• Environmental Analysis Health and Toxicology
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.187-195
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• 2010

Nanotechnology is the fastest growing area in scientific research and it has important applications in a wide variety of fields. Nevertheless, consumers encountered this new technology without any identification of risks and benefits. Also until now, there are no specific safety evaluation methods for nanotechnology. For this reason, we studied risk communication strategy for nanotechnology to prepare its application in commercialized products on public. A survey was conducted to identify the differences in perception between public (N=110) and expert (N=37) toward applied nanotechnology in food, drugs and cosmetic products. The survey results were used to draw up a risk cognitive map which was introduced by Paul Slovic, and the perception level of public and expert on nanotechnology was evaluated. As a result of the survey, public recognized nanotechnology as "unknown but low dread" risk factor, but expert recognized it as "unknown and high dread" risk factor. These results indicate that there are perception differences between two groups. Several risk communication strategies are reported including care, consensus and risk communication. In the case of nanotechnology, it contains both risks and benefits. Considering the nature of nanotechnology, the "consensus communication" which informs consumers about risks and benefits of issues is the most appropriate strategy.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.39 no.3
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• pp.246-252
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• 2020

BACKGROUND: Pesticides are broadly used to control weeds and pests, and the residues remaining in crops are managed in accordance with the MRLs (maximum residue limits). Therefore, an analytical method is required to quantify the residues, and we conducted a series of analyses to select and validate the quick and simple analytical method for tolpyralate in five agricultural products using QuEChERS (quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged and safe) method and LC-MS/MS (liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry). METHODS AND RESULTS: The agricultural samples were extracted with acetonitrile followed by addition of anhydrous magnesium sulfate, sodium chloride, disodium hydrogencitrate sesquihydrate and trisodium citrate dihydrate. After shaking and centrifugation, purification was performed with d-SPE (dispersive-solid phase extraction) sorbents. To validate the optimized method, its selectivity, linearity, LOD (limit of detection), LOQ (limit of quantitation), accuracy, repeatability, and reproducibility from the inter-laboratory analyses were considered. LOQ of the analytical method was 0.01 mg/kg at five agricultural products and the linearity of matrix-matched calibration were good at seven concentration levels, from 0.0025 to 0.25 mg/L (R²≥0.9980). Mean recoveries at three spiking levels (n=5) were in the range of 85.2~112.4% with associated relative standard deviation values less than 6.2%, and the coefficient of variation between the two laboratories was also below 13%. All optimized results were validated according to the criteria ranges requested in the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC) and Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) guidelines. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, we suggest that the selected and validated method could serve as a basic data for detecting tolpyralate residue in imported and domestic agricultural products.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.34 no.5
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• pp.1101-1108
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• 2024

Earlier studies have validated the isolation of extended-spectrum beta-lactamase-producing Salmonella (ESBL-Sal) strains from food. While poultry is recognized as a reservoir for Salmonella contamination, pertinent data regarding ESBL-Sal remains limited. Consequently, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety has isolated Salmonella spp. from retail meat and evaluated their antibiotic susceptibility and genetic characteristics via whole-genome sequencing. To further elucidate these aspects, this study investigates the prevalence, antibiotic resistance profiles, genomic characteristics, and homology of ESBL-Sal spp. obtained from livestock-derived products in South Korean retail outlets. A total of 653 Salmonella spp. were isolated from 1,876 meat samples, including 509 beef, 503 pork, 555 chicken, and 309 duck samples. The prevalence rates of Salmonella were 0.0%, 1.4%, 17.5%, and 28.2% in the beef, pork, chicken, and duck samples, respectively. ESBL-Sal was exclusively identified in poultry meat, with a prevalence of 1.4% in the chicken samples (8/555) and 0.3% in the duck samples (1/309). All ESBL-Sal strains carried the bla_CTX-M-1 gene and exhibited resistance to ampicillin, ceftiofur, ceftazidime, nalidixic acid, and tetracycline. Eight ESBL-Sal isolates were identified as S. Enteritidis with sequence type (ST) 11. The major plasmid replicons of the Enteritidis-ST11 strains were IncFIB(S) and IncFII(S), carrying antimicrobial resistance genes (β-lactam, tetracycline, and aminoglycoside) and 166 virulence factor genes. The results of this study provide valuable insights for the surveillance and monitoring of ESBL-Sal in South Korean food chain.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.39 no.2
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• pp.130-137
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• 2020

