• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.77-95
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• 1986

In 1962 the governing bodies of FAO and WHO approved the establishment of a joint FAO/WHO Food Standards Programme, the creation of a jointly sponsored body to be known as the Codex Alimentarius commission to implement the Programme. It can reasonably be claimed that the Commission has assumad the leading role in establishing internation food standards throughout the world. The Codex Committee of Food Hygiene has received much advice and assistance from other international organization which have been working in this field for a number of years. In particular, it has received valuable background documentation from the International Commission on Microbiological Specifications for Foods(ICMSF) which was set up by the International Association of Microbiological Societies(IAMS), and also from the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). Nevertheless, in spite of the information supplied by governments and research bodies in this field, microbiological standards have proved to be a highly controversial subject from the point of view of Codex standards. When it is decided to establish a microbiological standard for a food or class of foods, the following technical and administrative aspects must be considered: 1) The standard should be based on factual studies and serve one or more of the following objectives: (1) to determine the conditions of hygiene under which the food should be manufactured; (2) to minimize the hazards to public health; (3) to measure the keeping quality and storage potential of the food 2) The standard should be attainable under practicable operating and commercial conditions and should not entail the use of excessive heat treatment or the additions of extra preservatives. 3) The standard should be determined after investigation of the processing operation. 4) The standard should be as simple and inexpensive to administer as possible, the number of tests being kept to a minimum. 5) Details of methods to be used for sampling, examining and reporting should accompany all published microbiological standards. 6) In establishing tolerance levels for the permissible number of defective samples, allowance should be made for sampling and other variations due to differences in the laboratory methods. The following additional points should be kept in mind: 1) It is not satisfactory to establish one set of microbiological standards for a miscellaneous group of foods, such as“frozen foods”or“precooked foods”. 2) Microbiological standards should be applied first to the more hazardous types of food on the basis of experience of expected microbiological levels, taking into account variations in composition, processing procedures, and storage. 3) When a standard is established, there should be a definite relationship between the standard and the hazard against which it is meant to protect the public. 4) The sensitivity, reliability, and reproducibility of the sampling and analytical methods should be compared in different laboratories and the methods to be used should be specified in detail as part of the standard. 5) Tolerances should be included in the standard to account for inaccuracies of sampling and analysis. 6) Standards should be applied on a voluntary basis before compliance is made mandatory.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.23 no.5
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• pp.555-565
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• 2022

Objective: To assess the efficacy and safety of ultrasound (US)-guided radiofrequency ablation (RFA) in patients with primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT). Materials and Methods: This prospective study enrolled 39 participants (14 male, 25 female; mean age, 59.5 ± 15.3 [range, 18-87] years) between September 1, 2018, and January 31, 2021. All participants had parathyroid lesions causing PHPT, proven biochemically and through imaging. The imaging features of the PHPT nodules, including the shape, margin, size, composition, and location, were evaluated before treatment. Serum intact parathyroid hormone, calcium, and phosphorus levels; parathyroid nodule volume; and PHPT-related symptoms were recorded before and after treatment. We calculated the technical success, biochemical cure, and clinical cure rates for these patients. Complications were evaluated during and after the ablation. Results: Complete ablation was achieved in 38 of the 39 nodules in the 39 enrolled participants. All the patients were treated in one session. The technical success rate was 97.4% (38/39). The mean follow-up duration was 13.2 ± 4.6 (range, 6.0-24.9) months. At 6 and 12 months post-RFA, the biochemical cure rates were 82.1% (32/39) and 84.4% (27/32), respectively, and the clinical cure rates were 100% (39/39) and 96.9% (31/32), respectively. Only 2.6% (1/39) of the patients had recurrent PHPT. At 1, 3, 6, and 12 months after technically successful RFA, 44.7% (17/38), 34.3% (12/35), 15.8% (6/38), and 12.5% (4/32) of participants, respectively, had elevated eucalcemic parathyroid hormone levels. Recurrent laryngeal nerve paralysis occurred in 5.1% (2/39) of the patients, who recovered spontaneously within 1-3 months. Conclusion: US-guided RFA was effective and safe for PHPT patients. RFA may be an alternative treatment tool for patients who cannot tolerate or refuse to undergo surgery.

