This study was conducted to investigate the consumers' recognition and information need for food safety, especially focused on pesticide residues, foodborne illness, and food additives. The data were collected from 350 adults living in Taegu and Pusan by the self-administered questionnaire. Frequencies and chi-square tests were conducted by SPSS. The results of the survey were as follows: (1) the consumers' concerns about food safety were high, (2) many respondents worried about eating vegetables, fruits and grains in turn because of pesticide residues, and did not trust the results from food-safety tests, (3) the major factor for foodborne illness was regarded as unfreshed or contaminated food stuffs, (4) many consumers concerned highly about preservatives among food additives, and tried to consume food containing less food additives, and (5) many respondents wanted to get the information about harmfulness of pesticide residues in foods, method to choose fresh food, and safety of food additives.

Microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) is known as a more environmental-friendly process with economic advantages in terms of less time, less solvent, less energy and less waste than the current reflux method that is time-consuming. MAE was applied to extract three pesticides (quintozene, tolclofos-methyl and procymidone) from ginseng in a pesticide residue analysis and eliminate pesticide contaminants from ginseng prior to production of the ginseng extracts. The optimal conditions for pesticide extraction from ginseng were 50% in power (150 watts), 2 minutes, 20 mL hexane and 2.0 g sample. The results of optimal conditions were compared with those of Soxhlet method (7 hours, 150 mL hexane). The recoveries between two methods were almost same while time and amount of solvent used in MAE were significantly decreased in comparing with those in the Soxhlet methods. When the 45% ethyl alcohol as a extraction solvent was applied to eliminate pesticides from ginseng prior to the production of the ginseng extracts, it was found that 100% quintozene, 69% tolclofos-methyl and 83% procymidone were eliminated from ginseng. The data showed that MAE may be used to eliminate pesticide contaminants in ginseng prior to making the ginseng extracts.

Effect of storage temperature, washing, and cooking on postharvest-treated pesticide residues in polished rice was investigated. After being traeted with each 500 mg/kg of captan, carbaryl, phenthoate, fenthion, fenitrothion, chlorpyriphos-methyl, pirimiphos-methyl, the polished rice was stored for 8 weeks at 4 and 30℃, respectively. The penetation rate of carbaryl was the highest as 27.5% and the others, 13 to 18%. The half lives of pesticide residues were estimated as 30 to 230 weeks at 4℃, but 1 to 12 weeks at 30℃. The residues were reduced faster at 30℃ than at 4℃. The half lives of pesticide residues by water washing were estimated as 0.7 to 4.6 trials and the residues were removed with the washing trials. The residues of captan and carbaryl in cooked rice were removed 100 and 98%, respectively, comparing to initial residues concentration in treated rice but those of other 5 pesticides were removed 80%.

We have reported a sensitive, specific and simple direct competitive ELISA method to detect aflatoxin in agricultural commodities. We evaluated the ELISA for practical use to detect aflatoxins contaminated in the domestic and foreign agricultural commodities. The detection limits of the direct ELISA for residual aflatoxins in rice, pine nuts, corns, almonds, bean nuts, and pistachio were 10 ppb and in peanuts and cashew nuts were 20 ppb, which were elucidated from the standard curves of ELISA for aflatoxin fortified into the agricultural commodities. Residue studies of naturally contaminated aflatoxins in the agricultural commodities were also carried out by using direct ELISA. As the results of the studies, it was revealed that there were no residues of aflatoxins in 20 rice samples produced in south Korea, 20 pine nut samples in south Korea (9 samples), USA (1 sample) and China (10 samples), each of 20 almond, pistachio and bean nut samples in USA. However, aflatoxin residues were detected in corn samples imported from north Korea (350-585 ppb in 2 of 3 samples), from USA (109-326 ppb in 6 of a samples) and domestic corns (61-326 ppb in 7 of 17 samples). The toxins were contaminated in corn imported from USA for popcorn (17-20 ppb, in 3 of 10 samples) whereas no residues were detected in corn from south Korea and China. In case of cashew nuts imported from India, 11.4-23.1 ppb of aflatoxins were detected in 4 from 20 samples. Most of the contaminated foods were harvested before 1995. Thus, hygienic managements of the foods should be required during storage and circulation at market.

