We have participated in a project that the Industrial Technology Center of Nagasaki advanced through collaboration between industry and academia and have tried to develop novel fermented biogenic foods for anti-aging and the prevention of cancer and liver disease using botanical lactic acid bacteria isolated from a product of the Nagasaki Prefecture. In this study, 620 isolated botanical lactic acid bacteria were used in the screening tests for selecting high-functional lactic acid bacteria. We obtained 219 fermented samples with an anti-oxidative activity, and 17 fermented samples were selected among them at random. As a result, 13 of the 17 fermented samples with the anti-oxidative activity suppressed the proliferation of HL60 cells and 14 fermented samples protected hepatocytes from necrosis induced by EtOH. Finally, 5 fermented samples were significantly positive in both tests. Novel foods for the maintenance and improvement of health will be developed using these high-functional botanical lactic acid bacteria in the future.

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  Lemon balm (Melissa officinalis), which belongs to the Lamiaceae family, is an herb with a citrus flavor, used widely for herbal tea due to its appetite and sleep improving properties. In this study, lemon balm was examined for α-glucosidase inhibition effects and suppression of blood glucose increases, which correlate with the prevention of diabetes. Cookies and cooked rice with added lemon balm were also evaluated for taste. The extract of lemon balm with hot water (lemon balm tea) was shown to have the highest activities of both of α-glucosidase inhibition and radical scavenging amongst the extracts of eight citrus-flavored herbs, namely lemon balm, lemon thyme, lemon verbena, lemon grass, lemon peel, orange blossom, bitter orange peel, and sweet orange peel. Rosmaric acid, a radical scavenger, occurred at higher levels in lemon balm than in the other herbs. The adsorption fraction of reverse-phase resin-applied lemon balm tea was suggested to contain α-glucosidase inhibitors. Lemon balm tea was shown to have a suppressive effect on the increase of blood glucose after ingestion of sucrose in mice. Cookies with added lemon balm leaf were evaluated by a taste test as having significantly superior flavor in comparison to cookies without added lemon balm leaf, although they were inferior in appearance (p<0. 05). Cooked rice with added lemon balm, carrot, and chicken received a high evaluation in a taste test

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  A cookbook authored by a teacher and a cookbook written by a cook were selected in South Korea and Japan, respectively, and then the ingredients, cooking methods, seasonings, seasoning methods, and spices mentioned in these books were compared. The findings of this study are as follows:
1. Ingredients: The dominant ingredients for accompanying dishes are meat in South Korea, and fish in Japan. In South Korea, mushrooms are often used, while in Japan, potatoes, beans, and eggs are frequently used. The staple food in South Korea includes rice, flour, buckwheat, and millet, while that in Japan is mainly rice.
2. Cooking method: In South Korea, marinated foods and soups are dominant, while in Japan, boiled and grilled dishes are dominant.
3. Seasonings: For accompanying dishes, salt, soy sauce, and sweeteners are often added in both countries. In South Korea, the frequency of use of sesame oil is high. The seasonings for staple food are similar to those for accompanying dishes.
    Seasoning method: Salt and soy sauce are used in both countries, but salt is mainly used in South Korea, while soy sauce is often used in Japan. The seasoning method for staple food are similar to those for accompanying dishes.
4. Spice: For accompanying dishes, garlic and Welsh onion are used quite frequently, and many pungent ingredients are used in South Korea. In Japan, there are a variety of spices, but the frequency of use is low.
5. For each item, the frequency of description in the cookbooks was compared between Japan and South Korea, using correlation coefficients. As a result, it was found that there is a significant correlation between the ingredients for accompanying dishes and the seasoning methods for accompanying dishes and staple food only.

