• Title/Summary/Keyword: genetically modified

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Consumer Awareness and Attitudes about Genetically Modified Foods - According to Area, Occupation, and Education - (유전자재조합식품에 대한 소비자의 인지도 조사 - 지역과 직업,학력을 중심으로 -)

  • Kim, Hae-Young;Kim, Mee-Jeong
    • Journal of the Korean Society of Food Culture
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    • v.26 no.6
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    • pp.657-672
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    • 2011
  • This study was a survey of consumer awareness and attitudes about genetically modified foods and their labeling regulations. Questionnaires were distributed to 4,620 consumers who lived in different areas of Korea, and 4,076 people responded. The consumers were asked about knowledge, labeling information, and their sources of information about GM foods. Respondents from Seoul, Jeonnam, and Gyeongnam answered mostly "nearly don't know > moderate > never know > know a little." Respondents from Gyeonggi answered "moderate > nearly don't know > never know > know a little." According to occupation, housewives, company employees, consultants, and students answered mostly "nearly don't know > moderate > never know > know a little. "Consumers answered about the intent to buy GM foods differently according to area, occupation, and education. Seoul and Gyeonggi residents said that reinforcing factors to relieve the insecurity of GM foods were "evaluating safety > management of GM foods by the government > GM food regulation system." There were other answers according to area, occupation, and education. About GM-related education methods that they wished to have, residents of the Seoul area said "books/leaflets" most often, but residents of the Gyounggi area said "attending a lecture" most often. Housewives also said "attending a lecture," but teachers and students said "Internetbased education" most often. About the kinds of education that they could join, Seoul residents answered "consumer groups > school parents > public institutions," but Gyeonggi and Chungnam area residents answered "public institutions > consumer groups > school parents." Housewives and students answered "consumer groups" most often, but consultants and private business owners answered "public institutions" most often. We realized that different education methods were necessary for different areas, occupations, and education levels.

Comparison of Nutrients Contents in Genetically Modified Herbicide-tolerant Dried Red Pepper and Its Parental Cultivars

  • Lee Sung Hyeon;Park Hong Ju;Cho Su Mook;Kim Yeong In;Chang Soon Ok;Lee Gun Soon;Kim Dong Hern
    • The Korean Journal of Community Living Science
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    • v.15 no.4
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    • pp.177-184
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    • 2004
  • This study performed compositional analyses of a genetically modified herbicide-tolerant red pepper (GMHT), developed by the Rural Development Administration, and a parental red pepper cultivar 'Subicho', and compared the nutrient composition of them. Using the Association of Official Analytical Chemists (AOAC) methods, the study measured the concentration of nutrients, including the proximate components (protein, fat, fiber, ash, and carbohydrates) and minerals (Ca, K, Na, Fe, Mg, Zn) of GMHT and 'Subicho'. Nutritional composition of GMHT and 'Subicho' were compared with the nutritional composition of conventional red peppers. The nutrient composition of GMHT and 'Subicho' were found similar, and GMHT's nutrient contents were in the range of those of the conventional red peppers. These results showed that GMHT's nutrient contents were equivalent to those of the parental red pepper and other conventional red peppers.

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Consumer Awareness about Genetically Modified Food According to Gender and Age (유전자재조합식품에 대한 성별, 연령별 소비자의 인지도 조사)

  • Kim, Hae-Young;Lee, Mi-Ra;Kim, Hyun-Kyung;An, Jeong-Ha;Kim, Mi-Gyeong;Hong, Soon-Keun;Kim, Mee-Jeong
    • 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.

Impact of Genetically Modified Enterobacter cloacae on Indigenous Endophytic Community of Citrus sinensis Seedlings

  • Fernando Dini;Mortatti, Marcelo-Jose;Souza, Andre-Oliveira de;Walter Maccheroni;Joao Lucio;Welington Luiz
    • Journal of Microbiology
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    • v.42 no.3
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    • pp.169-173
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    • 2004
  • Enterobacter cloacae (strain PR2/7), a genetically modified endophyte(GME) in citrus plants, carrying different plasmids (pEC3.0/18, pCelE, pEglA and pGFP), was inoculated into Citrus sinensis seedlings under greenhouse conditions. The impact of this on the indigenous bacterial endophytic community was studied by analyses of 2 different morphologic groups. The germination rates of inoculated seeds were evaluated in greenhouse, and plasmid stability under in vitro conditions. Results demonstrated a great and diverse endophytic community inside plants, and specialization in tissue colonization by some bacterial groups, in different treatments. Shifts in seed germination rate were observed among treatments: in general, the PR2/7 harboring pEglA bacterial- clone significantly reduced seed germination, compared to the PR2/7 harboring pEC3.0/18 clone. This suggests that the presence of the pEglA plasmid changes bacteria-seed interactions. The endophytic community of citrus seedlings changed according to treatment. In seedlings treated with the PR2/7 with pEglA clone, the population of group II decreased significantly, within the context of the total endophytic community. These results indicate that the application of GMEs induces shifts in the endophytic bacterial community of citrus seedlings.

