Tong-Kyung Kwak

Evaluation of the food safety training for food handlers in restaurant operations

This study examined the extent of improvement of food safety knowledge and practices of employee through food safety training. Employee knowledge and practice for food safety were evaluated before and after the food safety training program. The training program and questionnaires for evaluating employee knowledge and practices concerning food safety, and a checklist for determining food safety performance of restaurants were developed. Data were analyzed using the SPSS program. Twelve restaurants participated in this study. We split them into two groups: the intervention group with training, and the control group without food safety training. Employee knowledge of the intervention group also showed a significant improvement in their score, increasing from 49.3 before the training to 66.6 after training. But in terms of employee practices and the sanitation performance, there were no significant increases after the training. From these results, we recommended that the more job-specific and hand-on training materials for restaurant employees should be developed and more continuous implementation of the food safety training and integration of employee appraisal program with the outcome of safety training were needed.

Production and evaluation of children's dietary life safety index data on metropolitan cities and provinces in Korea

This pilot study was performed to produce data of the Childrens Dietary Life Safety (CDLS) Index which is required by the Special Act on Safety Management of Childrens Dietary Life and to evaluate the CDLS Index for 7 metropolitan cities and 9 provinces in Korea. To calculate the CDLS Index score, data regarding the evaluation indicators in the childrens food safety domain and childrens nutrition safety domain were collected from the local governments in 2009. For data regarding the indicators in the childrens perception & practice domain, a survey was conducted on 2,400 5th grade children selected by stratified sampling in 16 local areas. Relative scores of indicators in each domain were calculated using the data provided by local governments and the survey, the weights are applied on relative scores, and then the CDLS Index scores of local governments were produced by adding scores of the 3 domains. The national average scores of the food safety domain, the nutrition safety domain and the perception and practice domain were 23.74 (14.67-26.50 on a 40-point scale), 16.65 (12.25-19.60 on a 40-point scale), and 14.88 (14.16-15.30 on a 20-point scale), respectively. The national average score of the CDLS Index which was produced by adding the scores of the three domains was 55.27 ranging 46.44-58.94 among local governments. The CDLS Index scores produced in this study may provide the motivation for comparing relative accomplishment and for actively achieving the goals through establishment of the target value by local governments. Also, it can be used as useful data for the establishment and improvement of childrens dietary life safety policy at the national level.

The Development of Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point Based Standardized Recipe and the Quality Assessment of Cook/chilled Soy Sauce Glazed Mackerel

Abstract Soy sauce glazed mackerel is one of the frequently used menu items in Korean institutional foodservice operations and was selected as the test menu item for the study. Through experimental cooking, preliminary test, and the analysis of recipes, critical control points were identified and anHACCP-based recipe applicable to cook/chill system was standardized. The product flow of the item consisted of receiving, pre-preparation, preparation, cooling, packaging, storage, and reheating [steam convection oven and microwave oven]. Time-temperature profile was recorded for each step and microbiological analysis [total aerobic plate count, psychrotrophic plate count, coliform, and fecal coliform count] were done for raw material; after cooking and cooling; on 1 st , 3 rd , 5 th , and 7 th day of storage; and after reheating. Chemical analysis [pH, acid value, and volatile based nitrogen(VBN)] and sensory evaluation of the item also were conducted. Time-temperature data showed that the time the item had passed through temperature danger zone(40-140°F) during all phases was 60minutes at rapid cooling. When cooling at room temperature, however, the temperature of this menu item did not drop below the ambient temperature. The results of microbiological test were negative throughout all phases following cooking. The chemical profile of the product did not change significantly during storage periods except for VBN which increased significantly on 7 th day. Sensory score for appearance in the overall quality profile decreased significantly as the length of storage increased for both reheating methods. Significant differences were not detected for the two reheating methods.