• Journal of the Korean Dietetic Association
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.269-280
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• 2019

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between HMR use and eating habits in young Korean adults. This cross-sectional study was conducted on 575 adults (232 men, 343 women) in their 20s and 30s in Korea. Their use of HMRs (classified as ready-to-eat, ready-to-cook, and fresh convenience foods) and eating habits were surveyed. The main reasons for HMR use by men and women were convenience (54.7%, 64.4%) and promptness (24.2%, 24.2%), respectively. The most frequent place for HMR purchase was a convenience store (74.1% and 65.0%, respectively). Regarding the frequency of HMR use, 1~2 times a week was the highest for ready-to-eat (40.9%) and ready-to-cook (30.1%), while no eating was the highest for fresh convenience foods (41.0%). HMR preference was the highest (3.8 out of 5 on a 5-point scale) for ready-to-eat, followed by ready-to-cook (3.3 points) and fresh convenience foods (3.3 points). The use frequency and preference of total HMRs, ready-to-eat foods, and ready-to-eat foods were positively correlated with unfavorable eating habits, including unbalanced eating, overeating, salty eating, spicy eating, skipping, and irregular meals. However, fresh convenience foods showed negative correlations with unbalanced eating, overeating, and salty eating. The use frequency and preference of total HMRs, ready-to-eat foods, and ready-to-cook foods were positively correlated with undesirable eating habits. However, fresh convenience food showed a negative correlation with eating habits such as unbalanced, overeating, and salty eating. These results should be considered for favorable food production and consumer guidance to promote healthy food choices.

• Journal of the Korean Dietetic Association
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.262-277
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• 2009

Fresh-cut foods have been widely used in the school foodservice industry due to their convenience and saving effects of labor and working hours. This study evaluated the effectiveness of using fresh-cut foods in school foodservice with respect to cost efficiency, customer satisfaction, employee satisfaction, and productivity. First, in terms of cost efficiency, the cost of the fresh-cut food per meal price significantly increased by 2.6% via the new production plan. Meanwhile, the costs of labor and food wastes significantly decreased by 3.0% and 0.3%, respectively, after implementing the new plan. Second, customer satisfaction towards foodservice significantly increased, from 2.94 points prior to the new plan to 3.45 points. Third, foodservice productivity such as of the number of meals per full-time equivalent employee increased by 5.7 meals, from 143.0 meals to 148.7 meals after intervention. The productivity index of work hours for producing a meal also increased and was reflected by a work time reduction of 0.77 minutes, specifically from 4.25 minutes to 3.48 minutes. The labor cost per meal also decreased by 29.9 won, from 331.91 won to 301.97 won, but there was no significant difference. Through these results, we identified that using pre-process foods in school foodservice has positive effects on labor saving, customer satisfaction, and employee work satisfaction.

• Journal of the East Asian Society of Dietary Life
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.125-133
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• 2011

This study was carried out to strengthen productivity and employee management through the development of simple pre-processed foods based on Hansik (Korean foods) and to investigate the utilization of fresh vegetable menus, pretreatment, and cooking time in the preparation of vegetable side dishes. The reasons for not using pretreated foods were increased cost, required product size is not available, and not hygienic. The acceptable rate of increase in cost when purchasing simple pre-processed foods was under 10%. The expected developed products of simple pre-processed vegetable foods were balloon flower root salad, seasoned green vegetables, and sheredded white radish. The expected developed products of simple mixed vegetable pre-processed foods were deodeok+balloon flower root and white radish+pear. Based on these findings, to increase the utilization of simple preprocessed foods, development of various product sizes and sauces is needed, cost must be reduced, and hygiene improved.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF PACKAGING SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.109-117
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• 2017

Due to the rise of customer's alertness about fresh foods to health, in the past few years, the consumption of fresh food has increased sturdily. The use of gas scavengers is the most appropriate packaging technologies for fresh, fresh-cut produces and in ready to eat products. The gas absorber/scavenger has ability to protect or stabilize the wanted properties and shelf life of food. The success of gas absorbers in food depends on many parameters such as types of foods, storage temperature, relative humidity, initial gas concentration, and the characteristics of package materials. In this review article, we focus on the most recent research trends in gas scavenging systems used in food packaging, future trends. Intense research from industry and engineers remains important to the development of gas scavenging package that fulfill consumer requirements, enhance product quality, and offer environmentally friendly design and cost-effective application.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.476-484
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• 2019

