• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.32 no.8
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• pp.1401-1407
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• 2003

A survey of consumers' awareness and attitudes about genetically modified food and korean labelling regulation entered into force in July, 2001 was conducted from October, 2001 to January 2002. The questionnaires were distributed to 519 consumers who are members of panel survey system of Korea Consumer Protection Board and lived in 7 largest cities of Korea. The consumers were asked about knowledge, concerns of potential hazards, intention of purchasing, and present labelling regulation. More than 85.7% of the respondents had some knowledge on genetically modified (GM) foods. More than 44.9% of consumers relied on the information from the civil activity group but only 9.6% of consumers from the government. The greatest benefit of GM food was thought to be a solution for the food shortage in the future. While, regarding a potential hazard, more than 71.6% of respondents worried about the safety of GM foods. First of all, 52.2% of korean consumer concerned about food toxicity or side effect. 53.2% of consumers responded that they would not purchase GM labelled foods and about 28.0% of respondents suspended judgement on willingness to purchase until they would get more information. Regarding complement field of present GMO labelling regulation, over 45.2% of consumers responded that labelling was needed to be more easily found. Also more than 95.1% of consumers hope to expand a list of mandatory labelling articles.

• Journal of Families and Better Life
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.89-102
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• 2002

Genetically modified foods may be defined as the foods deemed as safe by current technology among the many kinds of agricultural and stockbreeding products that are now under research and development using contemporary gene-modification techniques. This study examines hotly debated arguments, both for and against genetically modified- foods, in various countries. This study also investigates consumers'rights and responsibilities. Countries that are developing and exporting genetically modified organisms(GMO) have maintained that GMO can help produce more crops while reducing labor and other production-related costs, and that the genetically modified foods signify ″the second green revolution,″ which will solve future food and environmental problems by strengthening specific nutritive substances and extending shelf-life. But consumer groups, environmental organizations. and food-importing countries are more cautious about importing and consuming those foods because the potential dangers of GMO to human bodies and the environment have not been tested thoroughly yet. South Korea, following suit with others such as EU, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand, introduced a law on 'Labeling of Genetically Modified Foods', which went in effect in March, 2001, on the basis of customers'rights to make informed choices. The law takes the ″precautionary principle″ into consideration, rather than stopping at insuring ″substantial equivalence″ in developing and consuming GM foods. The actual impact of the law will depend on the level of citizens'Participation more than on the government's willingness to carry out the law. So far the level of Korean consumers'consciousness about genetically modified foods is very low. Therefore, it is hard to expect consumers to exercise their ″rights not to buy″ foods that are potentially unsafe. The Korean government must devise an effective plan to inform and educate the people about the labeling of genetically modified foods.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.63-70
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• 2010

Two feeding experiments were conducted to investigate the effects of dietary genetically modified (GM) soya and com on growth performance, feed utilization and body composition of juvenile olive flounder, Paralichthys olivaceus and rockfish, Sebastes schlegelii. For each fish species, four isonitrogenous (50% crude protein) and isocaloric (4.1 kcal/g) diets (designated as nGM soya, GM soya, nGM com and GM com) were formulated to contain 20% non-GM (nGM) and GM soya and com. Thirty olive flounder (initial body weight, 15.4${\pm}$0.4 g) and fifty rockfish (initial body weight, 3.1${\pm}$0.02 g) were distributed in each 400 L tank (200 L water) in a flow through system. Each experimental diet was fed to triplicate groups of fish to visual satiation, twice a day (9:00 hand 17:00 h) for 6 weeks. Growth performance was measured every three weeks. No effects of GM feedstuffs on survival were observed. Dietary inclusion of GM feedstuffs did not affect growth performance and feed utilization of fishes, except for rockfish fed GM com. Rockfish fed the GM com diet showed higher weight gain, daily feed intake and daily protein intake than did fish fed the nGM com diet, but no significant differences were observed in final body weight between the dietary treatments. Condition factor, hepatosomatic index, visceral somatic index and body composition were not altered by the inclusion of GM feedstuffs. These results indicate that dietary inclusion of GM soya and com could have no effects on growth performance and feed utilization of juvenile flounder and rockfish. Lower weight gain and feed intake in flounder and rockfish fed the diets containing 20% soya were likely due to anti-nutritional factors, rather than transgenic factors in the feedstuffs. Dietary inclusion of GM soya and com at the level tested did not alter the body composition of fishes. Further studies to investigate the effects of GM feedstuffs on health conditions and the development of fishes, as well as those of residue of transgenic fragments in ambient environments and in animals are necessary for safe use of the ingredients in aquaculture.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.44 no.5
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• pp.560-564
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• 2011

Two feeding experiments were conducted to investigate the effects of dietary inclusion of genetically modified (GM) soybean and corn on the growth performance, feed utilization and body composition of juvenile abalone Haliotis discus hannai. Four isonitrogenous (31% crude protein) and isolipidic (6% crude lipid) diets (designated as nGM-soya, GM-soya, nGM-corn and GM-corn) were formulated to contain 20% non-GM (nGM) and GM soya and corn. Fifty juvenile abalone (initial body weight, 2.0 g) were distributed in each 50 L tank in a flow-through system. Each experimental diet was fed to duplicate groups of abalone to satiation once a day for 10 weeks. No effects of GM feedstuffs on survival were observed. Dietary inclusion of GM feedstuffs did not affect either growth performance or feed utilization of abalone. Body composition was not altered by the inclusion of GM feedstuffs. These results indicate that dietary inclusion of GM soybean and corn could have no effect on the growth performance and body composition of juvenile abalone. Further studies to investigate the effects of GM feedstuffs on transgenic fragment residues in ambient environments and in animals are necessary for the safe use of such ingredients in aquaculture.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.45 no.4
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• pp.591-600
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• 2018

