• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.240-246
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• 2017

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Folic acid supplementation before pregnancy is known to significantly reduce the risk of having a baby with neural tube defects (NTDs). Therefore, it is important for women to be aware of the effects of folic acid supplementation before pregnancy. The purpose of this study was to investigate the awareness and preconceptional use of folic acid and to assess the current knowledge about folic acid among low-income pregnant women in Korea. SUBJECTS/METHODS: A questionnaire survey was conducted in 2012. Five hundred pregnant women were selected from the waiting list for the Nutriplus program implemented in public health centers using a multistage clustered probability sampling design. Data from 439 women were analyzed after excluding ones with incomplete answers. RESULTS: Among women who responded to the questionnaire, 65.6% had heard of folic acid before pregnancy, and 26.4% reported on the preconceptional use of folic acid. Women with a university degree or higher education were more likely to be aware of folic acid and to take folic acid in the preconception period. In a multivariate logistic regression, when age, education level, household income, employment status, gravidity, parity, and folic acid awareness were included in the model, folic acid awareness was a strong predictor of preconceptional folic acid use. As of interview, 85.4% and 77.7% of women were aware of the NTD-preventive role of folic acid and the appropriate time to take folic acid, respectively. The main sources of information on folic acid were healthcare professionals (41.2%), friends and family members (31.2%), and the media (26.5%). CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that public health strategies are needed to increase the preconceptional use of folic acid among Korean women.

• The Korean Journal of Community Living Science
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.55-65
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• 2006

Recent trends of global food production, processing, distribution and preparation under free trade circumstance are creating an increase in common' concerns about food safety. It is important that farmers improve agricultural products/food safety for satisfying consumer needs and health. Cognizant to the situation, this study was conducted to analyze how the Producers gather information, and determine their awareness about agricultural Products safety using a safety Questionnaire. The Questionnaire was given to 500 farmers who cultivate rice, fruit trees, vegetables, and other crops from September through October 2005. More than half of the producers felt concerns about the agricultural products/foods safety. Uneasiness of the producers was higher amongst those who were younger and earned a higher income. Pesticides and zoonosis (BSE AI, etc.) emerged as the main risk factors causing concerns among the greatest number of producers. Producers had a positive opinion of the effects and perception of food safety, but no opinion of the activity of government. The producers showed a high level of understanding of the Country of Origin Labeling System (88.2%), the quality certification system of agricultural and livestock products (71.9%), and the raising system of environment-friendly agriculture (72.7%). However, their level of understanding of the GAP (59.3%) and the Traceability System (22.8%) was still low. To effectively implement these policies, awareness of producers who are the beneficiaries of the above policies has to be enhanced. Therefore, the safety information should be provided at a more appropriate time and should be easier to understand.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.17 no.9
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• pp.570-577
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• 2016

The purpose of this study is to investigate the food hygiene and safety awareness of academic and specialized high school students, in order to provide basic materials characterization and demonstrate the need for differentiated food hygiene safety education by type of school in the Chungnam area. This study shows that the academic high school students attach more importance to Food Hygiene and Safety than the specialized high school students, but that the latter think it is easier get information about food safety and are more confident in choosing safe food than the former. Regardless of the type of school, 50.5% and 49.3% of the students believed that the safety of the agricultural and livestock products and processed food distributed for sale in the country is acceptable, respectively. 40.7% and 17.2% of the students answered that school food hygiene safety education is required and strongly required, respectively. Compared to the specialized high school students (average 3.17), the academic high school students (average 2.81) responded that they did not receive sufficient food safety education. Those students who were confident in choosing safe food showed a positive correlation with those who were confident in the hygienic handling of food (r = .662) and with those who have sufficient education on food safety (r = .504). We suggest that different food hygiene safety education is needed by academic and specialized high school students until they have sufficient confidence in the hygienic choosing and handling of food.

• Preventive Nutrition and Food Science
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.74-80
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• 2005

The purpose of this study was to investigate culinary arts and hospitality students' food safety practice behaviors, intentions, attitudes, and barriers to food safety compliance. This descriptive study used the self-report questionnaire. The convenience sample was composed of 266 college students majoring in culinary arts and hospitality. The students indicated that they never or rarely use a thermometer to determine if meats have been adequately cooked. Examples of positive food handling behaviors were hand washing, sanitation of fruits and vegetables, discarding of food past its expiration date, counter top sanitation, and proper food storage. Students strongly agreed it is their responsibility to practice food safety and to educate their employees about food safety. The primary barrier to proper food safety as ranked by student respondents is the misunderstanding about food labeling. Previous food safety education and internship experience appeared to improve the student respondents' perceived attitudes toward following the principles of food safety practices (p < 0.05), although behaviors and intentions to use the correct food safety practices were not affected. The findings of this study suggest that programs should consider integrating information and experiential learning opportunities in their courses that would be enhance student understanding about food safety. The outcomes of this study can be applied to develop food safety education materials and programs for culinary arts and hospitality students.