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  Consumers of organically-grown vegetables often believe that these products are healthful and taste better than conventionally-grown vegetables. However, nutrient content and organoleptic characteristics vary from farm and year to year. The objective of this study was to evaluate the influence of agricultural technique on the production of high quality vegetables each year, for 3 years. Nutrient component analysis and a sensory test (of quality, as indicated by appearance, texture and taste) of spinach and komatsuna were carried out on produce from an organic farm and a conventional farm in Mie prefecture. Cultivation practices were the responsibility of each farmer, who had been selected (from our previous studies) because they had cultivated organically-grown spinach or conventionally-grown komatsuna that had scored highly in the sensory test.
  The amount of nutrients of komatsuna was no significant differences. The appearance and texture of organically-grown komatsuna were preferred but preference based on taste was different between each years. The water, manganese and total of free amino acid contents of organically-grown spinach were lower, and the sodium and oxalic acid contents were higher than those of conventionally-grown spinach. For each of the 3 years, the organically-grown spinach scored highly in almost every parameter of the sensory test. The spinach might be more susceptible to the effect of organic manure than komatsuna. The results suggest that cultivation technique is likely to contribute vegetable quality. Future study is needed to determine the influence of agricultural practices on nutrient content, taste and the eating quality of vegetables after cooking.

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  From 2002 to 2011, total numbers of food poisoning incidents were 1, 048 to 1, 850. Total numbers of food poisoning patients were 20, 249 to 39, 026. The morbidity rates were 15. 9 to 30. 5 per 100, 000.
  In 2002-2011, food poisoning caused by Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli were 12 to 27 incidents and 70 to 928 patients. Food poisoning caused by Campylobacter jejuni⁄coli were 337 to 645 incidents and 2, 092 to 3, 439 patients. In food poisoning due to norovirus, 268 to 499 incidents and 7, 961 to 27, 616 patients were reported.
  Cooking meats are the most important to prevent food poisoning caused by Enterohemorrhagic E.coli and C.jejuni⁄coli. In food poisoning due to norovirus, washing hands is the most important as preventive.

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  The survey was conducted from late June to early July, 2005, for the purpose of investigating students′ attitudes toward diet. The targets of this study were 261 male students in the 8th grade and 235 male students in the 11th grade of a private school in Sapporo.
  1. The number of the junior high school students who answered they “do not skip meals” was higher than that of the high school students.
  2. As for the frequency of dairy products intake, approx 70 percent of both the junior -and senior- high school students answered they eat dairy products “once or more a day”. There were many respondents who answered “rarely” in the meal-skipping group. As for eggs and fishery products, significant differences were observed.
  3. The number of students who answered they “have a healthy dietary life” was higher in the no meal-skipping group than in the meal-skipping group, showing a significant difference.
  4. As for losing weight, 19. 8% of the senior high students answered they “really want to lose weight” as opposed to 6. 0% of the junior high students, showing a significant difference.

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  To investigate the optimum reheating conditions, we carried out physical measurements and a sensory analysis of the flavor characteristics and quality changes that occur during reheating of grilled miso-marinated chicken.
  Compared with an ordinary oven, the loss of mass (weight loss) was reduced when reheating was carried out in a convection oven. The chicken meat was significantly tougher when reheated in an ordinary oven at 150°C than when reheated using the Cook-Serve system. The toughness of the meat was the same when reheated in a convection oven at 130°C and 150°C as when reheated using the Cook-Serve system. The meat exhibited less chewiness when reheated in a convection oven compared with an ordinary oven.
  The sensory analysis revealed that when reheated in an ordinary oven at 150°C, the color of the chicken meat was significantly browner. The meat was considerably tenderer when the Cook-Serve system was used, and less tender when reheated in an ordinary oven at 150°C. When reheated using the Cook-Serve system, the chicken was significantly juicier. The Cook-Serve system resulted in a notably high overall evaluation.
  In conclusion, reheating in a convection oven required less time and resulted in reduced loss of mass (weight loss) in comparison with reheating in an ordinary oven. When using a convection oven, a temperature of 150°C resulted in a shorter reheating time compared with 130°C and reduced loss of mass. Thus, reheating grilled miso-marinated chicken in a convection oven at 150°C is the optimum method of reheating.

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