The purpose of this study was to understand the characteristics of senior consumers' food-related lifestyle and to investigate their demand for menu development of senior' friendly food products. An one-to-one survey method was used for data collection, and the survey was conducted with 490 senior participants who are over 55 years-old living in Seoul and Kyunggi area. The main results of this study were as follows: Most participants usually spend from 60,000 to 150,000won on food a month, and the female participants played a decisive role on food purchasing and preparation. They preferred home meal for their three regular meals to bread, convenience food, or eating-out. For menu development of senior-friendly food products, the demand for food products using moist-heat cooking method was higher than those using dry-heat cooking method. Also, the respondents did not like strong taste such as salty, spicy, or bitterness in senior-friendly foods, and wanted to have a variety of noodle, kimchi, meat, seafood meals.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES Recent studies have reported chocolate consumption has beneficial effects on blood pressure, obesity, and dyslipidemia, which are components of metabolic syndrome (MetS). However, evidence regarding these relationships in Asia is limited. The aim of this study was to investigate relations between chocolate consumption and MetS in Korea. SUBJECTS/METHODS Study subjects were 6,982 adults aged 19-64 years free of major chronic diseases that participated in the 2014–2016 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Information on chocolate consumption was obtained using food frequency questionnaires. For primary analysis, subjects were divided into two groups: non-consumer (n = 3,741, 53.6%); consumer (n = 3,241, 46.4%). In order to investigate dose-response effects on MetS, chocolate consumers were divided into quartiles based on amounts consumed: Q1 (n = 789, 24.3%); Q2 (n = 837, 25.8%); Q3 (n = 863, 26.6%); Q4 (n = 752, 23.2%) in second analysis. RESULTS Chocolate consumers; 1) were more physically active( P < 0.0001); 2) less likely to smoke( P < 0.0001); 3) paid more attention to food nutrition labels ( P < 0.0001), and 4) had healthier dietary patterns, that is, they consumed vegetables, fruits, and dairy products more frequently( P < 0.0001) than non-consumers. Furthermore, chocolate consumers had a 30% lower risk of MetS (odds ratio, 0.70; 95% confidence interval, 0.58–0.86; P = 0.0005). However, dose-response effects between chocolate intake and MetS was not found by secondary analysis after excluding non-consumers. CONCLUSIONS In conclusion, chocolate consumers had healthier lifestyles and dietary patterns and a lower prevalence of MetS than non-consumers, as determined by our primary analysis. Although dose-response effects were not found to be significant among chocolate consumers during secondary analysis, the patterns were partially similar. This cross-sectional finding shows chocolate consumption does not increase the risk of MetS. The prospective studies and intervention trials in Korea are needed to confirm this cross-sectional finding.

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to examine the sanitation knowledge and practice of staff who work in restaurant kitchens and to suggest sanitation management plans and efficient ways to enhance sanitation knowledge and practice in the restaurant industry. Design/methodology/approach -The survey research was conducted using a questionnaire composed of 73 questions in three areas of general information, sanitation knowledge, and sanitation practices. The respondents were selected from among kitchen staff working in restaurants that were both at least 198 m 2 in size and listed in the Korean Foodservice Information database. The collected data were analyzed to identify the differences between sanitation knowledge and practices. Findings -The results showed that the respondents were well aware of the importance of sanitation during food preparation and cooking whereas they had a relatively lack of personal hygiene. Age and education level of kitchen staff correlated with sanitation knowledge and practices, and kitchen staff working less than 12 hours per shift scored significantly higher in terms of sanitation knowledge than those who worked more hours per shift. Also, kitchen staff working in restaurant franchises showed higher levels of both knowledge and practice than those working in independent restaurants. Research limitations/implications -A more diversified sanitation-training program should be developed on the basis of the characteristics of kitchen staff members and restaurant characteristics. As kitchen staff members themselves have identified change in perspectives on sanitation as the most important factor for improving practice levels, the training should not only transmit information but should be developed into a training method. Originality/value -This research provides suggestions for how restaurant kitchens in South Korea can make progress in a situation where sanitation implementation is limited to the transfer of knowledge.

Korean Food Globalization has been launched as a tool of civil ambassador and the high value-oriented industry. According to department of statistics in 2012, the trend of Korean food globalization from international visitors of Chinese and Japanese has grown. Hence, this study is purposed to identify the level of satisfaction of Chinese and Japanese consumers based on their food-related lifestyle. The survey was conducted by interviewing 403 Chinese and Japanese visitors who have experienced Korean food. The survey questionnaire was composed of 3 parts of demographic information, food-related lifestyle, and satisfaction of Korean restaurant. As factor analysis results, 3 factors were yielded for the food-related lifestyle factors−a eat-out preferred group, a health preferred group, and a taste preferred group, and 3 factors were generated for Korean restaurant satisfaction−hygiene and service, menu, and food quality. For cluster analysis, 3 clusters were identified as follows: high interested in food itself, health interested, and taste interested. Female appears to be significantly different in terms of 3 clusters than male. Nationality shows that Chinese consumers showed a high interest in food itself whereas Japanese consumers were high interested in health. With regard to Korean restaurant satisfaction, service appeared to be important in Chinese consumers while Japanese consumers showed a higher mean value on serving size, price, and nutrition. The findings concluded that by understanding the nature of food-related lifestyle of international visitors, marketing strategies can better meet visitors' expectations and increase their satisfaction with Korean restaurants.

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