• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.206-213
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• 2007

This study investigated the prevalence of nutrition labeling and claims on processed and packaged foods. The final database consists of 1,287 foods, which were collected in two supermarkets in the Seoul area from September to November, 2006. An estimated 78% of KFDA-regulated processed, and packaged foods have nutrition labels. Nutrient content claims on food labels were identified in 21% of the foods which have nutrition labels. The prevalence of nutrition labels in this study is much higher than in previous studies due to the current expansion of the mandatory labeling regulation. However, false labeling and misleading contents claims were also identified. The food label is an important tool for enhancing the public's understanding of healthy choices of processed foods. Therefore, to maximize the benefits of the nutrition labeling regulation, industries, government agencies and health professionals should work together to help consumers make healthy dietary choices and improve their health.

• Journal of the Korean Dietetic Association
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.166-175
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• 2008

The effects of nutrition label education on the perception, nutrition knowledge, understanding and applicability of labeling for 81 5$^{th}$ grade students was assessed. Prior to the education, the students' purchasing behavior of processed food was assessed by self-administered questionnaires. The evaluation of subjects' perception and understanding on nutrition label was completed prior to and following four education sessions utilizing materials developed by Korea Food and Drug Administration and Korea Health Industry Development Institute. More than 90% and 15% of subjects purchased processed food weekly and daily, respectively. Considering the nutrition label became an important factor in food purchases following the education sessions. Perception of the value of nutrition label improved from 2.93 to 3.32, although the belief that nutrition labels contributed to the maintenance of good food intake was not significantly increased. The total nutrition knowledge score increased from 5.47 to 7.14 and understanding nutrients composition table was significantly improved (3.17 to 4.80). The results indicate that a school-based nutrition label education program might be an effective aid for adoption of healthier food choices by children.

• Culinary science and hospitality research
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.16-22
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• 2018

This study was conducted to investigate that the nutrition labeling use is associated with demographic and psychosocial factors according to each nutrition information on the nutrition labeling in Korean adults. The study subjects (N=1,140) were individuals who were aged 20 years and more and answered on the question of nutrition label use and who participated in the Korean National Health Examination and Nutrition Survey (KNHANES) in 2010.As age older, there was more interest in information such as sugar, protein, fat, cholesterol than calories. In contrast, as age younger, there was more interest intrans-fat, sodium as well as calories. As higher education level, there were more aware of trans-fat, sodium and calories. From the result that the most interested nutrition items were significantly different by democratic factors, we could understand interested nutrient information on the nutrition labels could change according to individual specific education. Therefore, this can also provide basic data for systematic education program by nutrition label use.

• Korean journal of food and cookery science
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.325-332
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• 2014

The purpose of this research is to investigate and analyze food allergy labelling for the arrangement of improvement plans. Survey was done as a quantitative research targeting food industry employees with 399 random workers in Seoul and Gyonggi area. The data was analyzed using SPSS windows (ver. 12.0) for frequency analysis, t-test and factor analysis. The importance and performance of the food allergen labelling were divided by 15 items. Only 43.1% of the workers understood the operation allergic food labels. The first improvement on allergic food labels was "using boldface for food allergen labes". The importance of all of these factors was significantly higher than performance. The selection attributes with relatively low the performance but high importance(2 quadrant) were "consumer education for allergic food labels" and "training of professional counselors on food allergy". Therefore, the factors to be improved through the IPA were consumer education and training of professional counselors. With this research and extended efforts for revision of laws, reliability of food industry and accuracy of food labelling would improve, thereby boosting the productive commercial activities in labelling code.

• The Korean Journal of Community Living Science
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.379-393
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• 2011

