In recent years, it has become possible to solve complex problems in substantial science as probability models without undue simplification, thanks to the development of various methods in the field of statistics. Statistics software is now widely available that allows users to input data and obtain results automatically without intricate familiarity with the details of these methods or algorithm. It is still the responsibility of the researchers, however, to select appropriate probability models (analytic methods) to apply for the relevant problems and to discriminate between useful and unnecessary information. This paper is on the selection of statistic analytical methods based on the lecture delivered at the 39^th conference.

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  Nowadays, while the relationship between agriculture and food has been weakening, “a failure” has been caused in the food market, its competitiveness has been weakening as well, and a deficiency of information has occurred.
  Besides, the growth of outsourcing of meals has been so noticeable that processed foods account for 53. 2% and 28. 5% is consumed in the food service industry at the final stage of food consumption.
  As for the form of food purchase, the purchase through direct conversations with retail salesclerks has decreased, and now 55. 4% of food is purchased at supermarkets which offer self-service of pre-packed foods. Because immediate communication through interpersonal dialogues has almost faded, the decisions of food purchase are only based on what the labels indicate. It suggests that information is no longer interactive and food safety is now threatened.
  This report focuses on the methods of realizing “the eating habits of volitional selection” such as direct sales and CSA (Community Supported Agriculture.) The direct sales system has formed regional or local markets that directly connect producers with consumers unlike national markets. It is notable that these regional or local markets have contributed to the establishment of food safety as trust exists between producers and consumers and it makes food history information traceable. The efforts by 12000 direct sales stores of farm products nationwide, rural enterprise by female farmers and Pal System Consumers Cooperative Union are introduced, and this study shows the way to the eating habits that people can select their food volitionally, which can be achieved with the equal cooperation and partnership between producers and consumers.

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  We first analyzed the dietary records at a Zen monastery from the viewpoint of nutrition and food intake. The means of the total energy, protein and fat intake were significantly lower than a normal diet. The amounts of other nutrients had the same tendency. The mushrooms and seaweed intakes were extremely better than any other food groups. In addition, we conducted investigations regarding the diet and health of Zen monks training at Zen monasteries to examine their nutrient intake and health condition. The nutrient consumption of Zen monks was high carbohydrates, high dietary fiber, low fat, and low cholesterol, and this was especially conspicuous in the non-animal food consumption group. There were no concerns about their blood parameters. However, a decrease in their QOL is a concern. Finally, to clarify the difference in the serum lipid and blood glucose levels between young Zen monks and middle-aged Zen monks, we investigated their nutrient intake and health conditions. In both groups, no distinct difference was observed in their HDL cholesterol and triglyceride levels. However, the total cholesterol and blood glucose levels of the young group were remarkably higher than those of the middle-aged group. Therefore, this study suggested that physiological changes in the body due to aging affected the total cholesterol and blood glucose levels.

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  Dietary habits are related to many problems including food, energy, environment and health. Thus, the researches in dietary habits must be conducted in the paradigm of complex system. But, it is important to accumulate the experimental observations by the reductionistic approarch. In this review, I focus on the new approach to the materials and methods.
  First, I examined the function of oleuropein, a major polyphenol in olive leaf using the rats fed on high cholesterol diets. As the result, the values of total bile acids and total lipids in the feces decreased significantly in the rat fed on the olive leaf powder and oleuropein. The values of total cholesterol in the feces and triglyceride in the liver decreased significantly in the group fed on the olive leaf extract. These results indicate that the oleuropein facilitates the lipid absorption and the bile acid reabsorption in the ileum.
  Second, in order to reveal the relationship between renal reabsorptional systems of vitamin B₁₂ (B12) and vitamin A, I analized the effect of B12 deficient status on the localization of megalin, the receptor of both vitamins, and retinol binding protein (RBP). As the result, in B12 deficient rats, megalin was accumulated on the membrane in the proximal tubules and a few tubules containing RBP were identified, which suggested inhibition of megalin-mediated endocytosis and renal vitamin A uptake.
  Third, I produced D-histidine specific antibody to trace biokinetics. Histochemical approach may be a useful tool to understand the nutrition and dietary habits.

