This study was conducted to investigate the differences in households, parental perception, and dietary behaviors of preschool children from kindergartens with environment-friendly food service (environment-friendly food service group; EFG) versus children from kindergartens with general food service (general food service group; GFG). We sought this basic information to examine the impact of environment-friendly agricultural products in preschool food services. Age, education level, and monthly family income of the EFG were significantly higher than the GFG. The frequency of purchasing environment-friendly agricultural products was significantly higher in the EFG than the GFG, with the most frequently purchased items in both groups being vegetables. The GFG had a significantly higher perception than the EFG in the superior quality of environment-friendly agricultural products; however, a greater proportion of the GFG than the EFG thought environment-friendly products were too expensive. The most frequent reason for purchasing environment-friendly agricultural products in both groups was safety. When purchasing environment-friendly agricultural products, the most important selection factor for the majority of both groups was the label certifying quality assurance. Both groups also considered price reduction as essential for promoting environment-friendly agricultural products. In regard to parental perceptions on food service in kindergarten, the EFG had a significantly higher satisfaction with the nutritional adequacy of the menu compared to the GFG. Both groups considered food safety and health as primary reasons for using environment-friendly foods in the preschool food service, with a greater proportion of the EFG than the GFG responding this way. There were significant differences between the EFG and GFG, as the main satisfaction from using environment-friendly foods in the EFG was safety, freshness, and good hygiene, whereas the main satisfaction in the GFG was a good food service menu, freshness and good hygiene. Dietary behaviors of preschool children in the EFG were also significantly superior to the GFG. Thus, environment-friendly agricultural products have positive effects on the dietary behaviors of preschool children and should be increased in the preschool food service. Lowering prices and a strict supervision of quality assurance is also necessary to promote consumption of environment-friendly food materials.

This study was performed to investigate hygienic behavior of food workers on the awareness of hand-washing, and the microbial load of their hands. This study focused on the comparison of fast food restaurant workers and full-service restaurant workers. A questionnaire survey and microbiological analysis were carried out for thirty fast food restaurant workers and forty full-service restaurant workers. Samples for microbiological analysis were collected through the glove-juice method from the hands of the food workers, and were analyzed for the presence of aerobic plate counts, total coliforms, fecal coliforms, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and Salmonella spp. Microbiological analysis was done according to the Food Code of Korea. In the survey, significant differences (p < 0.05) were found between the fast food restaurant workers and full-service restaurant workers in the use of hand washing tools and method of turning off water. More full-service restaurant workers responded to wash their hands after touching face, hair, or clothes; after handling raw food materials, and more fast food restaurant workers periodically (p < 0.05). Aerobic plate counts were higher in fast food restaurant workers while total coliforms were higher in fullservice restaurant workers (p < 0.05). No remarkable difference was found between the two groups in the load of fecal coliforms, E. coli, S. aureus, and Salmonella spp. Poor hand hygiene practices were indicated by the positive results for E. coli, S. aureus, and Salmonella spp. on the hands of some food workers in both groups. The findings of this study emphasize the need for strict adherence to hand hygiene compliance among the food workers.

This paper reviewed the relationship between job satisfaction and service quality, and the moderating effect of gender in restaurant employee. Based on the responses from 288 employees, the results of multiple regression analysis showed that intrinsic job satisfaction(JS) and extrinsic job satisfaction effect positively on all service quality factors(tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, empathy). The results of moderating analysis showed that intrinsic JS effects positively on all service quality factors irrespective of gender, but the positive effect of extrinsic JS on tangibles and empathy is more positive in female than in male employee.

This study was conducted to assess the levels of microbiological hazards of preprocessed Namuls, which were served at the school foodservice. 19 preprocessed ground or root vegetables were collected from 21 schools in May to June of 2011. Heavy contamination of aerobic plate counts (from 3.39 to 8.42 logCFU/g) and total coliform groups (from 3.16 to 7.84 logCFU/g), enterobacteriaceaes (from 2.53 to 7.55 logCFU/g) were detected in preprocessed Namuls. In addition, the detection rates of Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus cereus (emetic form) were 4.3%, 11.7% and 2.1%, respectively. In addition, sanitary indicative bacterium at preprocessing steps of root vegetables (lotus root, burdock root, bellflower root) and blanched Namuls (bracken, sweet potato vine, chinamul) were analyzed. Aerobic plate counts, coliform groups, and enterobacteriaceaes were not effectively removed during preprocessing including washing and soaking steps. In the case of blanched Namuls (bracken, sweet potato vine, chinamul), contamination levels increased more after drying process and no significant reduction effect on the levels of microbial contamination was observed during preprocessing steps. Thus, effect of preprocessing steps on the microbiological hazards in Namuls must be reevaluated to improve the microbiological quality of preprocessed Namuls at the school foodservice and retail markets.

