Nutrition policy in South Korea

Since 1970s, the economic and social development in South Korea, as well as dietary pattern, has undergone various changes. Concerns for the decreased nutrition quality and physical activities among Koreans, especially young population, call for a need of a holistic approach in national food and nutrition policy. The National Health Promotion Act of 1995 included national interventions and programs to deal with nutrition-related chronic diseases and obesity prevention. A nation-wide monitoring system, which includes nutrition and health examination survey, is being built and run by the Ministry of Health and Welfare and its affiliated organizations every three years. The Korea Food and Drug Administration (KFDA) is another key agency undertaking national food and nutrition policies. The KFDA recently promulgated the national strategic plans for improving food safety and nutrition, focusing on children. Nutrition labelling policy for processed food is managed by KFDA and various education programs are developed and disseminated to enhance the awareness of nutrition labelling. The agency also makes standards and regulates foods for special dietary uses and health functional food. The Rural Development Administration (RDA) is responsible for maintaining the food composition database. Finally, the National School Lunch Program is mainly governed by the Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development. The above central government agencies along with regional health centers are making efforts to promote the healthy eating habits in addition to constructing healthy environment by making laws and programs and by research and social marketing

The Biological Safety of Stainless Steel Needles Used in Warm-needling

Warm-needling (also called thermo-acupuncture) is a combination of acupuncture and moxibustion. Due to the intense heat involved, there have been concerns over the biological safety of the acuneedles used in the treatment. This paper reports two phases of a safety test. For a preliminary test, we compared the temperature change patterns of stainless steel (SS304) needles and traditional gold alloy needles, which have been increasingly replaced by the former. To verify the effects of the presence of coating materials, the main test involved three different kinds of SS304: silicone-coated, salicylic acid-coated and non-coated needles. Each group of needles was tested for pH level, heavy metals and UV absorbance spectrum along with biological tests on the cytotoxicity and hemolysis of the needle. All the tests on the extractants from the needles were negative. In the biological tests, each test result showed a significant difference from the positive control samples, while no significant difference was observed compared with the negative control samples. In the hemolysis tests, all samples satisfied the Korean Government Standards. All the results suggest that SS304 needles are biologically safe to be used in warm-needling, though they can be improved to perform as well as the gold alloy needles in terms of temperature fluctuations

WHO/KFDA joint workshop on implementing WHO guidelines on evaluating similar biotherapeutic products, Seoul, Republic of Korea 24–26 August, 2010

AbstractIn August 2010, the World Health Organization and the Korea Food & Drug Administration jointly organized the first implementation workshop of WHO guidelines on evaluating similar biotherapeutic products (SBPs) at the global level. The objective of the Workshop was to facilitate implementation of the newly adopted WHO Guidelines into the practice of national regulatory authorities (NRAs). WHO Guidelines were recognized by the workshop participants as a tool for harmonizing regulatory requirements worldwide. By reviewing and practicing several case studies, better understanding and consensus on the principles of clinical trial designs were reached. However, variations in terms of the national requirements for quality, safety and efficacy of these products revealed diversity in the regulatory expectations in different countries and regions. In addition, lack of terminology for the products developed as copy products (so called "me too" products) with a partial comparability to an RBP, led to a great diversity in evaluating as well as naming these products. The workshop participants proposed the following actions: a) NRAs should make efforts to build their capacities for regulation of SBPs; b) WHO should revise WHO Guidelines for assuring the quality of products prepared by recombinant DNA technology (WHO TRS 814) and continue monitoring progress with the implementation of the Guidelines on evaluating SBPs. Publication of the outcome of the Workshop was recognized as another action that WHO should coordinate

Top 10 Dietary Supplements of Korean Adults from the 4th Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey

The aim of this study is to assess the prevalence, types, and trends of dietary supplement (DS) use. We analyzed the Dietary Supplement Questionnaire data of Korean aged 19 years old or older from the Nutrition Survey of the 4th Korea National Health and Nutrition Survey. Each reported DS was coded based on ingredients according to the 2010 Korean Food and Drug Administration Notification. The prevalence (standard error) of current DS use was 20.6% (0.7) for men, 32.2% (0.7) for women. Those with DS use for longer than two weeks during previous one year were 27.2% (0.7), and 40.2% (0.8), for men and women respectively. Vitamin mineral supplement (221.6/103 persons) was the most frequently consumed DS in Korean adults. The trend for DS use in Korean adults is changing as well as increasing