• Korea Journal of Hospital Management
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.1-21
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• 1997

In order to analyze the shifts in the volume and profits of Computed Tomography(CT) and Magnetic Resonance Imaging(MRI) utilization for a year before and after the implementation of insurance coverage for CT, this study has been undertaken examining CT and MRI cost data from 'Y' University Hospital situated in Seoul, Korea. Following are the results of this study: 1. The medical insurance payment for CT, implemented on January 1, 1996, increased CT utilization from January 1996 to April 1996 due to low insurance premiums: however, from May 1996 the number of CT cases significantly decreased as a result of strengthened medical cost reviews and the new 'Detailed standards for approval of CT' announced near the end of April 1996 by the insurer. 2. Since the implementation of insurance coverage for CT, CT fee reduction rates for reimbursements by the insurer to the hospital were 50% and 40% for January and February, respectively, and 31% and 15% for March and April. A significant point in the lowering of the reduction rate was reached in May at 11%; furthermore, since June the reduction rate fell below the average reduction rate for reimbursements for all procedures. If the 'Detailed standards for approval of CT' had been announced before the implementation of insurance coverage for CT, CT utilization would not have been so high due to the need to meet those 'standards'. In addition, loss of hospital profits resulting from the reduction for reimbursements would not have occurred. 3. The shifts in MRI utilization showed that there was no particular change with the beginning of insurance coverage for CT, and the introduction of the 'Detailed standards for approval of CT' made MRI utilization increase because MRI is free of restrictions imposed by the insurer. 4. The relationship between CT utilization and MRI utilization showed that they were supplementary to each other before insurance coverage for CT, but that CT was substituted for MRI because of strengthened medical cost reviews after t~e beginning of insurance coverage for CT. 5. The shifts in volume by patient characteristics showed that the number of inappropriate case patients, according to the insurer's "Standards for approval", decreased more than the number of appropriate case patients after the introduction of insurance coverage for CT. Therefore, the health insurance fee schemes for CT have influenced patient care. 6. The shifts in profits from CT utilization showed a net profit decrease of 31.6%. In order to match the pre-coverage profit level, 5,471 more cases would need to be seen and productivity would need to be increased by 32.7%. This profit decrease resulted from a decrease of CT utilization and low reimbursements. With insurance coverage, net profits from CT were 24.4%, and a margin of safety ratio was 39.6%. Because of the net profits and margin of safety ratio, CT utilization fees for insured appropriate cases could not be considered inappropriate. 7. The shifts in profits from MRI utilization before and after the introduction of CT coverage showed that in order to match pre-CT coverage profit levels, 2,011 more cases would need to be seen and productivity would need to be increased by 9.2%. The reasons for needing to increase the number of cases and productivity result from cost burdens created by adding new MRI units. But with CT coverage already begun, MRI utilization increased. Combined with a minor increase in the MRI fee schedule, MRI utilization showed a net profit increase of 18.5%. Net profits of 62.8% and a 'margin of safety ratio' of 43.1% for MRI utilization showed that the hospital relied on this non-covered procedure for profits. 8. The shifts in profits from CT and MRI utilization showed the net profits from CT decreased by 2.33billion Won while the net profits from MRI increased by 815.7million Won. Overall, these two together showed a net profit decrease of 1.51billion Won. The shifts in utilization showed a functional substitutionary relationship, but the shifts in profits did not show a substitutionary relationship. From these results, We can conclude that if insurance is to be expanded to include previously uncovered procedures using expensive medical equipment, detailed standards should be prepared in advance. The decrease in profits from the shifts in coverage and changes in fees is a difficult burden that should be shared, not carried by the hospital alone. Also, a new or improved fee schedule system should include revised standards between items listed and the appropriateness of the fee schedule should constantly be ensured. This study focused on one university hospital in Seoul and is therefore limited in general applicability. But it is valuable for considering current issues and problems, such as the influence of CT coverage on hospital management. Future studies will hopefully expand the scope of the issues considered here.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.43 no.8
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• pp.1207-1216
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• 2014

Vegetables contain high levels of nitrate, which can be converted to nitrite for reaction with secondary amines to form nitrosamines. In this study, we evaluated safety effects against nitrite and nitrosamine as well as anti-mutagenic activities of vegetable juices. To do this, the contents of nitrate, nitrite, and nitrosamines were determined in vegetable juices. The safety effects against nitrite and nitrosamine formation were also investigated under simulated human gastric conditions. The contents of nitrate and nitrite in common and organic kale and Angelica keiskei juices were 931~2,052 mg/kg and 13~82 mg/kg, respectively. However, seven kinds of nitrosamines were not detected in the vegetables juices. The nitrate content decreased when vegetable juices were digested under simulated human gastric conditions. Nitrosamine (N-nitrosodimethylamine) formation under simulated human gastric conditions was inhibited by addition of vegetable juices. In addition, vegetable juices, especially organically cultivated juices, showed anti-mutagenic effects in a Salmonella assay system. These results suggest that organically cultivated vegetable juices are a promising health-promoting source.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.245-250
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• 2010

