• The Korean Journal of Community Living Science
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.397-411
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• 2009

The use of local product foods and fresh-cut products, the dietitian's recognition, the required items and the quality for school foodservice was investigated to increase the consumption of high-quality agricultural products. Data from 578 elementary schools, 228 middle schools and 116 high schools were collected by school foodservice personnels in each regional Education Administration in Gyeong-gi province. The first criteria of buying food materials was reliability/safety for all school foodservice. The second criteria were the origin of the product and freshness/ripeness for elementary and middle schools and high school, respectively. The most important consideration for selecting a supplier was the quality of the material. The appearance/status of the food was the first factor for buying food materials. The origin and the seasonality were very important for buying farm products. Dietitians in Gyeong-gi province recognized the local products, and used them weekly. The advantages of using local products were the quick supply, freshness and safety. On the other hand, the disadvantages were the lack of information and the uncertainty of supply. Sixty eight percent of the subjects had experienced the high-quality agricultural products in school meals, but the frequency was low. The main reasons for not servicing high-quality agricultural products were the high cost and the lack of trust on the quality. Among fresh-cut products, seasonings and root vegetables were purchased most frequently, but leaf vegetables was 5.7% only. The purchase of fresh-cut products was not frequent, but usually satisfied. The advantages of fresh-cut products were the reduced workload and waste, but the reason for not using them were poor hygiene and the high price. The diverse supply system and the promotion of the local product foods would be necessary since the most food materials were purchased through suppliers. In addition, the problems related to the high cost and distrust should be resolved to expand the consumption of the high-quality agricultural products and the fresh-cut vegetables. The institutions for certifying the quality should be needed to increase the confidence of these products.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.10-16
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• 2021

The consumption of fresh-cut agricultural materials is increasing due to increased public interest in health and the increase of single-person households. Most fresh-cut agricultural materials can be eaten without heating, thus easily exposing the consumer to food-borne pathogens. As a result, food-borne diseases are increasing worldwide. In the analysis of food-borne pathogens, it is important to detect the strains, but this is time consuming and laborious. Alternative detection methods that have been introduced, include polymerase chain reaction-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE), which is performed without prior culturing. Samples of fresh-cut agricultural materials, such as vegetables, were analyzed by the culture-based method. In 129 samples, non-pathogenic Escherichia coli (3.9%), Bacillus cereus (31.8%), Clostridium perfringens (5.4%), Yersinia enterocolitica (0.8%), and enterohemorrhagic E. coli (0.8%) were detected. Eight samples contaminated with bacteria were randomly selected, further analyzed by PCR-DGGE, and compared with the culture-based method. Two cases detected non-pathogenic E. coli by PCR-DGGE only, despite a lack of detection by the culture method. It was supposed there was possibility of sample loss during its 10-fold dilution for appropriate cultivation. In the detection of high-risk food-borne pathogens, it was found that the detection limit was lower in PCR-DGGE than in the culture-based method (10 CFU/g). This suggests that PCR-DGGE can be alternatively used to detect strains. On the other hand, low-risk food-borne pathogens seem to have higher detection limits in PCR-DGGE. Consequentially, this study contributes to the improvement of food-borne pathogen detection and the prevention of its related-diseases in fresh-cut agricultural materials.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.36 no.5
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• pp.622-628
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• 2007

Most fresh-cut agri-food products are less stable than unprocessed materials from which they are made. The objective of this study was the development of a quality control system for fresh-cut agri-food products. In this study, vitamin C, minerals, residual heavy metals, and pesticides of various fresh-cut agri-food products were analysed. Sensory evaluation revealed that overall acceptability scores were less than expected in most products since fresh-cut products are likely to cause browning and easily lose their freshness. Therefore, the postharvest technologies that can maintain the quality, freshness and appearance must be supplied. Although vitamin C and minerals are main nutrients that can be supplied from salads, the results showed that vitamin C and mineral contents were very small and extremely small compared with the values from the food composition tables. It is possible that vitamin C and most minerals that are easily destroyed were lost through minimal processes like peeling and cutting. In safety side, the remaining heavy metal contents of fresh-cut agri-food were investigated and the results showed that copper and lead existed in some products because only cadmium in agricultural produce is controlled by the minimum standard of heavy metal contents in Korea. No residual pesticides were detected in all products.

• Journal of Mushroom
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.287-292
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• 2014

This study investigated the packaging status and sensory quality of fresh-cut mushroom products from retail markets. Fifty one fresh-cut mushroom products were surveyed / purchased from discount stores in four cities in January (winter), March (spring), August (summer), and October (autumn) 2009. Collected fresh-cut mushrooms include single variety products like whole oyster mushroom and winter mushroom, diced or sliced oak mushroom, sliced king oyster mushroom, and ready-to-cook mixed mushroom products. Most fresh-cut mushrooms were packed in trays made of aluminum, polystyrene (PS), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), nylon materials covered with PVC (polyvinyl chloride) wrap or solid PP (polypropylene) and PS. Eighty nine percent of the covers were labeled with manufacture and expiration date. Collected samples showed severe browning (10%) and off-flavor (4%). The percentage of products with a rating of 'good' or better in overall quality was 90%. Moreover, Survey showed seasonal differences in sensory qualities. All of the collected fresh-cut mushrooms in autumn and winter had high marketability. However, Mushroom products collected in spring and summer had lower quality, hence requires treatment to prevent browning and off-flavor.

