Microalgae are unicellular microorganisms inhabiting various ecosystems of the world, including marine and freshwater systems and extreme environments. Only a few species have been actively used as food. Microalgae are attracting attention as a means of biological CO2 reduction because they play an important role in absorbing atmospheric CO2 through their rapid growth by photosynthesis in water. Besides, microalgae are considered to be an eco-friendly energy source because they can rapidly produce biomass containing a large quantum of lipids that can be converted into biodiesel. Several microalgae, such as Chlorella spp., Spirulina spp. and Haematococcus spp. have already been commercialized as functional health supplements because they contain diverse nutrients including proteins, vitamins, minerals, and functional substances such as docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), β-glucan, phycocyanin, astaxanthin, etc. Moreover, they have the potential to be used as food materials that can address the protein-energy malnutrition (PEM) which may occur in the future due to population growth. They can be added to various foods in the form of powder or liquid extract for enhancing the quality characteristics of the foods. In this review, we analyzed several microalgae which can be used as food additives and summarized their characteristics and functions that suggest the possibility of a role for microalgae as future food.

To investigate the effects of tagatose added to yogurt fermented with Streptococcus thermophiles (ST) or Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. Bulgaricus (LB), pH, titratable acidity (TA), sugar content, color value, viable cell number, and sensory evaluation were determined on yogurts added with 7% sucrose, tagatose, or a mixture of sucrose and tagatose in triplicate. After 24 h, pH and sugar content of sucrose-added yogurt reached nearly 4.5 and 4.2 respectively, and were lower than those of yogurt with tagatose (above 5.6 and 8.6, respectively). Also, TA of sucroseadded yogurt (1.51%) was much higher than that of yogurt with tagatose (0.59%). There were no significant differences in color value and viable cell count after 24 h. However, the addition of tagatose seems to slow the growth rate of LB more than that of ST. Sensory preference revealed that mixture-added yogurts scored significantly higher in taste (5.90), texture (5.86), and overall acceptability (6.16) than yogurts with tagatose (5.20, 5.02, and 5.36, respectively), but there was no significant difference from the sucrose-added yogurts. In conclusion, tagatose inhibited the fermentation rate, but the mixture of tagatose and sucrose could be used for yogurts with lower calories and glucose index (GI) without a sensory difference from sucrose-added yogurt.

Food allergy is a chronic disease that is increasing all over the world, and it can even lead to a loss of life. To prevent any incidents resulting from food allergies, most countries keep strengthening their food allergen labeling requirements domestically and internationally, with a constant monitoring system against undeclared allergens and recall of offending products. In order to avoid economic losses to industry and damages to international relations from undeclared allergens, it is necessary to confirm each country’s regulatory policy on food allergen labeling prior to exportation. Another required action is to try for a reduction of the cross-contamination risk of the allergens during manufacturing and storage, which should be verified by using an accurate and reliable analysis of food allergens. This paper is intended to provide an introduction to the regulation of food allergen labeling by country, allergen management methods to avoid cross-contamination, and allergen detection methods using ELISA, PCR, and LC/ MS. Changes of allergenicity during thermal or nonthermal processing also will be investigated in our review. This review will be helpful for the food industry to better understand patients suffering from food allergies and to manage food allergens in food manufacturing.

The feasibility of reduction of sodium intake using sun-dried salt and monosodium glutamate (MSG) was studied. Preference test was performed to evaluate the sensory properties of bean-sprout soup and vegetable rice porridge soup. Sun-dried salt and MSG might be a partial substitute for refined salt. There was a significant difference in salt taste strength between sun-dried salt and refined salt. Sun-dried salts 0.45% with MSG 0.07% resulted in the highest taste preference compared to that of sun-dried salts 0.60% without MSG in bean-sprout soup, which resulted in 23.9% reduction of sodium intake. Sun-dried salts 0.38% with MSG 0.04% resulted in the highest taste preference compared to sun-dried salts 0.53% without MSG in vegetable rice porridge soup, which resulted in 25.4% reduction of sodium intake. There seemed to be a synergistic effect on reduced usage of sodium salt when MSG was used in vegetable rice porridge and bean-sprout soup with sun-dried salt.

식품오염물질에 관련한 연구가 많이 진행되었지만 대부분 단기적 과제이었기에 식품오염물질 관리를 위한 종합 적이고 체계적인 연구가 필요하다. 본 연구에서는 식품오염물질 향후 연구방향을 제안하기 위하여 델파이 조사를 실시하였으며, 중요도 및 시급성을 고려하여 우선순위를 설정하였다. 학계, 연구기관, 정부기관, 기업 등 다양한 소속에 있는 50명의 전문가를 대상으로 식품안전과 관련한 개 방형 질문을 하였으며, 161개의 필요연구항목을 도출하였다. 이를 분류하여 5개 분야, 42개 항목으로 구성된 설문 지를 작성하였다. 5개 분야는 ‘식품오염물질 통합관리 시스템’, ‘환경유래 식품오염물질 안전관리’, ‘식품 중 오염된 자연독소 안전관리’, ‘조리가공 중 생성된 식품유해물질 안전관리’, ‘국내외 식품오염물질 안전관리 협력체계 구축 및 교육·홍보 방안’ 이었다. 전문가들이 답한 설문지(30/ 50 응답)를 분석하여 필요연구의 우선순위를 설정하였으며, 전문가들의 합의단계를 거쳐(24/30 응답) 이를 확정하였다. 본 설문조사 결과는 식품오염물질 안전관리를 위한 연구방향을 설정하기 위한 기초자료로 사용할 수 있을 것 이라 사료된다.

There have been growing concerns among people about food safety due to insufficient information on foodborne pathogens. In this study, we developed a risk priority of 15 foodborne pathogens. For the priority determination we collected risk profile criteria information from CODEX Alimentarius Commission and developed countries. The basis for criteria we selected from information of surveillance were frequency and severity of disease, frequency of consumption and probability of cross-contamination. We also considered foodborne pathogens which have been managed in developed countries though those pathogens are not currently managed appropriately in Korea. Priorities were divided into three groups following these consideration. The first priority group includes Norovirus, pathogenic E. coli, Salmonella spp, Clostridium botulinum and Listeria monocytogenes. The second priority group includes Vibrio parahaemolyticus, Stapylococcus aureus, Campylobacter jejuni and Bacillus cereus, and the third priority group includes Clostridium perfringens, Yersinia enterocolitica, Shigella spp, Cronobacter sakazakii and Hepatitis A virus. Our results could be applied to prevent foodborne illness from fresh produce.

Acrylamide in various food samples in Korea were monitored during the period beginning August 2006 through May 2007. A total of 471 food products that were purchased at local markets were categorized into 17 groups and analyzed for the acrylamide content by using an LC-MS/MS method. Food samples that were selected based on special consideration such as expert consultation, Korean food consumption data and food market shares were considered to be representative. There are very large variations in acrylamide levels within tested foods. Acrylamide content ranged from ND(not detected) to 4,002 μg/kg with all tested samples. Acrylamide levels are relatively high in ‘cereal’, ‘coffee’, ‘potato snacks’, ‘biscuit’, ‘chocolate’, and ‘prune juice’. Acrylamide was also detected in fruits, vegetables, Korean traditional cookies which are considered as safe for acrylamide.