The post-harvest concentration change of four kind of pesticides, captan, chlorpyrifos, methidathion and kresoxim-methyl was investigated with the storage period for the import fruit. Then the post-harvest concentration was set to 1000, 250, 400 and 157 $mgkg^{-1}$ for captan, chlorpyrifos, methidathion and kresoxim-methyl respectively. In case of captan, 0.9-12.5 $mgkg^{-1}$ in total fruit base and ND-0.23 $mgkg^{-1}$ in the sarcocarp were measured after atomization and 0.7-3.2 $mgkg^{-1}$ in total fruit base and ND-0.67 $mgkg^{-1}$ in the sarcocarp were measured after four week. For chlopyrifos, menthidathion, and kresoxim-methyl 0.4-2.2, 0.7-3.1 and 1.3-2.1 $mgkg^{-1}$ in total fruit base and ND-0.32, ND-0.05 and ND-0.16 $mgkg^{-1}$ in the sarcocarp were measured after atomization respectively. After four week 0.3-0.9, 0.4-2.0 and 1.3-1.8 $mgkg^{-1}$ in total fruit base and ND-0.02, ND-0.05 and ND-0.15 $mgkg^{-1}$ in the sarcocarp were investigated for other three pesticides. The concentration decreasing ratio of pesticides was largest for captan, 52% and other components were in order of chlopyrifos, menthidathion, and kresoxim-methy, 47, 41, 11% each other.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.339-345
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• 2011

BACKGROUND: Recently in Korea, the import of agricultural products is rising due to the increasing amount of trade. Unregistered pesticides, allidochlor, propachlor, propham, cycloate, diallate and pebulate are widely used as pesticides for rice cultivation in foreign countries, while they are not registered in Korea. Therefore, the residue amount of imported agri-foods should be verified using the proper official analytical method for each of them that has not registered in Korea. METHODS AND RESULTS: This work was conducted to apply the official method of Korea Food & Drug Administration (KFDA) for determining multi class pesticide multiresidues in agricultural commodities. Brown rice and orange which have different characteristics as a matrix were selected as representative samples for residue analysis. The recoveries of cycloate, diallate and pebulate by GC/MS in fortified brown rice and orange with levels of 0.04~0.4 mg/kg were ranged from 82.8% to 110.3%. The quantification limits of three pesticides in brown rice and orange were 0.04 mg/kg. CONCLUSION: As a result, this method can surely be used as an official method for routine analysis of unregistered pesticides in Korea for imported agri-food.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.250-257
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• 2006

The purpose of this study is to evaluate microbiological contamination of leafy vegetables. Total aerobic bacteria and coliforms were monitored to get the contamination levels and Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus, Clostridium perfringens, Escherichia coli, Escherichia coli O157:H7, Salmonella spp., Vibrio parahaemolyticus, Listeria monocytogenes, Yersinia enterocolitica, Campylobacter jejuni to detect pathogens with risk of foodpoisoning from fresh vegetables. The colony count of total aerobes and coliforms was also performed to determine the efficacy of washing with tab water by common consumers. 124 samples which are divided into 8 kinds of vegetables - Sesame leaf, Dropwort, Chinese cabbage, Korean leek, Lettuce, Crown daisy, Pimpinella brachycarpa, Chicory were sampled in 2 wholesale markets in Incheon. Mean counts of total aerobic bacteria for individual vegetables ranged from $2.2\times10^6\;CFU/g\;to\;6.0\times10^7\;CFU/g$ and total coliforms were from $4.1\times10^5\;CFU/g\;to\;9.8\times10^6\;CFU/g$. Both show the peaks in summer on this study from March to September. Decrease rates after washing with tab water averaged 81.0% and 82.5% in total aerobic bacteria and coliform counts respectively. Staphylococcus aureus was isolated 8.1%, Bacillus cereus 14.5%, Clostridium perfringens 5.6%, Escherichia coli 18.5%. 11 samples showed overlapped bacterial contamination. For respective vegetables Staphylococcus aureus isolated from 0.0% to 22.2%, Bacillus cereus from 0.0% to 29.4%, Clostridium perfringens from 0.0% to 23.1 %, Escherichia. coli from 0.0% to 35.0%. Escherichia coli O157:H7, Salmonella spp., Vibrio parahaemolyticus, Listeria monocytogenes, Yersinia enterocolitica, Campylobacter jejuni were not isolated. This study is expected to be available as the reference for the basal data of pathogens in fresh vegetables.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.148-155
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• 2013

