Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology (한국식품과학회지)

Korean Society of Food Science and Technology (한국식품과학회)
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Microbial and Pathogenic Contamination of Ready-to-eat Fresh Vegetables in Korea

한국에 유통중인 신선편이 채소류의 미생물 품질 및 병원성 세균의 오염도 조사

  • Bae, Young-Min (School of Food Science and Technology, Chung-Ang University) ;
  • Hong, Yu-Jin (School of Food Science and Technology, Chung-Ang University) ;
  • Kang, Dong-Hyun (Department of Food and Animal Biotechnology, Seoul National University) ;
  • Heu, Sung-Gi (Microbial Safety Division, Department of Agro-food Safety, National Academy of Agricultural Science, Rural Development Administration) ;
  • Lee, Sun-Young (School of Food Science and Technology, Chung-Ang University)
  • 배영민 (중앙대학교 자연과학대학 식품공학부) ;
  • 홍유진 (중앙대학교 자연과학대학 식품공학부) ;
  • 강동현 (서울대학교 농업생명과학대학 식품동물생명공학부) ;
  • 허성기 (농촌진흥청 국립농업과학원 농산물안전성부 유해생물과) ;
  • 이선영 (중앙대학교 자연과학대학 식품공학부)
  • Received : 2010.07.28
  • Accepted : 2010.12.12
  • Published : 2011.04.30
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Abstract

The purpose of this study was to evaluate microbiological contamination of fresh vegetables in Korea. Twenty types of vegetables were tested for total aerobic bacteria, coliforms, Escherichia coli, yeast and mold, and pathogenic bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus, Listeria monocytogenes, Bacillus cereus, Salmonella, E. coli O157:H7, Cronobacter sakazakii, Shigella, and Campylobacter. Levels of total aerobic bacteria and coliform on 20 vegetables were between 3.74 and 8.04 log CFU/g, and 0.16 and 5.02 log CFU/g, respectively. The highest contamination levels of total aerobic bacteria were observed on water dropwort, sprouts, mungbean sprout, and ballflower root. There was no significant difference (p>0.05) in microbial contamination levels of total aerobic count, coliform, E. coli, yeast and mold between organic and nonorganic vegetables. When isolation methods using selective agars were applied, L. monocytogenes, B. cereus, Salmonella and Campylobacter were isolated from some fresh vegetable samples. Results of API kit tests showed that L. monocytogenes was identified on Chinese cabbage, cucumber, soybean sprouts, and iceberg lettuce while Salmonella was identified on Korean leek. Furthermore, Campylobacter jejuni was also identified in more than 50 of the 100 samples. However, when positive samples from API kit were tested for real-time PCR or 16S rRNA sequencing method, only B. cereus from perilla leaf, carrot, water dropwort, and sprouts showed positive results. These results indicate that selective agar and API kit detection methods might result in false positive results for some pathogens. Therefore, studies need to improve isolation or confirmation methods for such pathogens.

신선 농식품은 일반적으로 가열하지 않고 직접 신선한 상태로 섭취하기 때문에 병원성 미생물에 오염되어 있을 경우 식중독을 일으킬 수 있다. 이에 본 연구는 한국에 유통되는 총 20종의 채소에서 총균수, 대장균군, 대장균, 효모, 곰팡이 및 병원성 세균(S. aureus, L. monocytogenes, B. cereus, Salmonella, E. coli O157:H7, C. sakazakii, Shigella, Campylobacter)을 측정하여 신선농식품의 미생물 오염실태를 조사하였다. 채소의 총균수와 대장균군의 분포는 각각 3.74-8.04 log CFU/g, 0.16-5.02 log CFU/g 수준이였으며 이중에서 미나리, 새싹, 숙주, 도라지에서 가장 높은 수준의 미생물이 관찰되었다. 유기농과 비유기농의 상추와 깻잎의 오염도를 관찰했을 때, 두 군의 일반 미생물 수준에는 유의적 차이가 나타나지 않았다. 신선 농식품에 오염된 병원성 세균을 조사하였을 때, 선택배지를 이용한 분리법에서 L. monocytogenes가 배추, 양상추, 오이, 콩나물에서 검출되었고, B. cereus는 상추, 깻잎, 당근, 미나리, 새싹에서 검출되었으며, Campylobacter의 경우는 20종 모두에서 한번 이상 검출되었다. 이중 API kit로 동정한 결과 총 48개의 시료가 양성으로 판명되었으며 마지막으로 real-time PCR법과 16S rRNA sequencing법을 이용하여 확인한 결과 깻잎, 당근, 미나리, 새싹에서 발견된 B. cereus만이 양성으로 확인되었다. 따라서 본 연구결과로부터 몇몇 신선 농식품에서 B. cereus가 검출되었으며 비교적 높은 총균수와 대장균군의 수준을 확인할 수 있었다. 또한 본 연구결과 분리방법에서 선택배지나 API kit를 이용하였을 때 몇몇 병원성 세균에 대해서는 맞지 않는 양성결과가 확인되었으므로 이에 신선 농식품에서 보다 정확하게 분리할 수 있는 방법의 개발이 필요할 것으로 사료된다.

Keywords

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