Safety Assessment of Foods Produced Using Recombinant DNA Techniques

  • Toyoda, Masatake
    • Toxicological Research
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    • v.17
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    • pp.167-171
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    • 2001
  • The introduction of genetically modified crops has raised concerns regarding safety issues over the insertion of foreign genes into plant genomes using recombinant DNA technology. Since 1991 in Japan, 29 foods and 6 food additives have been evaluated, based on the "Guideline for Safety Assessment", before these foods were marketed. The MHW, however, decided that safety assessment of such foods and food additives should be legally imposed. because soon such foods and food additives are expected to circulate globally and a new system for assessing safety of such foods and food additives at a pre-market stage is necessary, in order to avoid the distribution of any genetically modified foods that have had no safety assessment. The MHW published relevant announcements to amend existing regulations on 1 May 2000. "Standards for safety assessment of seed plant" is established based on a concept of substantial equivalence, and applicable to the products which are regarded as equivalent to the existing products used as foods and food additives. The characterization of the food products entails consideration of the molecular characterization. phenotypic and compositional characteristics, key nutrients and toxicants, and toxicity and allergenicity of the introduced proteins, and if there are indications of unintended effects of the modification, whether further safety testing (animal studies etc.) is needed should be considered. Safety and wholesomeness studies with whole foods should be care fully designed in order to avoid nutritional imbalances causing artifacts and uninterpretable results as was the case of Dr. Pusztaiis report. A case study of genetically modified soybeans (glyphosate-tolerant soybeans) on the immune system of rats and mice is shown. Chemical compositions were also compared with those of the non-GM soybeans. The studies failed to detect any differences in immuno-toxic activity.muno-toxic activity.

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Monitoring of Genetically Modified Soybean and Processed Foods in Korean Market using PCR (PCR을 이용한 국내시장에 유통중인 유전자재조합 콩 및 가공식품의 모니터링)

  • Kim, Myo-Young;Kim, Jae-Hwan;Kim, Hyun-Joong;Park, Sun-Hee;Woo, Geon-Jo;Kim, Hae-Yeong
    • Applied Biological Chemistry
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    • v.46 no.4
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    • pp.344-347
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    • 2003
  • A method using PCR was developed for the monitoring of genetically modified soybean (GMS) and GMS derived foods utilized in the market. We designed 3 pairs of specific oligonucleotide primers based on epsps and pat inserted in GMS and ferritin gene as internal standards. Template DNAs isolated from soybean and processed foods were used for multiplex PCR with 3 primer sets. PCR, used with specific primer sets for GMS detection, showed the amplified DNA fragments with GMS template DNA. In this study, GMS containing epsps was detected from soy processed foods manufactured before GM food labeling system, however, GMS containing epsps or pat was not detected from soy processed foods manufactured after GM food labeling system.

Investigation of Possible Gene Transfer to Soil Microorganisms for Environmental Risk Assessment of Genetically Modified Organisms

  • Kim, Young-Tae;Park, Byoung-Keun;Hwang, Eui-Il;Yim, Nam-Hui;Kim, Na-Rae;Kang, Tae-Hoon;Lee, Sang-Han;Kim, Sung-Uk
    • Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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    • v.14 no.3
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    • pp.498-502
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    • 2004
  • The current study was conducted to monitor the possibility of the gene transfer among soil bacteria, including the effect of drift due to rain and surface water, in relation to the release of genetically modified organisms into the environment. Four types of bacteria, each with a distinct antibiotic marker, kanamycin-resistant P. fluorescens, rifampicin-resistant P. putida, chloramphenicol-resistant B. subtilis, and spectinomycin-resistant B. subtilis, were plated using a small-scale soil-core device designed to track drifting microorganisms. After three weeks of culture in the device, no Pseudomonas colonies resistant to both kanamycin and rifampicin were found. Likewise, no Bacillus colonies resistant to both chloramphenicol and spectinomycin were found. The gene transfer from glyphosate-tolerant soybeans to soil bacteria, including Rhizobium spp. as a symbiotic bacteria, was examined by hybridization using the DNA extracted from soil taken from pots, in which glyphosate-tolerant soybeans had been growing for 6 months. The results showed that 35S, T-nos, and EPSPS were observed in the positive control, but not in the DNA extracted from the soilborne microorganisms. In addition, no transgenes, such as the 35S promoter, T-nos, and EPSPS introduced into the GMO soybeans were detected in soilborne bacteria, Rhizobium leguminosarum, thereby strongly rejecting the possibility of gene transfer from the GMO soybeans to the bacterium.

Consumers' Recognition, Knowledge and Purchase Attitude on Genetically Modified Foods in Daejeon (대전지역 소비자들의 유전자재조합식품에 대한 인식, 지식 및 구매태도)

  • Choi, Go Eun;Lee, Joon Ho
    • Korean Journal of Human Ecology
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    • v.24 no.3
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    • pp.387-406
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    • 2015
  • This study was to investigate consumers' recognition, knowledge and purchase attitude on genetically modified(GM) foods in Daejeon area. Data of 283 questionnaires were analyzed by using the SPSS(Ver. 17.0)program. Most of the subjects were women (91.9%), distributed 30's(41.7%) or 40's(31.8%), and graduated from university(41.3%). The kinds of GM foods that many subjects had known were soybean, corn, tomatoes and potatoes. The subjects answered that there were GM foods in supermarket items were 71%. Consumers' recognition on the safety of GM foods was 'somewhat anxious'(65.4%). After confirming which their purchasing item is GM foods, 'they will buy it case by case'(60.1%) or 'they will never buy it'(27.9%). The most reason of never buying GM foods was 'harmful to health'(82.3%). The first reliable information sources on GM foods were medical institutes and professionals. The knowledges about GM foods were significantly higher in 20's and 'less than 1year' of marriage duration than the other groups(p<0.05). On the purchase attitude of GM foods, the 20's responded favorably compared to other groups (p<0.01). Subjects' opinion on the necessity of development on GM foods tended to higher in 40's and 'less than 2 million won' of monthly income than the other groups. For the reason about necessity of it's development, 'nutritional, functionality and quality improvement' was 53.7%. In conclusion, many consumers regard that GM foods is not yet safe for health. Accordingly, government and research institutes should examine thoroughly and research continuously for the safety of GM foods. They must announce to consumers accurate information about GM foods.