This study compared the college students' dietary behavior for processed foods, who will be the main consumers in the future and looked for the measures to understand and establish the right food labeling system by surveying the level of understanding and utilization of food labeling. The data was analysed by SPSS win 17.0 program, and the results are as follows. For the standard of selecting processed foods, the group with high nutrition knowledge considered the reliability of foods as important and the group with low nutrition knowledge considered the products introduced in TV commercial as important. When purchasing processed foods, the group with high nutrition knowledge considered nutrition, taste, price, appearance(shape), and the consumable period more than the group with low nutrition knowledge. For trans fat, the group with high nutrition knowledge learned more about it than the group with low nutrition knowledge. The ratio of confirming food nutrition label was higher in the group with high nutrition knowledge. Regarding the level of confirming individual food labels, the highest level was for milk and dairy products. And there was significant difference for the processed products of meat, cookies, bread and noodles. It was found that the level of confirmation was higher in the group with high nutrition knowledge. And the most important indication for individual food product was the consumable period. To preserve the purchased foods, the group with high nutrition knowledge preserve the foods in line with the description written on the food cover sheet, and this group used to return or exchange the products when they found them spoiled or purchased by mistake. The group with high nutrition knowledge knew more about the nutrition indication than the group with low nutrition knowledge. The necessity of nutrition indication for processed foods and the need of education and PR(Public Relation) were acknowledged higher in the group with high nutrition knowledge. For the effect of nutrition indication, it showed that the group with high nutrition knowledge thought it would improve the quality and the group with low nutrition knowledge thought it would be helpful when comparing the product with others. The group with high nutrition knowledge showed higher understanding level about nutrition indication than the group with low nutrition knowledge.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.4 no.5
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• pp.428-432
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• 2010

In this study, we investigated that consumers could differentiate between levels of claims and clarify how a visual aid influences consumer understanding of the different claim levels. We interviewed 2,000 consumers in 13 shopping malls on their perception of and confidence in different levels of health claims using seven point scales. The average confidence scores given by participants were 4.17 for the probable level and 4.07 for the possible level; the score for the probable level was significantly higher than that for the possible level (P < 0.05). Scores for confidence in claims after reading labels with and without a visual aid were 5.27 and 4.43, respectively; the score for labeling with a visual aid was significantly higher than for labeling without a visual aid (P < 0.01). Our results provide compelling evidence that providing health claims with qualifying language differentiating levels of scientific evidence can help consumers understand the strength of scientific evidence behind those claims. Moreover, when a visual aid was included, consumers perceived the scientific levels more clearly and had greater confidence in their meanings than when a visual aid was not included. Although this result suggests that consumers react differently to different claim levels, it is not yet clear whether consumers understand the variations in the degree of scientific support.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Culture
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.415-423
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• 2013

The purpose of this study was to estimate the consumption prevalence of vitamin and mineral supplements as health functional foods (VM-HFF) and to examine the factors associated with VM-HFF consumption behaviors in adolescents. A total of 1,407 adolescents attending middle or high schools from various cities and rural communities in Korea participated in this study. The prevalence of VM-HFF consumption was 41.7%, with boys showing a higher consumption than girls (p<0.01). VM-HFF consumption was higher in families with higher socioeconomic status and for families with parents that exhibited higher concerns about their child's health, growth, and nutritional intake (p<0.001). Most consumers of VM-HFF consumed HFFs 'when healthy' (50.1%), and acquired nutritional information from 'their families & relatives' (50.9%). Most consumers responded that VM-HFF was 'a little effective' (54.3%), followed by 'no obvious effects' (37.1%), and 'very effective' (7.4%). The effectiveness of consuming VM-HFF was mainly for 'fatigue recovery' (39.0%) and 'health improvement' (28.2%). Most consumers purchased HFFs at 'pharmacies & oriental medicine clinics' (53.8%) and at 'health functional food stores' (18.8%). Most consumers 'occasionally' (51.1%) or 'seldom' (27.3%) checked nutrition facts when purchasing, with 58.9% of consumers understanding the nutritional label for 'the most part', but only 8.7% of them understanding it 'very well'. Among the VM-HFF, consumers preferred calcium- and vitamin C-supplements. Consumers' mini-dietary assessment scores were higher than those of non-consumers. The results above showed that VM-HFF consumption was widely spread among adolescents, but few consumers checked and understood the nutrition label when they purchased VM-HFF, and were highly dependent on the advice and information from non-professional nutritionists, such as families & relatives. Therefore, it is necessary to educate adolescents to help them read nutrition labels and select the proper VM-HFF.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.74-84
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• 2016