• Preventive Nutrition and Food Science
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.242-248
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• 2013

In recent years, manufacturers of animal-based foods with health claims have encountered difficulties in the labeling of their products because of a lack of regulation on defining the functionality of animal-based foods. Therefore, this study was conducted to establish the basic requirements for the development of a definition for functional animal-based foods by investigating consumer and industry awareness. Survey data were collected from 114 industry representatives and 1,100 consumers. The questions of the survey included items on production status and future production plans, functionality labeling, promotion plans, establishment of definition, the role of the government, consumer perception, and selection of products. The results show that both industry representatives and consumers believe that legislation and the provision of scientific evidence should be improved for the development of a functional animal-based foods market. The results obtained from this study will contribute to consumer trust by supplying correct information and can be utilized in the industry as basic data for the development of functional animal-based food products.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.259-265
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• 2018

Since Korean housewives are responsible for the dietary practices of family at home, it is important to know what information will make them to buy safe food. This study was designed to determine the role of perceived threats, behavioral assessments, and self-efficacy factors known to promote healthy behavior in health belief models (HBM) based on food safety awareness and behavior of housewives. This study involved 191 housewives, based on key variables such as perceived severity, perceived susceptibility, perceived benefits, perceived barriers, self-efficacy, and purchase behavior. The results showed that higher levels of education and urbanization increased the threat perception and the likelihood of buying safe food. The correlation analysis showed that increased awareness and knowledge of safe foods and interest in health contributed to higher relative benefit or self-efficiency of food, and thus, ensured food safety. The conceptual model of food safety behavior based on the HBM was verified via structural equation analysis. The findings suggest that a suitable model showcasing knowledge levels and relative benefits resulted in a greater impact on purchasing behavior than perceived threats. This study suggests that it is more effective for housewives to provide more preventive information than risk information to purchase safe food.

• 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.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Culture
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.331-343
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• 2011

A survey of consumer awareness and attitudes was conducted about genetically modified (GM) foods and the labeling regulations. The questionnaires were distributed to 4,620 consumers who lived in a variety of areas in Korea, and 4,076 people responded. The consumers were asked about knowledge, labeling information, and the source of obtaining information about GM foods. More than 11.5% of the consumers had never heard about GM foods and 86.9% of consumers had less than a normal level of knowledge about GM foods. No statistically significant relationship was found between genders, but the teachers group had moderate knowledge (p<0.001). In total, 28.4% of consumers did not know the GMO labeling regulations. They answered that the reason to buy GM food was do not know>nothing wrong>create benefit>think as safe>inexpensive. The answers to the question of what was the first benefit were: solve food shortage>functional and nutritious food>cultivate in bad condition>nothing>various cultivars. They answered that the worst factor was the next generation effect>environmental disruption. Regarding the development of GM food in Korea, males answered do not know>stronglyrecommend>defer>strongly suppress. Female answered: don't know>defer>strongly recommend>strongly suppress. More than half of the respondents did not have much information about GM foods; 88.3% of respondents answered they did not have educational experience about GM food.

• Journal of Biosystems Engineering
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• v.39 no.2
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• pp.115-121
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• 2014

Background: Frequent outbreaks of foodborne illness have been increased awareness of food safety. CDC estimates that each year roughly 48 million people gets sick, 128,000 are hospitalized and 3,000 die of foodborne diseases in US. In Korea, 6,058 were hospitalized and 266 incidents were reported in 2012. It is required to develop rapid methods to identify hazard substances in food products for protecting and maintaining safety of the public health. However, conventional methods for pathogens detection and identification involve prolonged multiple enrichment steps. Purpose: This review aims to provide information on biosensors to detect pathogens in food products to enhance food safety. Results: Foodborne outbreaks continue to occur and outbreaks from various food sources have increased the need for simple, rapid, and sensitive methods to detect foodborne pathogens. Conventional methods for foodborne pathogens detection require tremendous amount of labor and time. Biosensors have drawn attentions in recent years because of their ability to detect analytes sensitively and rapidly. Principles along with their advantages and disadvantages of a variety of food safety biosensors including fiber optic biosensor, impedimetric biosensor, surface Plasmon resonance biosensor, and nano biosensor were explained. Also, future trends for the food safety biosensors were discussed.

• Korean journal of food and cookery science
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.249-261
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• 2014

This study was performed in order to grasp the trends of elementary school children and their parents on their purchasing behavior of processed foods, awareness of food additives and its education experience by analyzing the safety assessment reports of food additives in 2008~2013. The most important factor in purchasing processed foods was safety in both groups followed by nutrition in parents and taste in children, respectively. While purchasing foods, the first item that is checked has been shifted from food additives to the origin of the products. Parents still perceived food additives as the most hazardous factor for food safety; however, recently, children began to regard microbial contaminants as being most hazardous, which is regarded as a desirable educational effect. The most concerned food additives were preservatives, synthetic seasoning and colorants in both groups. However, the awareness level on food additives still remained low as 3.0~3.1/5.0 for parents and 2.4~2.9/5.0 for children. Educational experience on food additives increased in children from 12% in 2008 to 25% in 2013; however, it decreased in parents from 23% in 2008 to 15% in 2013. Information needs for food additives by education and promotion were very high both in parents (4.2~4.5) and children (3.8~4.1). Both groups had an interest in the safety, legal standards of food additives, and foods with food additives, in order. The most reliable resource institutions on food additives were university/research institute and hospital for parents, but, hospital and government for children. The preferred media on food additives were TV and the internet for parents, and school newsletter and TV for children. Overall, the above results demonstrated that the perceptions on food additives did not change much with parents during the last 6 years; however, children's perceptions began to show improvement with the increase of educational experience. Hence, the government needs to make efforts to increase the trust level of consumers by developing educational tools and providing educational experiences including mass media for the promotion of risk communication on food additives.