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  We have investigated the dietary lifestyles of the junior high school students in Hiroshima for three years since they actively promoted food education in 2005.We compared it with other school years (in 2006 and 2007) in order to investigate the effect of the food education program for three years and compared it with progressive grades (first grade in 2005, second grade in 2006 and third grade in 2007) in order to investigate the effect of continual food education in nearly the same groups.
  The ratio of skipping breakfast and having a midnight snack and leaving the school lunch decreased from year to year. The hour of going to bed got earlier from year to year. The food education program had an effect on them. The ratio of having general malaise decreased from year to year. Having general malaise was related to having a midnight snack and the hour of going to bed. It was suggested that having the general malaise was caused by having a midnight snack and going to bed later.
  The ratio of leaving the school lunch decreased from first grade to third grade. The continual food education had an effect on leaving the school lunch. The ratio of having breakfast and supper alone increased from the first grade to third grade. The hour of rising and going to bed got later from the first grade to third grade. The continual food education did not have an effect on them. It was suggested that eating alone and the time-use for living were influenced by the grade characteristics rather than the continual food education.

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  Japan is surrounded by the sea, and has many rivers and lakes. Therefore, fish and shellfish are an excellent food resource for the Japanese, and various methods of preparing fish have been developed. In recent years, however, young people have decreased their intake of fish. We investigated two aspects of fish intake. We first administered a questionnaire to female college students in their 20s regarding their attitude about consuming fish and fish bones. We then examined effective chewing methods. Based on the answers to the questionnaire, the most commonly ingested fish are salmon, tuna, mackerel, horse mackerel, sea bream, and Sauries. Grilled and raw fish are most commonly consumed, accounting for 76. 8% of consumed fish. Other findings indicate that young people dislike eel, sardines, horse mackerel and sauries mainly because they contain too many bones (39. 4%). The bones are one of the main reasons for disliking fish. Several fish are difficult to eat, such as Sauries, horse mackerel, sardine, and eel. Their bones tend to stick to the pharyngeal wall and nearby mucous membrane. Although people try to remove small bones before cooking and eating, they usually do not attempt to remove the fish bones after putting the fish into their mouths.Thus, the remaining fish bones can get caught in the throat. Chewing method was analyzed by examining the number of chewing movements. Chewing 20 times made little difference; chewing 30 times produced a mixture of broken bones and meat; chewing 40 times produced some clusters and bones were mostly broken down; chewing 50 times produced a puree in which it was difficult to distinguish the bones from the meat, making it easier to swallow. Thus, long fish bones (20-30mm) can be swallowed easily after efficient chewing action to break the bones into smaller (<10mm) pieces, thereby decreasing the possibility of choking.The findings of our survey indicate that the main reason for the decreased fish consumption is the presence of fish bones. Choking problems caused by fish bones can be resolved by chewing the fish more than 30 times, which makes it easier to swallow any bones remaining in the fish. Further, consuming fish bones provides nutrition in the form of calcium.

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  輸入食品に対する消費者の意識動向を調べるために, 大学生の男子108人, 女子200人を対象にアンケート調査を行った。その結果は次の通りである。
(1) 輸入食品の「野菜類」,「果実類」, および「魚介類」に対する購入意欲について, 男女ともに “時々” 購入するであった。一方, 輸入食品のイメージについて,「価格」は安いと評価され, また「品質」,「安全性」,「美味しさ」は, “普通” 以下の低い評価であった。
  一方, この調査の回答を数量変換後, 2項目間の関連を調べた結果, 購入意欲の項目間は相互に有意な順相関を示し, またイメージ間も同様であった。
  更に多項目間の関連については, 購入意欲とイメージ別の主成分分析により示された。
(2) 輸入食品対する安全・安心の意識について, 残留農薬, 食品の添加物, 遺伝子組換え, 狂牛病の4事例を取り上げて調べた。その結果, 安全性の知識についての「A」項目では, それを認識しているは男女ともに50%以上であり, 一方, 安心の意識についての「B」項目では, 心配の意識を持っている人は60%～95%で, 3事例で, 女子は有意に男子よりも多数であった。
  上記の数量変換により, 男女ともに4事例の「A」項目間, また「B」項目間も相互に有意な順相関が認められた。更に,「A」,「B」からの8項目のクラスター分析の樹形図から, それら8項目の意識下での関連性が示された。
  (3) 輸入食品の将来に対する意識では, 提示された7個の事項 (a～g) 中, 選択人数 (%) の多い事項は, aとeの “価格が安いか, 又は食品に問題なければ, 食品を輸入して欲しい” , およびcとdの “食品の安全性, 又は国内生産者のため, 輸入しないで欲しい” であり, 検定により, 男女間に1%の危険率で有意差が認められた。
  一方, 輸入食品の将来の意識に影響するのは, 輸入食品の安全・安心の意識における “心配” の意識であった。