Literacy on food additives of elementary school teachers (ET) and nutrition teachers (NT) could be influential factor on safe dietary education for school children. Therefore, the perceptions and information needs on food additives were surveyed from 351 elementary school teachers and nutrition teachers in metropolitan area of Korea, and the basic data for the promotion of risk communication on food additives among them were obtained. Compared to ET who consider 'taste' (39.1%) as the most important factor while purchasing food, NT considered 'safety' (68.1%) first (p < 0.001). Among the food labelling items, the level of understanding on food additives was the lowest both in ET (3.53) and NT (4.17), and NT showed better levels of understanding overall on food labels. Both ET and NT regarded hazardous factors of food as environmental pollutants, foodborne pathogens, and food additives in order, and tended to select 'no additives' or 'no artificial color' products while purchasing processed food. Although NT answered that they know all food additives had been passed the evaluation of safety and effectiveness tests (100%) and have standards of use (81.9%), majority of them (87.5%) believed the consumption of food additives are harmful on human health. ET (75.2%) also regarded food additives as dangerous materials. Above results suggested the necessity of proper and enough risk communication for both ET and NT. Both ET and NT wanted to have information on the safety or hazard of food additives. Most preferred media to get the information on food additives was TV (3.80) among ET and lecture (3.65) among NT. ET and NT trusted hospital, research institution/universities or the personnels working in these institutions as the provider of information on food additives. The result that the trust levels of ET and NT on government were relative low suggested the weakness of risk communication in Korean government. Although ET and NT answered that they do not trust mass media, their behaviors were affected by them such as reading food labels in ET (39.4%) and reducing the consumption of food additives in NT (50%). They also indicated mass media's problem of sensitive approach on food additives and asked the urgent reaction of government by providing sound information through experts on food additives. Above results revealed that ET and NT have different perceptions and information needs on food additives, therefore, proper risk communication should be provided for them to serve as dietary educators for elementary school children.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.56 no.2
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• pp.184-202
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• 2023

Purpose: This study investigates the necessary educational materials from the perspective of caregivers managing food allergies of preschoolers. Methods: An online survey enrolled 400 caregivers of preschoolers with food allergies. The study was conducted in July 2022, and data were analyzed using the IBM SPSS Statistics 25. Results: The caregivers of preschoolers with food allergies showed low food allergy knowledge. The highest percentage of incorrect answers were for items related to the cause (74.2%) and response (65.2%) to food allergies. Moreover, categorizing the levels of knowledge as high, medium, and low, we found that caregivers with younger children exhibited a better understanding of food allergies. Approximately 56.9% of subjects in the high class were caregivers with preschoolers under three years, whereas caregivers with preschoolers over four years comprised 43.2% of the high-class subjects. Regarding food allergy treatment, four questions measured how well the caregivers tended to the children. With higher levels of knowledge, caregivers were more likely to read nutrient information and check for food allergens. The caregivers of preschoolers who were clinically diagnosed with food allergies demonstrated a higher percentage of using separate ingredients and cooking utensils. Conclusion: This study shows how the caregivers' knowledge levels are critical in managing and treating food allergies among preschoolers. With caregivers' lower knowledge of food allergies and preschoolers younger than four years, self-diagnosis of food allergies and existing food allergies were not managed efficiently. Hence, customized education for caregivers is essential to improve their knowledge level regarding limiting foods that may cause allergies, reading food labels, and using ingredients and cooking utensils separately.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.185-189
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• 2007

Animals must be inspected prior to and after slaughter to make certain they are free of diseases and unacceptable defects. Since meats are potentially hazardous foods, they should not be accept if there are any signs of contamination, temperature abuse, or spoilage. This survey was aimed to monitor the current situation of country-of-origin labels and sanitation for the meat markets in Seoul, Korea. The markets were divided into groups as to 25 territories in Seoul and the size of markets (large size, medium size, and small size). In terms of size distribution, small butcher shops occupied the highest percentage. On the itemized suitability test of unpacked and packed beer in Seoul, most butcher shops showed good evaluation. However, labels indicating the grade, storage and cooking instruction for unpacked beef were not properly posted on the products. The results of monitoring sanitation conditions for butcher shops in Seoul showed relatively low suitability. Especially, there were serious lack of knowledge about wearing the sanitation clothings, caps, and shoes. The problem with food safety is so complicated that producers, consumers, merchandisers, the press, the government and the scholar should try to solve the problems altogether. Also, it is important to educate and provide them with correct understanding and information for food hygiene and safety.