Objectives: The rise of one-person households may have consequences for food consumption patterns, and eating habits. This study investigated the home meal replacement (HMR) use and eating habits among adults in their 20s-30s living in one-person households. Methods: A total of 247 adults aged 26-39 years participated in this study. The subjects were divided into three group according to the household type; one-person households (n=80), two-person households (n=49), and multi-family (three and more members) households (n=118). Their use of HMRs (classified as ready-to-eat, ready-to-cook, and fresh convenience foods) and their eating habits were all compared. Results: The mean age of the subjects was 30.5 years, 47.8% were male, and there was no significant difference in age, gender, occupation, and monthly income according to the type of household. The intake frequency of total HMR and ready-to-eat foods was significantly higher in one-person households among the three groups. People in one-person households consumed more HMRs alone, and spent more money to buy HMRs. Undesirable dietary habit scores like unbalanced eating (p<0.05) and eating salty foods (p<0.05) were significantly higher in the one-person households. Among the total subjects, the unbalanced eating scores showed a significant positive correlation with the intake frequency of ready-to-eat foods, while the unbalanced eating scores showed negative correlation with the preference of fresh convenience foods. The scores for eating salty foods showed a significant positive correlation with the intake frequency and preference of ready-to-eat foods and ready-to-cook foods, while there was negative correlation with the intake frequency and preference of fresh convenience foods. Conclusions: Adults in their 20s-30s in one-person households consumed more ready-to-eat foods than those in multi-family households. In addition, people with one-person households had more unbalanced diets and ate more salty foods, and these undesirable eating habits showed a significant positive correlation with the use of ready-to-eat or ready-to-cook foods. These results should be addressed for producing healthier ready-to-eat/ready-to-cook foods and implementing nutrition education for making healthy food choices of one-person households, which are steadily increasing.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.52-58
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• 2004

This work was conducted to provide the reference data of radioactivity in the foodstuffs at a radiological emergency situation in Jeju Island The sampled foodstuffs were agricultural (31), livestock (6), marine (12) and forest products (4), and processed foods (3) consumed by Jeju Islanders. $^{137}Cs$ and $^{40}K$ activities were determined by HPGe r-ray spectromety. The activity ranges of $^{137}Cs$ was ${\sim}650\;mBq/kg$ fresh in the agricultural products, ${\sim}131\;mBq/kg$. fresh in the livestock, ${\sim}834\;mBq/kg$ fresh in the forest, ${\sim}253\;mBq/kg$ fresh in the marine and $32.0{\sim}483\;mBq/kg$. fresh in the processed foods (tea). In case of $^{40}K$ the activity was $16.6{\sim}542\;Bq/kg$. fresh in the agricultural products, $39.1{\sim}294\;Bq/kg$ fresh in the livestock, $85.5{\sim}116\;Bq/kg$ fresh in the forest, $50.1{\sim}657\;Bq/kg$ fresh in the marine, and $33.6{\sim}1,065\;Bq/kg$ fresh in the processed foods (tea). The highest activity of $^{137}Cs$, 834mBq/kg fresh was observed in oak mushroom and $^{40}K$ 1,065 Bq/kg fresh in coffee. Annual effective doses of $^{137}Cs$ and $^{40}K$ by intake of foodstuffs per capita were the following order; agricultural products (66,543 nSv) > livestock products (19,311 nSv) > processed foods (6,648 nSv) > marine products (6,579 nSv) > forest products (860 nSv). Therefore, total annual effective dose was summed 99,941 nSv which is quite low level comparing to the annual effective dose by external exposure, 2,400,000 nSv. The data obtained in this study can be useful for monitoring whether the foodstuffs are contaminated or not at an emergency radiation accident, and showed that the foodstuffs consumed in Jeju are safe in terms of annual effective dose of $^{137}Cs$ and $^{40}K$

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.39 no.4
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• pp.335-342
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• 2024