BACKGROUND: Mefentrifluconazole and triticonazole are the triazole fungicides. The maximum residue levels for agricultural products need to be set up. Therefore, development of the official analytical method for determination of mefentrifluconazole and triticonazole residues from agricultural crops was necessary due to safety management, and then a simultaneous analytical method was developed for the determination of mefentrifluconazole and triticonazole in agricultural crops. METHODS AND RESULTS: Samples were extracted using acetonitrile and purified using dispersive solid phase extraction, and then detected with liquid chromatograph-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Matrix-matched calibration curves (0.0025-0.25 ㎍/mL) were linear into a sample extract with r²>0.99. For validation, the recovery test was carried out at three fortification levels (LOQ, 10 LOQ and 50 LOQ) from agricultural samples. The results for mefentrifluconazole and triticonazole ranged between 92.3 to 115.3% and 91.4 to 108.5%, respectively and RSD (relative standard deviation) values were also below 6.0%. Furthermore, inter-laboratory was conducted to validate the method. CONCLUSION: All values were corresponded with the criteria ranges requested by both the CODEX (CAC/GL 40-1993, 2003) and MFDS guidelines (2016). Therefore, the proposed method can be used as an official analytical method for determination of mefentrifluconazole and triticonazole (triazole fungicides) in the Republic of Korea.

• Journal of Dairy Science and Biotechnology
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.99-111
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• 2020

Probiotics are actively being studied for their efficacious anticancer, anticholesterol, and antidiabetic properties. As novel probiotic strains are being developed continuously, new strain-specific safety issues may be reported. Therefore, a procedure for the safety evaluation of probiotic strains is needed. In this study, we investigated the current status of domestic and foreign guidelines for the evaluation of safety of probiotics and suggested a general probiotic safety evaluation process. In other countries, the guidelines for probiotic evaluation are provided and managed separately. However, in Korea, general guidelines are provided regarding the use of functional ingredients, and specific guidelines for the use of probiotics are lacking. A review step based on the characteristics of the probiotics has been introduced in the procedure for safety evaluation of probiotics. Additionally, it has been suggested that the safety evaluation process should consider the results of the functional and genomic analysis for strain identification. Moreover, the factors to be evaluated are presented separately for the notified and non-notified strains. The suggested evaluation procedure may ensure the safety of probiotics, thereby promoting enhanced utilization of probiotics as functional products.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.50 no.2
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• pp.202-202
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• 2017

• 한국환경농학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2011.07a
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• pp.279-279
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• 2011

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.337-341
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• 2013

After it was known that an antioxidant function was associated with a reducing risk of cancer and cardiovascular disease, a large number of plant have been investigated for their antioxidant activity. However, lacking of the extensive antioxidant data in vegetables, a few natural antioxidant was used in the food industry. Therefore, this study was carried out to provide some scientific antioxidant activity data in the various vegetables. The samples (n = 275) including 24 kinds of vegetables were examined for antioxidant activity. Total Phenol Contents (TPCs) were measured colorimetric determination method using the Folin-Ciocalteu reagent by gallic acid as the control group. DPPH radical scavenging activity were also investigated using calculation of $IC_{50}$(concentration of extracted needed to inhibit 50% of the DPPH radical). The contents of TPCs were $0.32{\sim}49.26{\mu}g/kg$ and DPPH radical scavenging activity ($CI_{50}$) was 0.0~2.43 mg/mL in vegetables. The best antioxidant effect was shown in Garlic for both antioxidant assay methods.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.182-187
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• 2012

In this study, the experimental method has been investigated using molecular biological way to identify raw materials from seasoned red-pepper sauce which is one of the most popular spices in Korea. 6 kinds of seasoned red-pepper sauces were chosen as a sample containing chilli pepper, garlic, onion as a major ingredient and species specific primers were used for the identification of the raw material of processed food. Selected samples were pre-treated to remove salt (samples were washed with distilled water 3~4 times for desalting), after that, to amplify the extracted genes, whole genome amplification (WGA) kit was performed. Afterwards, PCR products were confirmed through the electrophoresis. As a result, 102, 180, 280 bp of specific PCR products were confirmed for each major ingredients such as chilli pepper, garlic, onion. From this study, the gene extraction method was validated for the identification of ingredients from the spices and it would be applied to distinction of low quality chilli pepper powder including seasoned red-pepper sauce illegally.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.146-151
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• 2012

In this study, effective gene extraction methods were compared to identify raw materials of processed meat products through molecular biological methods. Species specific primers were used to identify ingredients of processed foods and, as a sample, 13 kinds of processed meat products including beef, pork and chicken. According to the type of sample, 13 kinds of samples were classified into liquid type, source type and powder type. The samples were pre-treated (centrifugation) and (or) performed Whole Gene Amplification (WGA) kit for amplification of the extracted DNA. As a result, it was possible to identify the raw material of products through the centrifugation of sample 1 ml for liquid type of processed meat products. For source type of products after gene extraction, it was required to perform WGA for the identification of ingredients. For powder type products did not required any further pre-treatment and WGA. In this study, it was an opportunity to confirm the possibility of identification of raw material from the gene extraction of processed meat products and this method could be used to examine the authenticity of raw material of products.