR 2.34, 95% CI 1.23-4.45). No significant association was observed among the men. Conclusion: In conclusion, we identified a new interaction between the PRS, seaweed intake, and inflammation in Korean women, and this study suggests that the interaction between the identification of genetic predisposition and dietary seaweed intake may have an impact on determining the risk of developing hyperinflammation in the future.

• Food Engineering Progress
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.307-315
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• 2010

The safety and security of food supply should be one of the primary responsibilities of any government. Estimation of nation's food commodity intakes is important to control the potential risks in food systems since food hazards are often associated with quality and safety of food commodities. The food intake databases provided by Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) are good resources to estimate the demographic data of intakes of various food commodities. A limitation of the KNHANES databases, however, is that the food intakes surveyed are not based on commodities but ingredients and their mixtures. In this study, reasonable calculation strategies were applied to convert the food intakes of the ingredients mixtures from the KNHANES into food commodity intakes. For example, Perilla leaf consumed with meat, raw fish, and etc. in Korean diets was used to estimate its Korean intakes and develop algorithms for demographic analysis. Koreans have consumed raw, blanched, steamed, and canned perilla leaf products. The average daily intakes of the perilla leaf were analyzed demographically, for examples, the intakes by gender, age, and etc. The average daily intakes of total perilla leaf were 2.03${\pm}$0.27 g in 1998, 2.11${\pm}$0.26 g in 2001, 2.29${\pm}$0.27 g in 2005, 2.75${\pm}$0.35 g in 2007, and 2.27${\pm}$0.20 g in 2008. Generally, people equal to or over 20 years of age have shown higher perilla leaf intakes than people below 20. This study would be contributed to the estimation of intakes of possible chemical contaminants such as residual pesticides and subsequent analysis for their potential risk.

• Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.37-56
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• 2001

This study was conducted to analyze the degree of changes in knowledge and attitude toward smoking and to examine the factors affecting knowledge and attitude for smoking after providing a smoking prevention program based on social influence model for a year to middle school students. Study population consists of 665 subjects of middle school students(aged 14 years) in Gumi city in Kyeongsangbukdo Province. Among them three-hundred sixty-seven students(intervention group) were educated to a smoking prevention program for 1 year from April 1999 to April 2000. School-based four-class program to prevent smoking was developed. The program provides instruction about short and long-term negative physiologic and social consequences of smoking and also discussed the health hazards of smoking, social pressure to smoke, peer norms regarding tobacco use, and refusal skill. A 45-item self-administered structured questionnaire was designed to evaluate the change of knowledge, attitude, smoking rate and the amount of smoking. The instrument was comprised of 11 knowledge items, thirteen attitude item and demographic items. Each scales were created by summing responses to each items within each scales and high scores on the knowledge, attitude, and smoking behavioral intention scales indicated positive responses. Based on the changes before and after the implementation of smoking prevention program between intervention and control group, the change of scores on knowledge were significantly different between the control group and the intervention group(p<0.05) and the change of scores on the attitude toward smoking was significantly different between intervention and control group. The change of smoking rate were not showing a significant difference between two groups but the amount of smoking were significantly reduced in intervention group than control group. In multiple regression analysis on changes of knowledge about smoking, the variables of smoking prevention program education, previous knowledge on smoking and students' school performance were selected the significant variables. In multiple regression to analysis of the factors influencing changes in attitude toward smoking, the variables of smoking prevention program education, previous knowledge on smoking were shown to be significant. The smoking prevention program was effective on change of knowledge and attitude of middle school students. In considering that the policy should be needed to extent of implementation of school-based health education curricula based on social influence model and it would contribute to reduce smoking of students.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.66-74
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• 2005

This survey was conducted to assess the consumer perceptions of food-related hazard in 500 housewives from all over Korea. The subjects were selected by stratified random sampling method. The survey was performed using structured questionnaire through telephone interview by skilled interviewers. The results showed that 34.6% of the respondents felt secure and were not concerned about food safety, and 65.4% were concerned about food safety. Logistic regression analysis showed that the increasing concern on food brands, food additives (such as food preservatives and artificial color), and imported foodstuffs indicated the current increasing concern on food safety. Other related factors indicating the increasing concern on food safety were education level and care for children's health. The respondents who cared about food safety expressed a high degree of concern on processed foodstuffs such as commercial boxed lunch (93.3%), imported foods (92.7%), fastfoods (89.9%), processed meat products (88.7%), dining out (85.6%), cannery and frozen foods (83.5%), and instant foods (82.0%). The lowest degree of concern was on rice. All the respondents perceived that residues of chemical substances such as pesticides and food additives, and endocrine disrupters were the most potential food risk factors, followed by food-borne pathogens, and GMOs (Genetically Modified Organisms). However, these results were not consistent with scientific judgment. Therefore, more education and information were needed for consumers' awareness of facts and myths about food safety. In addition, the results showed that consumers put lower trust in food products information such as food labels, cultivation methods (organic or not), quality labels, and the place of origin. Nevertheless, the respondents expressed their desire to overcome alienation, and recognized the importance of knowing of the origin or the producers of food. They identified that people who need to take extreme precautions on food contamination were the producers, government officials, food companies, consumers, the consumer's association, and marketers, arranged in the order of highest to lowest. They also believed that the production stage of agriculture was the most important step for improving the level of food safety Therefore, the results indicated that there is a need to introduce safety systems in the production of agricultural products, as follows: Good Agricultural Practice (GAP), Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP), and Traceability System (75).