• Food Science and Biotechnology
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.511-515
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• 2006

Antibiotic resistance of foodborne pathogens adapted to garlic (Allium sativum Linn.) was determined in order to understand the relationship between antibiotic resistance and garlic. The Gram (-) strains of Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhimurium and the Gram (+) strains of Bacillus cereus and Staphylococcus aureus were subcultured consecutively in a garlic broth, and the surviving colonies on the agar were selected as the adapted strains. Minimal inhibitory concentrations (MIC) for 15 antibiotics on the adapted strains were determined on Muller-Hinton Infusion agar. Adaptation to 1.3%(v/v) garlic juice increased MIC for vancomycin, aminoglycoside, and erythromycin on B. cereus, and for ampicillin and erythromycin on E. coli O157:H7. MIC of aminoglycosides, chloramphenicol, and vancomycin on the adapted S. aureus increased. The adapted S. typhimurium was more resistant to penicillin and vancomycin than the non-treated strain. The adapted S. typhimurium and S. aureus lost their antibiotic resistance in non-garlic stress conditions. However, the adapted B. cereus was still resistant to erythromycin and vancomycin, and the adapted E. coli was also resistant to erythromycin. Antibacterial garlic might increase the antibiotic resistance of E. coli, B. cereus, S. aureus, and S. typhimurium and this resistance can continue even without the stress of garlic. Therefore, garlic as a food seasoning could influence the resistance of such pathogens to these antibiotics temporarily or permanently.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.36-44
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• 2002

GC-l00X is non-corrosive alkaline ionic water (pH 12). It is composed of hydroxyl radicals and supplemented with xylitol. Its antimicrobial activity was examined against 6 major food-borne pathogens; Staphylococcus aureus FRI 913, Salmonella enterica serova Enteritidis ATCC 13076, S. enterica serova Typhimurium Korean isolate, Vibrio parahaemolyticus ATCC 17803, Escherichia coli O157:H7 ATCC 43894 and Pseudomonas aeruginosa KCTC 1637 at three different temperatures (4$^{\circ}C$, $25^{\circ}C$ and 36$^{\circ}C$) with or without an organic material (2% yeast extract), respectively. The antimicrobial activities showed over 4 log-reductions (1.0$\times$10$^4$CFU/ml reduction) against all pathogens reacted at 37$^{\circ}C$ for 3 hours in the absence of the organic material. The activities showed same results when GC-l00X was diluted with same volume of distilled water or standard hard water (CaCO$_3$300 ppm). Its antimicrobial activity was more effective and quicker in Gram-negative bacteria than Gram-positive bacteria. Its washing efficacy against E. coli O157:H7 exposed to the surfaces of tomatoes (grapes) was compared with that of the other sanitizers such as other kitchen synthetic detergent and 100-ppm chlorine water. For the toxicological evaluation of the sanitizers, viable counts of E. coli O157:H7 penetrated into the core of tomatoes after washing products were also compared. The result revealed that GC-100X stock solution and its 5% diluted solution had similar washing effects to 100-ppm chlorine water and more effective than the other kitchen synthetic detergent. This result indicated that GC- l00X had antimicrobial activity and no toxicological side effects, therefore, could be useful for a new sanitizer to use in flood safety and kitchen hygiene.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.31-36
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• 2023

This study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of sodium hypochlorite in eliminating Escherichia coli strains from leafy green and stem vegetables, which are frequently sold at community service centers. A cocktail of non-pathogenic E. coli and enterohaemorrhagic E. coli (E. coli O157:H7) was used to artificially contaminate the vegetables (initial numbers of bacteria 7-8 log CFU/g). The contaminated vegetables were soaked in sodium hypochlorite for 5 min and then washed three times with running water. After the treatment, number of viable bacterial cells on the vegetables was estimated. Sodium hypochlorite treatment reduced the E. coli population by 1-2 log CFU/g on leafy green and stem vegetables, a significant reduction from the initial number. Further, sodium hypochlorite showed better antimicrobial efficacy for leaves with a larger surface area, less roughness, and softness. There was no significant difference in the antimicrobial effect between 100 and 200 mg/kg of sodium hypochlorite. Therefore, it is not necessary to increase sodium hypochlorite concentration than the level suggested in the school meal hygiene management guidelines. However, sodium hypochlorite treatment is not sufficient to achieve a safe level of microorganisms on leafy green and stem vegetables since they generally have a high abundance of microorganisms on their surface. Thus, an alternative cooking method for fresh leafy green and stem vegetables in summer should be developed to ensure they are safe for consumption.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.47 no.1
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• pp.81-86
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• 2015