A field experiment was conducted at the forage experimental plots, Seoul National University, Suweon h m 1995 to 1996 to determine the effect of legume residues as a N source and N fertilizer on corn (Zea mays L.) silage yield, N uptake, and availability

PFO(pyrolized fuel oil) and C10+ oil, which are the residual heavy oils form a NCC(naphtha cracking center), were heat-treated to produce the precursor-pitch for carbon materials. After PFO was initially distilled near 300℃ to separate the volatile matters recovering as high-quality fuel oil, the residuum of nonvolatile precursor-pitch was then thermally pyrolized in the temperature ranges from 350℃ to 450℃. Spinnable isotropic pitch with the softening point of 200℃ and the toluene insolubles of 36wt% was obtained at 365℃, and then was successfully spun through a spinneret(0.5mm diameter). After spinning, an isotropic carbon fiber of 25μm diameter was obtained via oxidation and craboniation procedures. Mesophase spherules began to be observed from the product pitch pyrolized at 400℃, and bulk mesophase with a flow texture was observed above 420℃. In the case of C10+ was the feed was polymerized in the presence H2SO4 at room temperature to increase the molecular weight and then heat-treated gradually up to 200~250℃. The products obtained with the softening point of 80~190℃ were carbonized at 500 and 1000℃ to examine the morphology.

Mandarin orange fruits were artificially contaminated with an organophosphorus insecticide phenthoate by dipping and the residue level of phenthoate was investigated during the purification steps of dietary fiber or bioflavonoid. The removal rate of phenthoate at 8 and 0.5 ppm levels was 98% in the total dietary fiber, 99% in the insoluble dietary fiber and 99.8% in the soluble dietary fiber preparations. During the preparation of bioflavonoid from peels at a 5 ppm pesticide level, the removal rate was 90% in the intermediate extract and 99.9% in the final extract. In conclusion, phenthoate residues in the peels of mandarin orange were mostly removed during the preparation processes of dietary fiber or bioflavonoid and its residue level would not raise any problem in safety aspects of the purified products.

To control the maximum residue level (MRL) for sulfamethazine (SMZ) residues in pork tissue, a microbial inhibition method is a regulatory screening assay method in Korea. Microwell plate-based competitive enzyme immunoassay (ELISA) kit is available for routine screening of SMZ residues in pork tissue. One ELISA kit is evaluated. Phosphate buffer extracts of samples fortified with SMZ at 0, 1, 5, and 10 ng/g were used in a recovery teat of the kit. Market pork samples were assayed by the kit. Recovery of sulfamethazine was 104% at 10 ng/g. Intraassay variations and interassay variations for the kit were 7.70% and 5.76%, respectively. Concentration causing 50% inhibition of color development compared with blanks was 16.4ng. The violative pork samples with over MRL (0.1 ug/g) was 4 of 32 cases (12.5%) by used ELISA kit. This result indicates a possibility of the ELISA kit for screening test of SMZ residues in pork tissue, and still needs a comfirmatory assay for mandatory purposes.