This study aimed to examine the delivery conditions and microbial contamination of fresh-cut and ready-to-eat foods purchased from online markets between February and November 2023. Upon arrival, the average surface temperature of the products was 11.3℃. In the fresh-cut foods, the average number of total aerobic bacteria and coliforms was 4.5 log colony-forming units (CFU)/g and 1.2 log CFU/g, respectively, whereas in the ready-to-eat foods, these values were 10.6 log CFU/g and 1.2 log CFU/g, respectively. Pathogens, such as Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella spp., Clostridium perfringens, Listeria monocytogenes, and pathogenic Escherichia coli were absent from all samples. Bacillus cereus was found in 2.7% of the fresh-cut foods and 0.9% of the ready-to-eat foods, with contamination levels averaging 0.05 log CFU/g and 0.01 log CFU/g, respectively. In the four samples in which B. cereus was detected, genetic testing of the six toxin genes produced by B. cereus revealed the presence of at least one enterotoxin gene, excluding the emetic toxin. L. monocytogenes was absent from ready-to-eat foods but was detected in 0.9% of fresh-cut foods. Analysis of the isolated L. monocytogenes confirmed the presence of six pathogenicity-related genes, including iap, indicating the potential risk of foodborne diseases.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Culture
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.250-259
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• 2001

This study was peformed to investigate the use of preprocessed foods, satisfaction on using them, and the plausibility to extend its use in 134 elementary school foodservices in Incheon by questionnaire from December 11th to 28th in 1999. The percentages of school foodservices to purchase and use preprocessed foods were 99.06% in seed, 97.64% in fishes and poultry, 87.74% in meats, 57.55% in eggs, 55.32% in fresh vegetables, 51.42% in dried vegetables and 34.90% in beans. Dietitians were satisfied with having used preprocessed foods, and the reduction in cooking time was listed as the biggest advantage which could be obtained by using preprocessed foods. However, dietitians showed relatively negative attitudes for the plausibility to expand use of preprocessed foods.

• Korean journal of food and cookery science
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.314-318
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• 1997

This study was conducted over eat-nut foods in Andong area to measure the salt concentration and to compare the result with the optimum gustation of salt concentration in usual diets. The results were as follows: 1. Mean salt concentration of eat-nut foods was similar to the optimum salt concentration by sensory evaluation. 2. The salt intake through the menu was about twice of the recommended intake by Korean Food Research. 3. The foods with a large serving size contributed to the increase of salt intake, suggesting that the serving size needs to be adjusted. 4. It is recommended that the consumption of high salt foods needs to be reduced while increasing that of fresh fruit and vegetable in the diet behavior on eat-out foods.

• Journal of the East Asian Society of Dietary Life
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.488-502
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• 2014

Research on the actual state of healthy Korean food menu items made from environmentally-friendly organic foods showed that 65.6% of subjects had experience of purchasing environmentally-friendly organic foods, and both genders chose 'expensive but reliable' as their prime reason for purchasing. Having no experience of purchasing environmentally-friendly foods constituted 34.5% of respondents, and the reasons were 'high price' and 'finding no difference from ordinary food'. Research on awareness of healthy Korean food menu items made from environmentally-friendly organic ingredients showed that both men and women thought the given menu items were 'fresh' but had little awareness of other factors such as 'good value for price', 'good visual style' and 'various recipes'. Regarding development prospective of environmentally-friendly organic foods, the number of subjects who answered positively was 405 (93%), which indicates that most research subjects showed positive attitudes. Top-selling menu items in the grain section were Sundubu-jjigae, Dubu-kimchi and Jeonju-bibimbap, and pajeon took first place in the vegetable selection. Moreover, Imjasu-tang showed high scores in the meat section. Furthermore, research on menu selection showed that menu selection was usually dependent on 'the price of menu (3.86)', 'fresh ingredients (4.03)', 'harmony of color (3.65)' and 'mood of the day (3.25)'. Research on menu selection revealed that 'quality of food' factors had the greatest influence upon preference and purchase intention for environmentally-friendly organic foods. Visual and psychological factors and values had significant an effect. Therefore, the food service industry should use this study as a source to develop menu items, by considering quality and visual factors. In addition, there should be various research performed on marketing strategies about menus from using environmentally-friendly organic foods and high value products.