Student and dietitian reactions to a multicultural food service menu were studied. Food habits in a multicultural family could delay the acculturation of the children to traditional Korean food and could cause the isolation of children from the community. Also, Korean students need to be exposed to other cultures and foods because it can be a challenge to eat novel foods when students grow up. To help both multicultural and Korean children adjust to new foods, a multicultural menu was included in a school's food service. Students regarded the multicultural menu as access to another culture, but they felt that improvement of the food quality and menu diversity were required. The degree of satisfaction with the food quality, appearance, freshness, temperature, and menu diversity were all moderate. The multicultural menu was served as a single menu item or a combination menu item. The main dish single items - pasta, jajangmyeon, onigiri, hamburgers, rice and curry, kaupatmu, kaupatkung, and donburi - were liked, but nasi goreng was liked only moderately. The soup - based dish single item, tempura soba, was liked, while tomyum was disliked. The side dish single items - tangsuyook, Japanese donkatsu, baked sausage and potatoes, tandoori chicken, chicken britto, Vienna schnitzels, tender tortillas, and fried chicken wings - were liked. The desserts single items-sandwiches, pineapples, waffles, pizza, bread with strawberry jam, mangoes, and tacoyaki - were liked. The combination menus - Italian, Indian, and American - were liked, but the southeast Asian menu was the least favored. Acceptance of combination and single menu items were similar. Male students liked multicultural menu items more than female students in all categories. Approximately 60% of dietitians had experience serving the single menu items for multicultural food service. The appropriate serving times were twice per month. Dietitians guessed that 80% of the students liked the multicultural menu. The dietitians preferred serving American or Chinese foods to southeast Asian food. There were two difficulties in serving the multicultural menu, which were voiced as as lack of skill in cooking the items and improper cooking utensils and tableware for the items. Despite all the difficulties, the dietitians served the multicultural menu because it provided menu diversity, rather than for educational reasons.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of perceived price and servicescape on employee service quality, food and beverage quality, and customer value in Daegu Korean restaurants and to suggest methods for them to become the food mecca of Korea and the world. The samples for this study were customers of nine Korean restaurants in Daegu. A total of 368 questionnaires were analyzed with factor analysis, a reliability test, and a covariance structural analysis. The results showed that perceived price was positively related to employee service quality and food and beverage quality and that servicescape was positively related to employee service quality and food and beverage quality. However perceived price, servicescape, employee service quality, and food and beverage quality were not related to customer value. The reasons were that these factors did not influence perceived customer value in Daegu Korean restaurants. The Daegu municipal office should require these restaurants to develop distinguished employee service and food and beverage quality and conduct consistent marketing to Koreans and westerners, so that these restaurants can become the food mecca of Korea and the world.

The purpose of this study was to examine the appearance of norovirus in the water for food in food service institutions and the influence of physicochemical and microbial factors of norovirus in order to work out basic data to predict the detection of norovirus. Among 82 samples of water for food in food service institutions, norovirus appeared in 7 samples and the rate of appearance was 8.5%. As for the type of norovirus, one samples contained GI type (genotype GI-6) and six samples contained GII type (genotype GII-2, GII-4, GII-12). In the regression model of prediction of norovirus, the rate of appearance was correlated with NH₃-N, total solids and the consumption of KMnO₄, out of such variables as NH₃-N, total solids, the consumption of KMnO4, depth, chloride and total colony counts, and its contribution rate for effectiveness was 78.60%. In order to examine the influential factor of environment upon the detection of norovirus, Pearson's correlation analysis was carried out. The predictable regression formula for appearance rate of norovirus was expressed as -1.818 + 42.677 [NH₃-N] + 0.023 [total solids] + 0.762[consumption of KMnO₄] -0.009 [depth] -0.146 [chloride] + 0.007 [total colony counts] (R = 0.904, R² = 0.818,adjusted R² = 0.786, p < 0.05). The most influential factors upon the detection of norovirus were NH₃-N, total solids and the consumption of KMnO₄. In other words, when the measured values of NH₃-N, total solids and the consumption of KMnO₄ were higher, the possibility of appearance of norovirus increased.

