• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.40-46
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• 2013

A variety of nuruk were collected from various provinces in Korea, and their microflora profiles were analyzed at the species level. A total of 42 nuruk samples were collected and when the viable cell numbers in these nuruk were enumerated, the average cell numbers of bacteria, fungi, yeast, and lactic acid bacteria from all nuruk were 7.21, 7.91, 3.49, and 4.88 log CFU/10 g, respectively. There were no significant differences in viable cell numbers of bacteria or fungi according to regions collected. Bacillus amyloliquefaciens and B. subtilis were the predominant bacterial strains in most samples. A significant portion, 13 out of 42 nuruk, contained foodborne pathogens such as B. cereus or Cronobacter sakazakii. There were various species of lactic acid bacteria such as Enterococcus faecium and Pediococcus pentosaceus in nuruk. It was unexpectedly found that only 13 among the 42 nuruk samples contained Aspergillus oryzae, the representative saccharifying fungi in makgeolli, whereas a fungi Lichtheimia corymbifera was widely distributed in nuruk. It was also found that Pichia jadinii was the predominant yeast strain in most nuruk, but the representative alcohol fermentation strain, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, was isolated from only 18 out of the 42 nuruk. These results suggested that a variety of species of fungi and yeast were distributed in nuruk and involved in the fermentation of makgeolli. In this study, a total of 64 bacterial species, 39 fugal species, and 15 yeast species were identified from nuruk. Among these strains, 37 bacterial species, 20 fungal species, and 8 yeast species were distributed less than 0.1%.

• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.58-68
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• 2021

This study investigated the microbial community and quality characteristics of traditional soybean pastes (doenjang) based on the aging period in Gyeongnam province. The samples were collected from seven regions in Gyeongnam Province (Goseong, Hadong, Haman, Hamyang, Sacheon, Sancheong and Uiryeong). Contents of moisture, salinity, pH, and acidity of doenjang after 210 days aging were 56.40~65.21%, 9.05~16.08%, 4.88~6.86 and 0.64~2.14%, respectively. Lightness significantly decreased over the aging period, while the redness tended to increase over the aging period. Yellowness was from 21.39~26.81 to 21.10~28.36. Reducing sugar content was from 0.31~1.45% to 0.11~3.13%. The amino-type content increased from 141.87~495.13 mg/100 g to 328.53~823.67 mg/100 g. In contrast, the ammonia-type content declined from 136.74~364.70 mg/ 100 g to 128.62~331.00 mg/100 g. The overall total microbial count did not significantly differ, but it tended to decrease in sample GD4. Fungus declined overall or was not detected. Coliform groups were not detected in all samples. Lactobacillus and Bacillus cereus tended to decrease over the aging period. The common fungus and bacterium were Aspergillus oryzae and Tetragenococcus halophilus, respectively. After the aging period, the predominant fungi were Candida versatilis, Candida apicola, and Debaryomyces hansenii. The predominant bacteria were Tetragenococcus halophilus and Cronobacter sakazakii.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.45 no.8
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• pp.1227-1232
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• 2016

Electrolyzed activated water (EAW) has been reported to exhibit strong bactericidal effects on foodborne microorganisms. However, the disinfection efficacy of EAW is affected by factors such as water source and hardness. This study investigated bactericidal effects of EAW against three gram-positive (Bacillus cereus, Listeria monocytogenes, and Staphylococcus aureus) and three gram-negative (Cronobacter sakazakii, Escherichia coli O157:H7, and Salmonella Enteritidis) foodborne pathogens. Six strains were treated with EAW prepared at different water temperatures (4, 22, and $40^{\circ}C$) for 15 min, and D-values were generated. The results show that the lowest D-values for Lis. monocytogenes by EAW produced at $4^{\circ}C$ and $40^{\circ}C$ were 6.60 and 1.57 min, respectively. The lowest D-value for Sal. Enteritidis by EAW produced at $22^{\circ}C$ was 2.92 min. D-values of all strains treated by EAW produced at $40^{\circ}C$ decreased significantly compared to those treated by EAW produced at $4^{\circ}C$ (P<0.05). These results demonstrate that applying EAW produced at warm temperature is more effective for reducing foodborne pathogens for food safety.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.48 no.5
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• pp.437-444
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• 2016

Rapid and reliable identification of microorganisms is important to maintain food quality and to control safety. MALDI-TOF MS-based identification methods are relatively fast and simple compared to other conventional methods including gram staining and biochemical characterization. A colony on subcultured media can be directly prepared on the analysis plate without further complex treatments. In this study, we confirmed the applicability of MALDI-TOF MS-based identification of foodborne pathogens such as Salmonella Enteritidis/Typhimurium, Staphylococcus aureus, Vibrio parahaemolyticus, Clostridium perfringens, Listeria monocytogenes, Yersinia enterocolitica, Bacillus cereus, Campylobacter jejuni, Campylobacter coli, and Cronobacter sakazakii on the Korea Food Standard Codex. MALDI-TOF MS data of the pathogenic reference strains were incorporated into a commercial MicroID (ASTA Inc.) database. Other pathogenic reference strains and seven isolates from various food samples were correctly identified to the species level by using the MicroID database. In conclusion, MALDI-TOF MS is comparable with commercial biochemical identification.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.43 no.2
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• pp.161-168
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• 2011

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.