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  After identifying a significant relationship between the consciousness about menu planning and meal balance in our previous study, we have now evaluated the application of a meal balance guide book (Japanese Food Guide Spinning Top, JFGST) as a tool for specific dietary education to improve their diet, leading to improvement of the menu planning ability. Therefore, this study aimed to confirm the relationship between the consciousness about menu planning and meal balance using the JFGST.
  Sixty-two subjects, who underwent both an attitude survey and diet survey by the JFGST among 80 first-year students attending a dietician training course, were analyzed. The results of the attitude surveys about meal balance and menu planning, and a meal survey by the JFGST were converted into scores, and the relationships between them were investigated. In addition, an attitude survey was conducted after 3 month of learning about the JFGST.
  From the result, no significant correlation between the consciousness about meal balance and the results of a meal survey was observed, and the existence of a lag between the consciousness about meal balance and the actual diet was suggested. Moreover, a relationship between the consciousness about menu planning and meal balance was confirmed by the JFGST, and the effectiveness of dietary education using the JFGST was suggested.
  In addition, although consciousness to improve the diet was raised by performing the dietary diagnosis with the JFGST in 85. 5% of the subjects, only 40. 3% of the subjects were willing to refer to the JFGST. In the future, factors that can interfere with the comprehension of the JFGST or with health behaviors need to be verified.

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  We previously reported a new and practical method of more accurately determining the conversion factors for calculating the protein content of foods from the total nitrogen content (N:P factor). The adjusted N:P factors, we called the N : P factor calculated by the new methods, correspond to the proportion of the amino acid residue content to the total nitrogen content. Thereby, when we try to estimate the protein content using the adjusted N : P factors, we do not have to consider the nonprotein nitrogen content.
  In this study, the adjusted N : P factor for several pulses and 3 soybean products were investigated based on the total nitrogen content, amino acid composition, amide nitrogen and free amino acids. The proportions of the amino acid nitrogen in the total nitrogen were 95% for pulses and 98% for soybean products. The average factors were 5. 43 for all the analytical samples and 5. 51 for the soybeans and its products. The N : P factor of 6. 25 commonly used for many foods was not a realistic factor for estimating the protein contents of pulses by converting the total nitrogen. The averaged value of the adjusted N : P factors for pulses was not different from that for the soybeans, except for some pulses. Considering the frequency of these food uses, 5. 51 is recommended as the universal factor for pulses and soybean products. This study seems to suggest that the new method for calculating the N : P factors is both useful and valuable.

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  The complaints about 232 food samples were sent to the complaint departments of a food supermarket chain in six prefectures of the Kanto region from February 2005 to January 2007. The food complaints underwent bacteriological and chemical analyses, acute toxicity testing with fishes,and the analysis of foreigin substances. A bacteriological examination was carried using for 156 samples. Vibrio parahaemolyticus was isolated from a raw octopus sample. Staphylococcus aureus was isolated from lightly roasted and roasted and sliced bonito and cream croquette. A chemical analysis was carried on 32 samples. In one of these, the potato glycoalkaloid was detected in the potatoes. The contents of the potato glycoalkaloid in the potato was 74mg/100g. An acute toxicity test with fish was carried out using 27 samples. The results of 27 samples were negative. An analysis of foreigin substances was carried out using 48 samples. These samples were identified as the main components by various analytical methods.

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  市販天然かつおだし (12種) と市販かつお風味調味料だし (9種) におけるペルオキシルラジカルおよびヒドロキシルラジカル捕捉活性能の強さを比較した。
  天然かつおだしは, かつお風味調味料だしに比べペルオキシルラジカル捕捉活性で約10倍, ヒドロキシルラジカル捕捉活性で約30～50倍の強さを示した。また, ヒドロキシルラジカル捕捉活性能はペルオキシルラジカル捕捉活性能に対して, 2. 5～3倍ほど強かった。2種のラジカル捕捉活性能の間における相関係数は0. 868と高い相関が認められた。
  総ポリフェノール含量とペルオキシルラジカルおよびヒドロキシルラジカル捕捉活性能の強さとの相関係数はそれぞれ0. 800, 0. 836であり, 高い相関性を示した。
  利便性の面からからインスタントだしの利用が増えている現状であるが, 抗酸化能において天然かつおだしはインスタントだしより優れており, ポリフェノール含量の高い天然かつおだしを選択することにより, 健康な食生活を送る上で有益な知見が得られたと考えられる。

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