The objectives of this study were to investigate the microbial contamination levels on food service in university and to provide the information of microbial contamination to improve food safety. A total of 288 samples were collected during summer and winter season between 2006 and 2008 from 4 food services located in the university in Western Gyeongnam and were used to detect sanitary indicator bacteria [aerobic plate count (APC), coliform,and Escherichia coli] and pathogenic bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella spp.). As a result, APC and coliform for hand and kitchen utensils which are used often by the employee were detected at high levels of 1.1~5.5and 1.3~5.3 log CFU/(100 cm2, hand), respectively. The contamination levels of APC and coliform in cooked foods and drinking water were 0.8~6.4 and 1.3~5.0 log CFU/(g, mL), respectively. Especially, the cooked foods showed the highest contamination for APC (2.1~6.4 log CFU/g) and coliform (1.0~5.0 log CFU/g). We think the reason that the cooked foods may be contaminated with APC and coliform on cooking process by using employee’s hand and kitchen utensils. Moreover, S. aureus for hand and kitchen utensils was detected at levels of 2.8~3.0 and 2.0~2.3 log CFU/(g,hand), but Salmonella spp. was not detected. According to the above results, contamination levels of the samples were mostly decreased irrespective of summer and winter season. The results obtained indicated that it is necessary to periodic monitoring for microorganism contamination and education about personal and environmental hygiene to employee for ensuring food safety of food service in university.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate job stress factors of school food service nutritionists according to the number of years they have worked. The subjects of this survey included 125 nutritionists (69 from full-time employees and 56 from part-time nutritionists) from elementary school, middle school, and high school in the Gangwon area. The results showed that stress related to duty was the top job stress factor, followed by environment-related stress, personal stress, organizationrelated stress and stress caused by human relations. In terms of the degree of stress, part-time nutritionists have more stress compared to full-time nutritionists. This was especially true for nutritionists that had been employed for one year. In this case, the degree of stress was much higher than long time employed nutritionists. In terms of how to deal with job stress, school nutritionists eliminated stress directly (with direct countermeasures). In order to deal with stress, workers expected stable employment such as pay (wages), promotions, etc. In particular, part-time school nutritionists had stronger expectations. When correlation between job stress factors were examined, environment-related, duty-related, organization-related, human relations-related and personal stress were all shown to be mutually related.

This study was conducted to establish basic data to improve the service quality of the Korean food service industry by evaluating the experience that Chinese tourists have at Korean restaurants. To accomplish this, we analyzed the common dining out style of Chinese tourists and how their expectations were influenced by the Korean culture and movies and dramas. We then compared the customer satisfaction of Chinese tourists before and after visiting Korean restaurants. The results of this study suggest that advertising of the Korean culture and movies and dramas to Chinese who dine out on a regular basis should be accelerated. In addition, the Korean food industry must develop distinct marketing strategies and improve the food menu and service to satisfy Chinese tourists who visit Korea often.

Recently, social network service is developing rapidly as technology changes with new mobile dimensions and features creating positive opportunities and benefits to all users and companies. Social network services are allowing companies to expand their businesses and brands by utilizing it as a marketing tool to reach customers. This research is intended to identify major online social network services and their trends while enhancing the understanding of food service business expansion through social networking.

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of 6 Sigma on menu management, work commitment and quality in the culinary division of hotels and family restaurants. In addition, this study sought to identify the effects of menu management, work commitment and quality performance on customer satisfaction. Furthermore the relationship between menu management and culinary quality was evaluated here. The subjects evaluated in this study were employees of culinary division of hotels and family restaurants that implemented or were about to adopt the 6 Sigma program. A total of 385 questionnaires were analyzed using factor analysis, a reliability test, and covariance structural analysis. The results revealed that the 6 Sigma program influenced menu management, work commitment and culinary quality. Moreover, menu management, work commitment and culinary quality performance were found to impact customer satisfaction and culinary quality performance. Based on these findings, culinary divisions of hotels and family restaurants should incorporate the 6 Sigma program as soon as possible. To implement this program, faultless data for the 6 Sigma program should be collected using sufficient preparation procedures. After the data were collected, a task force team should be developed, experts should be cultivated and employees should be trained as necessary. Finally, the current level of product and services should be measured and reported to all employees in the culinary division and a challenge spirit should be brought with understanding for the reason for implementation of the 6 Sigma program. In implementing the 6 Sigma program, the leadership of the top manager and the head of the culinary division is very important.