• Journal of Biosystems Engineering
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.209-216
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• 2003

Red pepper calyx cutting devices using a impacting force by a rotational cutter were devised and tested to obtain the fundamental data for development of a calyx removal unit. Fresh red peppers with 80∼87%(w.b.) of initial moisture contents were used as experimental materials. Square and wire type of rotational cutters were used to cut the red pepper calyx and the fresh red peppers were fed into the device both manually and automatically. Three rotational speeds of 250, 500, 700rpm were selected for a square, and 1000, 1500, 1800rpm for a wire type cutter respectively. Four types of red pepper fixing unit were used in manual feeding. The cutting rate of the square type cutter was over 50% regardless the shape and specification of the cutter. For the wire type cutter, the copper wire and nylon chord could not be applied to cut the red pepper calyx because of the low cutting rate. But for the fine wire, the cutting rate was higher and the cutting mechanism was more steady than copper wire and nylon chord. The cutting rate of automatic feeding and wire type cutting unit was about 70% for all levels of the rotational speed. The cutting rate was highly related to the impacting point of red pepper in carrier box. To increase the cutting rate using the rotational cutter, a proper device and mechanism was required to keep the impacting point consistently.

• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.42 no.1
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• pp.34-39
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• 1999

In search of a method to achieve sustainable agricultural practices, a trickling filter was employed for the piggery wastewater treatment, where rice straw was the support medium in place of more commonly used materials. The filtrate from the trickling filter were applied to a soil, on which orchard grass (Dactylic glomerata L.) was grown followed by amendment of the treated straw medium. Orchard grass was cut twice, and growth parameters and yields were measured. Soil chemical properties before and after harvesting orchard grass were analyzed. Development of the forage crop was greatly enhanced by the application of the filtrate in terms of fresh weight, dry weight, and the absorption of nutrients. Better growth and higher nutrient uptake were found in the second cutting of the orchard grass. Organic matter content, ionic intensity, exchangeable cations, and phosphate of the soil increased with the application of the filtrate. The relative high concentrations of salts in the piggery trickling filtrate, expressed in electrical conductivity and content of sodium, exerted no detrimental effect on the crop and soil.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.34 no.6
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• pp.526-533
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• 2019

The purpose of this study was to investigate hazardous microorganisms in mixed baby leafy vegetables and various baby leafy vegetables used as raw materials for fresh-cut produce in spring and summer. To estimate microbial loads, a total of 298 samples including 181 samples of mixed baby leafy vegetables purchased in a Korean market and 117 samples of various baby leafy vegetables from distribution companies were collected. Fecal indicators (coliform and Escherichia coli) as well as food-borne pathogens (E. coli O157:H7, Salmonella spp., Staphylococcus aureus) were enumerated. As a result, the mixed baby leafy vegetable samples showed significantly higher (P<0.05) coliform bacteria numbers in summer (5.59±1.18 log CFU/g) compared to spring (3.60±2.53 log CFU/g). E. coli was detected in 1.3% (1/79) and 42.2% (43/102) of samples collected in spring and summer, respectively. Only one sample collected from a market in spring was contaminated with S. aureus. In the experiment with baby leafy vegetables, the number of coliforms detected in baby leafy vegetables cultivated in soil in spring was 1.15±1.95 log CFU/g, and that in summer was 4.09±2.52 log CFU/g. However, the number of coliforms recovered from baby leafy vegetables cultivated in media was above 5.0 log CFU/g regardless of season. Occurrences of E. coli were 44.4% (12/27) and 19.0% (4/21) for baby leafy vegetables cultivated in soil and media, respectively. However, E. coli O157:H7 and Salmonella spp. were not detected. These results are in relation to microbial loads on mixed baby leafy vegetables associated with raw materials. Therefore, it is necessary to develop and implement hygienic practices at baby leafy vegetable farms to enhance the safety of fresh produce.

• Journal of architectural history
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.53-63
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• 2003

Tree-ring chronologies can be used to date historical buildings by matching them with the chronologies of living trees or previously dated samples. Tree-ring dating gives a calendar year to each tree ring and produces the felling dates of logs or woods which had been used for buildings. In Korea, several chronologies of Japanese red pine(Pinus densiflora Sieb. et Zucc., 'sonamu' in Korean), a major species for the wooden building materials, have been developed and used for dating historical buildings. In this study, Tongmyungjeon Hall of Changkyung Palace in Seoul was dated by tree rings. The present Tongmyungjeon Hall was known to be reconstructed in A.D. 1834 after burned-out in A.D. 1790. We sampled total of 122 wood samples which were replaced during the repair process in 2002-2003. Felling dates of the samples were determined by the dendrochronological crossdating method. Crossdating method employs graphic comparison of the master patterns (ring-width chronologies of known dates) with those of the sample chronologies of unknown dates. Tree-ring dates confirmed that the reconstruction of 1834 utilized second-handed timbers as well as fresh-cut ones. The felling dates of wooden floor frames were mostly A.D. 1913, indicating the 'Ondol' floors were changed to the wooden floors around 1914 when the Japanese rulers brutally destroyed the royal Korean Palaces and transformed palace buildings to their offices or exhibition halls after occupying Korea in 1910. This study proved that tree-ring dating was a useful and accurate method to identify the critical dates for the history of Korean traditional buildings.