Objectives: This study was performed in order to compare the average levels and similarity of occupational exposure limits in South Korea, the U.S., the E.U., Germany, Japan and Finland. Methods: In this study, occupational exposure limits (OELs) for one hundred and seventy seven hazardous substances which are managed in the workplace by the Occupational Safety and Health Act in South Korea were matched with those of other countries. The units for the exposure limits of the same substance (identical CAS number) were unified and the exposure limits in each country were compared with threshold limit values (TLVs) of the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) using a geometric mean method. Geometric similarity was calculated to assess the association by each country. Results: The exposure limits according to ACGIH TLVs in South Korea, the E.U., Germany, Japan, and Finland were 148, 37, 76, 90, and 110, respectively. When using TLVs of ACGIH as a standard, the geometric mean ratios of Germany, Finland, the E.U., South Korea, and Japan were 0.79, 0.80, 0.82, 1.19, and 1.27, respectively. Geometric similarity with TLVs of ACGIH was highest in South Korea (0.75) followed by Japan (0.56), the E.U. (0.52), Finland (0.50), and Germany (0.46). Conclusions: Through the comparison of levels of OELs and similarities among South Korea, the U.S., the E.U., Germany, Japan, and Finland, we could better understand the characteristics of occupational exposure limits by country.

• The Korean Journal of Emergency Medical Services
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.97-111
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• 2022

Purpose: Automated External Defibrillator (AED) usage in out-of-hospital cardiac arrests (OHCAs) improves the survival of patients. In Singapore, public AEDs are protected by locked boxes with a 'break glass' mechanism to deter theft. Community responders have sustained injuries while breaking glass to retrieve AEDs. This unprecedented study aimed to elucidate the factors influencing successful retrieval of an AED and to document the prevalence of injuries. Methods: A survey was created and distributed. Participants were required to have responded to an OHCA in the past 12 months. Comparison tests were performed with the Fischer-Freeman-Halton Exact test or Pearson chi square test at 5% significance levels, and with multiple logistic regression with a logit link function. Results: Eighty-eight participants were eligible. The success of retrieving an AED was found not to be impacted by occupation, age, gender or time. Participants who responded to an OHCA because of activation by the myResponder App were more likely to retrieve an AED successfully. (AOR 11.111, 95% CI: 2.141-58.824) Conclusion: Use of the myResponder mobile application is associated with the greater success of retrieving an AED. Successful retrieval of an AED is not impacted by time, gender, age, or the occupation of the responder. Community responders in Singapore remain motivated to respond to Cardiac Arrests despite risk of injury.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.32 no.5
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• pp.424-433
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• 2017

Antioxidants are used in the manufacturing of commercial food packages made of polyolefin plastic such as polyethylene and polypropylene for the purpose to delay the oxidation reaction of the polymer due to oxygen or traces of ozone in the atmosphere. Additives in plastics may be migrated from the packaging materials into foods, thereby presenting a potential health risk to the consumer. Therefore, it is necessary to determine migration level of antioxidants from food packaging materials to foodstuffs in order to take proactive management. In this study, we have developed a method for the analysis of 10 antioxidants, which are butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA), butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), Cyanox 2246, 425 and 1790, Irgafos 168, and Irganox 1010, 1330, 3114 and 1076, migrated from the food packaging materials into four food simulants for aqueous, acidic, alcoholic and fatty foods. The antioxidants were determined by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatograph-ultraviolet detector with 276 nm after solid-phase extraction with a hydrophilic-lipophilic balance (HLB) cartridge or dilution with isopropanol. The analytical method showed a good linearity of coefficient ($R^2{\geq}0.99$), limits of detection (0.11~0.41 mg/L), and limits of quantification (0.34~1.24 mg/L). The recoveries of antioxidants spiked to four food simulants ranged from 71.3% to 109.4%. The migrated antioxidants in this study were within the safety levels that resulted from the safety assessment by the estimated daily intake to the tolerable daily intake.