This paper reviewed the relationship between boundary spanning behaviors and service quality, and the moderating effect of gender. Based on the responses from 204 employees in outdoor-food franchising system, hierarchical regression analysis showed that service delivery has positive relationships with all service quality factors, and external representation and internal influence have partly positive relationship with them. Gender appeared to have partly moderating effect on the relationship between only internal influence and service quality.

This paper reviewed the relationship between perceived justice and service quality, and the moderating effect of gender in the franchise system of food service business. Based on the responses from 135 franchisees, the results of multiple regression analysis showed that distributive and procedural justice have positive relationships with almost service quality factors. The results of moderating analysis showed that male franchisees have more positive relationships with almost service quality factors than female franchisee while in distributive justice, and that female franchisees have more positive relationships with almost service quality factors than male franchisee while in procedural justice.

This study examined the effects of Web ad components on customer attitude and purchasing decisions in 300 individuals who visited family restaurant Websites. The results are summarized as follows: First, Web ad components such as content, design, and interactivity had effects on the cognitive attitudes of the customers. And design, accessibility, and Web functionality had significant effects on the customers' emotional attitudes. In addition, content, navigation, and Web functionality had significant effects on the customers' behavioral attitudes. Lastly, the cognitive, emotional, and behavioral attitudes of the customers had significant effects on their purchases. From these results, design elements such as content, color, and menus, along with user interactivity for information are considered helpful components of a food service Web ad for customer cognition of the restaurant's information. In addition, aspects of Web functionality such as the food service's Web ad set-up, or the protection of personal information, the color design and menu, as well as accessibility for easy use, are all helpful in terms of gaining a customer attitude that is friendly and preferential towards a restaurant's menu items.

The objectives of this study were to: a) examine foreign customers’ satisfaction and expectations for the food and service attributes of Korean restaurants located in the U.S., b) measure the gap between the satisfaction and expectations for food and service attributes, c) analyze through IPA analysis the crucial attributes needing improvement in order to minimize the discrepancy between customers’ expectations and performance, and d) analyze the effects of factors related to the food and service attributes on overall customer satisfaction in regard to Korean restaurant selection. A total of 255 American customers who had visited four Korean restaurants located within metropolitan and rural areas of the U.S. were surveyed for this study. Statistical analyses, including t-tests, factor analysis, and multiple regression, were performed using the SPSS statistical package (12.0). The American customers’ overall satisfaction of the food and services offered by the Korean restaurants was relatively high, with the exception of tangible service attributes such as comfortable chairs, restroom cleanliness, and restaurant interior. The urban foreign customers, however, were dissatisfied with the use of healthful ingredients in Korean food, because their expectation level toward this aspect exceeded their satisfaction level. In terms of Korean restaurant selection, tangible services related to the restaurant facilities were identified as the critical factor having an effect on American customer satisfaction.

This study was planned to investigate the current using status of agricultural products in school food service both produced in Korea and imported from other countries and the dieticians' perception on using those. A total of 723 dieticians of 442 elementary schools and 381 middle high schools were surveyed in July, 2003 to perform the purposes of the study. A high using rate (93.4%) for Korean agricultural products was investigated. As for meat such as pork and chicken except beef and eggs, the using rate of Korean agricultural products was high. Almost 100% of vegetables and fruits, except tropical fruits such as banana, kiwi, orange and pineapple supplied for school food service were also Korean products. As for nuts and edible oil, the rate of using for Korean agricultural products was comparatively lower than those of other food items due to the price gap. Most dieticians rated the quality of the products produced in Korea higher than that of the imported products in the aspects of their freshness, taste, and safety. But they found no difference in the package condition of the products produced in Korea and of those imported from other countries. This result suggests that the package system should be improved for the agricultural products produced in Korea.