The use of genetically modified (GM) crops has increased continuously over the world, and concerns about the potential risks of GM crops have also risen. Although, until now, GM crops have not been cultivated commercially in Korea, it is necessary to develop technology for the safe evaluation of GM crops. In this study, we investigated the influence of gene flow from GM to non-GM soybeans by the size of the pollen donor. In the experimental design, GM soybeans were placed in the center as a pollen donor and non-GM soybeans were placed in four directions as the pollen receivers. Three sizes of pollen donor were designed as $90cm{\times}90cm$, $180cm{\times}180cm$, and $360cm{\times}360cm$. A total 22,719 seeds were collected from non-GM soybeans, and 14 hybrids were finally obtained through herbicide resistance screening and PCR analysis. The highest hybridization rate was 0.78% at a distance of 15 cm from a $360cm{\times}360cm$ GM pollen donor, and the farthest distance of hybridization was 180 cm from a GM pollen donor which was $360cm{\times}360cm$ in size. Ten hybrids were found among the 14 hybrids at the $360cm{\times}360cm$ pollen donor size, 3 hybrids at $180cm{\times}180cm$, 1 hybrid at $90cm{\times}90cm$. From these results, it could be concluded that with the larger pollen donor size, more hybridization occurred in soybeans.

• Toxicological Research
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.101-108
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• 2004

The different social reflections about the benefits and the potential risks of genetically modified (GM) crops have evolved with .different reactions in different countries. Many countries including Korea are working toward setting down new guidelines. Korea requires companies to label all food that contains more than 3% GM ingredients. One of the rapid and convenient detection methods of GM ingredients is amplification of the introduced DNAs by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Many PCR kits for this purpose are commercially available. The objective of this study was to evaluate performance of commercialized GM crop detection kits. The results showed that 6 out of 15 kits tested did not meet the requirements even purposed by the manufacturers themselves in terms of stability, reproducibility, and detection limits, suggesting a potential quality control problem in their design stage or production line. The evaluation also suggests that, although the duplex and triplex detection kits allowed unambiguous detection in a single PCR reaction, the monoplex detection kits were the most sensitive to the detection of GM ingredients. The detection limits also differ between soybean and corn. Results from this study will be useful in the development of sound qualitative tracking systems of GM ingredients for monitoring throughout the cultivation of GM crops, their trans-boundary movement, and food production using GM grains as well as for complying with government guidelines associated with GM crops.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Food Hygiene and Safety Conference
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• 2002.05a
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• pp.68-81
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• 2002

• Safe Food
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.25-32
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• 2009

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.43 no.4
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• pp.560-566
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• 2016

Imports of genetically modified (GM) soybeans (Glycine max) for food or feed consumption in Korea have been increasing. Although the cultivation of GM soybeans has not yet been allowed in Korea, the number of field tests for GM soybeans has also been rising. This study was conducted to investigate whether herbicide tolerant GM soybean can survive and persist in uncultivated environments when they escape from transportation routes or from isolated fields. Seeds of GM and non-GM soybeans and wild soybeans (Glycine soja) were buried in 2 and 15 cm soil depths and their viability was examined after 1, 2, 6, and 10 months. GM and non-GM soybean seeds completely lost their viability within six months of burial, whereas seeds of wild soybean maintained their viability during the study period. Seeds of soybean and wild soybeans that were sown on the soil surface germinated and grew to vegetative cotyledon stage. Seedlings of GM and non-GM soybean did not compete well with weeds, including Cerastium glomeratum, Alopecurus aequalis var. amurensis, Capsella bursa-pastoris, Conyza canadensis, Stellaria aquatica, and Erigeron annuus. Also, GM soybean did not survive through winter. However, wild soybeans competed well with the weeds and became dominant in August. Herbicide tolerant GM soybean is unlikely to persist under uncultivated environments and to become weeds.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.26 no.7
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• pp.1303-1310
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• 2016

Although many studies on the effects of genetically modified (GM) crops on soil microorganisms have been carried out over the past decades, they have provided contradictory information, even for the same GM crop, owing to the diversity of the soil environments in which they were conducted. This inconsistency in results suggests that the effects of GM crops on soil microorganisms should be considered from many aspects. In this study, we investigated the effects of the GM drought-tolerant rice MSRB2-Bar-8, which expresses the CaMSRB2 gene, on soil microorganisms based on the culture-dependent and culture-independent methods. To this end, rhizosphere soils of GM and non-GM (IM) rice were analyzed for soil chemistry, population densities of soil microorganisms, and microbial community structure (using pyrosequencing technology) at three growth stages (seedling, tillering, and maturity). There was no significant difference in the soil chemistry between GM and non-GM rice. The microbial densities of the GM soils were found to be within the range of those of the non-GM rice. In the pyrosequencing analyses, Proteobacteria and Chloroflexi were dominant at the seedling stage, while Chloroflexi showed dominance over Proteobacteria at the maturity stage in both the GM and non-GM soils. An UPGMA dendrogram showed that the soil microbial communities were clustered by growth stage. Taken together, the results from this study suggest that the effects of MSRB2-Bar-8 cultivation on soil microorganisms are not significant.