Various antimicrobial drug screen tests have been used in order to ensure food safety. However, the conventional screen teats, the Swab Test on Premises(STOP, USA), the Calf Antibiotic and Sulfa Teat(CAST, USA) and the European Economic Community 4-plate Test(FPT, EU) are not sufficiently rapid or sensitive enough to detect low levels of sulfa drugs in meat. We developed a new screen test kit for the determination of the antimicrobial residues in meat called the Bacillus megaterium Disk AssayBmDA). A comparison of BmDA with the older screen tests showed BmDA was as good as the older ones with several advantages. The new test kit is faster-it can be read in 4-6 hours instead of 16-18 hours. Moreover, BmDA can discriminate sulfa drugs from other antimicrobial drugs because p-aminobenzoic acid countacts the inhibiting action of sulfa drugs. Minimum detectable levels of sulfa drugs were significantly improved at the level of 0.025-0.1 ppm compared with the level of 1.0 ppm in FPT. A comparison of BmDA with the older screen tests in HPLC confirmed meat samples exeeded the Korean tolerance value of 0.1 ppm showed BmDA was the most sensitive in the microbiological screen tests. As the microbiological screen tests have already known, a person familiar with simple laboratory techniques should have no difficulty in using it to detect antimicrobial residues in meat. This would be a simple, economic method of antimicrobial residues detection which might be succesfully used by many laboratories.

This experiment was conducted from 1991 to 1993 at the forage experimental field, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, SNU, Suweon to investigate the effects of previous crop residues on growth and yield of succeeding corn(2ea mays L.) and also to de

An attempt was made to determine the residual distribution of organochlorine and organophosphorus pesticides in the various kinds of Korean tea which were purchased from the market. The organochlorine pesticides investigated in this study were BHC, DDT and dicofol and the organophosphorus pesticides were diazinon, EPN, fenitrothion and parathion. The pesticide residues were determined by GC-ECD and NPD. Only BHC was detected in all the samples and it's level were ranged from 0.00064 ppm to 0.05995 ppm and it's average was 0.00682 ppm and DDT, dicofol and organophosphorus pesticides were not detected in all samples. The organophophorus pesticides were detected(0.0035-0.0983 ppm) in raw materials but were not in the manufactured material and it is considered that the largely components of the pesticides is removed by drying and high temperature while the tea was manufactured. The recovery tests of the pesticides gave satisfactory results showing an average yield of 97.6% with organochlorine pesticides and 92.5% with organophosphorus pesticides and the detection limits level were 0.00008 ppm to 0.0010 ppm.

This study was carried out to determine the pesticide residues in rice bran, crude rice bran oil and the oil of various stages of refining process. Each samples were analyzed for 41 pesticide residues by multiclass multiresidue methods with GC-ECD, NPD and identified by GC-MSD. Rice bran were detected cypermethrin, diazinon, dichlofluanid, and its level were ranged from 0.01-0.122 ppm. Crude rice bran oil were detected cypermethrin, diazinon, dichlofluanid, dimethoate, etrimfos, flucythrinate, and its level were ranged from 0.015-0.654 ppm. Crude rice bran oil has the higher level of pesticide residues and more varieties of pesticides than rice bran. But pesticide residues in the crude rice bran oil was found to be almost removed when pigment was decolorized by absorption using active carbon and clealy removed by thermolysis for deodorization.

A screening method has been developed for detecting sulfamethazine(SMZ) contamination of meat or feeds by using horseradish pero×idase (HRP) labeled protein A (Prot A-HRP)and an indirect competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA). The assay is based on competitive binding of guinea pig anti-SMZ with SMZ in sample and SMZ-gelatin con$lt;jugate(SMZ.GEL) followed by the uptake of prot A-HR,P onto polystyrene microwell plate coated with SMZ.GEL. Percent binding B/Bo × 100) was calculated from the absorbance in the absence (BO) and presence (B) of SMZ. By the sandard curve prepared by plotting log(SMZ) vs percent binding of each lmown reference solution, the detection limit was 1.0 ppb or leas. Cross reaction with sulfadimethoxine, sulfaguaniding, sulfamerazine, sulfamthoaypyridazine, sulfanilamide, aulfisomidine and aulfisoxazole were not observed. But sulfamerazine crosareacted in the test. The EC-50 value (concentration causing 50% inhibition of color development compared with blank) of sulfamerazine was 2.0 ppm. Further quality control will make the ELISA system ideal for the detection of SMZ in meat or feeds.