Analysis of Korean wine market and exportation of galician wines to South Korea

Wine trends have been changing along the years. Spain is a large producer and exporter of wines and within this country, Galicia is among the top 3 regions for wine exportation. On the other side, South Korea has boosted it wine consumption. Regarding several statistical data, about 80% of the wine consumed in this country, comes from foreign countries. Change in consumer´s taste (evolution), a higher concern regarding their health (wine health benefits), a gradual development of the Korean wine market (higher wine purchasing), wine festivals, and of course, COVID, are factors that help increase wine consumption in this country and that make this destination perfect for exporting this outstanding beverage from Spain to South Korea. Data collection will be performed in Seoul, South Korea, with a mix between quantitative and qualitative research. Both interview and surveys will develop in two languages, Korean and English. Besides, observation will also be applied for the market analysis investigation in situ. The wine sector is evolving in an increasingly competitive international scene characterised by the emergence of new wine-producing countries using innovative production and marketing strategies to capture a growing share of trade. COVID 19 and isolation time, has caused an exponential increase of alcohol consumption worldwide. Wine, especially, has been favoured by this pandemic.A longo dos anos as diferentes tendências no que concerne o consumo do vinho variaram. Espanha é um grande produtor e exportador de vinhos e, dentro do mesmo país encontramos a região da Galícia que está no top 3. A Coreia do Sul aumentou o consumo de vinho e de acordo com vários dados estatísticos, cerca de 80% de vinho consumido no país vem de países estrangeiros. O paladar do consumidor mudou (evoluiu), e há uma maior preocupação com a saúde (benefícios sobre o consumo do vinho), um desenvolvimento gradual do mercado do vinho (maior investimento em compra de vinho), festivais vinícolas, e, inevitavelmente, o COVID. Todos estes fatores impulsionaram o consumo de vinho nos países em análise e a alavancar a estratégia de exportação entre Espanha e a Coreia do Sul. A coleta de dados será realizada em Seul, Coréia do Sul, com pesquisa quantitativa e qualitativa. A entrevista e pesquisa serão desenvolvidas em dois idiomas, coreano e inglês. Além deste método de pesquisa, a observação também será aplicada para a investigação de análise de mercado "in situ". O sector do vinho está a desenvolver-se num ámbito incrívelmente competitivo e internacionalmente está caracterizado pela aparição de novos paises produtores vitivinícolas que utilizam estratégias inovadoras de marketing e produção para captar uma parte crescente do comércio. O COVID 19 e os tempos de quarentena trouxeram um aumento exponencial no consumo de álcool a nível mundial. Alias o vinho foi claramente favorecido nesta pandemia em termos de consumo

Dissemination of Regenerative Medicine in Japan: Promoting commercialization under the regulatory system

Though Japan has surpassed South Korea in terms of research and development (R&D) in the area of regenerative medicine, South Korea has been more successful at commercialization. This paper focuses on the setup and operation of actual systems that consider the promotion of regenerative medicine in Japan. Analysis of the regulatory systems in Japan and South Korea shows a clear difference between the two countries, although their systems are basically the same. There are two pathways for applying unapproved drugs in clinical research, including regenerative medicine, to human subjects in Japan, whereas there is only one pathway in South Korea, where the Korea Food and Drug Administration (KFDA) is the only authority through which approval can be obtained. Japan has an additional pathway besides approval through the Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency (PMDA), if the clinical research is conducted within the framework of the Medical Practitioners Law.

Regulatory guideline for biosimilar products in Korea

AbstractThe regulatory framework of biosimilar products in Korea is a 3-tiered system: 1) Pharmaceutical Affairs Act; 2) Notification of the regulation on review and authorization of biological products; 3) Guideline on evaluation of biosimilar products. A biosimilar product is regulated under the same regulation as biological products. The difference from new biological product is that biosimilar product requires full comparability data with reference product. Based on these data, some of the non-clinical and clinical data could be abbreviated. As Korean guideline for biosimilar products was developed along with that of the WHO’s, most of the recommendations were based on similar principle except the clinical evaluation to demonstrate similarity. No biosimilar products are licensed yet, however, 4 IND products have been approved for phase I or III clinical trials. The addressed issues during review were as follows: acceptability of reference products manufactured in different sites, determination of acceptable criteria for differences and selection of analytical tests for the comparability exercise to detect potential differences in quality attributes, relevant species for non-clinical study, and duration of toxicity study, etc. These and other future issues will be dealt with scientific advancement, experiences of collaborating work with WHO or other NRAs, which will be reflected in the guidelines on regulations of biosimilar products in Korea

Mothers' perceptions of children's food behaviors: use of focus group interview study

Children's food behaviors have been expressed in a various ways because of recent changes in their family environment. Thus, this study was performed to investigate in-depth qualitative research on the mother's perception on children's food behaviors by focused group interview. This study was designed in four steps of planning, collection of participants, process, and analysis. Participants for the focus group interview were recruited and sampled from households with elementary school students in the Seoul and Gyeonggido areas. Groups were divided by total income and education expense levels. 1) High income household: It is better to improve currently existing web sites for nutrition education. 2) Mid income household: Easy, practical, and inexpensive off-line cooking class/nutrition education classes for mothers are needed. Nutrition programs for children should be developed through mass media and be promoted in the broadcasting circle. 3) Low income household: Motivation is required for mothers' education and the serious nutritional problems of children should be informed through mass media and home correspondence from school. And interesting educational materials should be developed for children to read whenever they want

Immunization decision-making in the Republic of Korea: The structure and functioning of the Korea Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices

AbstractThe Korea Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (KACIP), established by law in the early 1990s, makes recommendations on a range of issues related to the National Immunization Program. The Committee consists of 15 members and always includes the two government officials who belong to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Korea Food and Drug Administration. Other members usually come from affiliated organizations and serve for 2-year terms. The KACIP depends on special-topics sub-committees or temporary advisory committees to gather and analyze data and to make recommendations which are normally reached by consensus and implemented by public sector health providers and private providers