A survey on consumer’s awareness and perception toward genetically-modified (GM) foods was conducted on 2110 random samples of Korean consumers. More than 65% of the respondents were exposed to some information related to GM foods. The respondents answered that the greatest benefit of the development of GM foods is remedy of potential food shortages in the future. More than 90% of Korean consumers wanted GM foods to be labeled as such. More than 50% of the respondents would not buy until they know more about GM foods. Only 35.8% of Korean consumers were found to know that food items originating from plants contained genes. More consumers responded that they would not buy herbicide-resistant GM soybean but buy vitamin-enriched GM soybean. Many Korean consumers' decision of acceptance or rejection of GM foods depend not on the basis of biotechnology, but on the basis of the degree of benefit to the consumers. Only 6.4% of Korean consumers responded that GM foods were the greatest threat to the safety of Korean foods. The perception of Korean consumers on GM foods has not changed significantly during the past 5 years.

유전자재조합식품의 안전성과 표시에 관한 일반국민의 의식을 2000년과 2001년 5월 9월 사이에 각각 750명과 979명을 대상으로 설문조사하였다. 평균 67.7%의 응답자가 유전자재조합식품에 관한 정보를 접한 경험이 있었다. 유전자재조합식품이 줄 수 있는 최대의 이점은 식량난해결이라는 의견을 나타냈다. 유전자재조합식품에는 90%이상의 응답자가 표시하기를 바랐으며 현재 구입하여 먹겠다는 사람은 18%이었고 기다려보겠다는 관망형이 49%를 넘어서 표시를 희망하면서도 결정을 유보하는 사람의 비율이 많았다. 유전자재조합기술로 개발된 제초제 내성 콩을 먹겠다는 사람보다 같은 방법으로 개발된 비타민 함량이 높은 콩을 먹겠다는 사람이 상대적으로 많은 것으로 보아 제품의 특성을 중시하지 유전자재조합 여부에는 큰 관심을 두지 않는 것으로 나타났다. 우리가 먹는 생물 유래의 식품에 유전자가 있다는 사실을 바르게 알고있는 응답자는 전체의 40% 정도였다. 유전자재조합식품이 위험할 것이라고 생각하는 사람은 지극히 적어서 응답자의 4%정도를 유지하였다. 유전자재조합 옥수수인 스타링크의 뉴스를 접한 경험이 있는 응답자가 66%나 되었던 반면 2001년 7월부터 실시된 유전자재조합 표시제의 시행에 대해 알고있는 소비자는 22%에 지나지 않았다.

This study was devised to observe the inhibitory effect of 7 kinds of the acidic polysaccharide fraction(PG_1, PG_2, PG_3, PG_4, PC_5, PG_6 and PG_7) from Korean white ginseng on a lipolytic action of Toxohormone-L. Toxohormone-L is a lipolytic factor, found in ascites fluid of sarcoma -180 bearing mice and of patients with hepatoma. A substace that inhibited the lipolytic action of Toxohormone-L was isolated from white ginseng powder. This substance was an acidic polysaccharides. In vitro test showed that the inhibitory effect of PG_5 fraction of the lipolysis by Toxohormone-L was highest percent among other treatments at concentration of 50, 10, 200, 500 and l, 000㎍/㎖ of reaction mixture. And total inhibitory activity (units) of PG_1 and PG_4 was highest among other treatments at the same concentration and that of 10㎍/㎖.