Food Hazard Analysis During Dried-laver Processing

This study was performed to identify and assess food hazards during dry laver processing. Samples including raw materials, intermediates, and finished products during dried-laver processing were collected from seven dried-laver processing facilities, and microbial analyses were conducted. Microbial levels such as total coliforms and total viable cell count (TVC) increased as the processing steps progressed. TVC and total coliforms ranged from <30 to $9.1{\times}10^7$ CFU/g and <18 to 27,600 MPN/100 g for intermediates and finished products obtained during dried-laver processing, respectively. However, no fecal coliform was detected in the samples. Additionally, food-borne bacteria including Bacillus cereus, Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella sp., Staphylococcus aureus, and Vibrio parahaemolyticus were not identified in finished products. For heavy metal content, arsenic ranged from 30.18 to 39.05 mg/kg, mercury from 0.005 to 0.009 mg/kg, and cadmium from 0.076 to 0.318 mg/kg dry mass in all finished products. However, lead was not detected in samples tested in this study. In conclusion, dried-laver products were safe based on the levels of food-borne bacteria and heavy metal contents. However, it is important to reduce total viable cell counts and total coliforms during dried-laver processing.