Intense pulsed light (IPL), a nonthermal technology, has attracted increasing interest as a food processing technology. However, its efficacy in inactivating microorganisms has not been evaluated thoroughly. In this study, we investigated the influence of IPL treatment on the inactivation of Escherichia coli O157:H7 depending on light intensity, treatment time, and pulse number. Increased light intensity from 500 V to 1,000 V, raised the inactivation rate at room temperature. At 1000 V, the cell numbers were reduced by 7.1 log cycles within 120 s. In addition, increased pulse number or decreased distance between the light source and sample surface also led to an increase in the inactivation rate. IPL exposure caused a significant increase in the absorption at 260 nm of the suspending agent used in our experiments. This indicates that IPL-treated cells were damaged, consequently releasing intracellular materials. The growth of IPL-irradiated cells were delayed by about 5 h. The degree of damage to the cells after IPL treatment was confimed by transmission electron microscopy.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.53 no.6
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• pp.799-808
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• 2021

This study was performed to investigate the extent of microbial contamination, the presence of enterotoxin genes, and the antibiotic susceptibility of Bacillus cereus in 58 red pepper plants and 43 environmental samples (soil, irrigation water, and gloves) associated with the plant cultivation. The detected counts of total aerobic bacteria, coliform bacteria, Escherichia coli, Bacillus cereus, and Staphylococcus aureus were lower in these samples, as compared to the regulations of standards for foods; moreover, pathogens, such as E. coli, E. coli O157:H7, Listeria monocytogenes, and Salmonella spp., were not detected. Genes encoding hemolysin BL enterotoxins (hblA, hblC, and hblD) as well as non-hemolytic enterotoxins (nheA, nheB, and nheC) were detected in 23 B. cereus specimens that were isolated from the test samples and had β-hemolytic activity. Interestingly, B. cereus is resistant to β-lactam and susceptible to non-β-lactam antibiotics. However, in this case, the isolated B. cereus specimens exhibited a shift from resistant to intermediate in response to cefotaxime and from susceptible to intermediate in case of rifampin, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, vancomycin, clindamycin, and erythromycin. Therefore, the levels of B. cereus should be monitored to detect changes in antibiotic susceptibility and guarantee their safety.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.52 no.1
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• pp.103-108
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• 2020

Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) is an important pathogenic bacteria and can cause severe foodborne disease. For STEC detection, conventional culture methods have disadvantages in the fact that conventional culture takes a long time to detect and PCR can also detect dead bacteria. To overcome these problems, we suggest a bacteriophage amplification assay, which utilizes the ability of bacteriophages to infect living cells and their high specificity. We used a combination of six bacteriophages infecting E. coli to make the bacteriophage cocktail and added ferrous ammonium sulfate as a virucidal agent to remove free-bacteriophages. When cherry tomato and paprika were artificially inoculated with the cocktail at a final concentration of around 3 log CFU/mL and were enriched for at least 5 h in mTSB broth with Novobiocin, approximately 2-3 log PFU/mL were detected through the bacteriophage amplification assay. Therefore, bacteriophage amplification assay might be convenient and a useful method to detect STEC in a short period of time.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.65 no.1
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• pp.258-270
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• 2023

Climate change has worsened droughts and floods, and created conditions more likely to lead to pathogen contamination of surface water and groundwater. Thus, there is a growing need to disinfect livestock water. Ultraviolet (UV) irradiation is widely accepted as an appropriate method for disinfecting livestock water, as it does not produce hazardous chemical compounds and kills pathogens. However, UV-based disinfection inevitably consumes electricity, so it is necessary to improve UV disinfection effectiveness. Aluminum-based reflective nanolens arrays that enhanced the effectiveness of a continuous-flow UV water disinfection system were developed using electrochemical and chemical processes, including electropolishing and two-step anodization. A continuous UV disinfection system was custom designed and the parts were produced using a three-dimensional printer. Electropolished aluminum was anodized at 40 and 80 V in 0.3 M oxalic acid, at 120 and 160 V in 1.0 M phosphoric acid, and at 200 and 240 V in 1.5 M citric acid. The average nanolens diameters (D) of the aluminum-based reflective nanolens arrays prepared using 40, 80, 120, 160, 200, and 240 V anodization were 95.44, 160.98, 226.64, 309.90, 296.32, and 339.68 nm, respectively. Simple UV reflection behind irradiated water disinfected Escherichia coli O157:H7 in water more than did the non-reflective control. UV reflection and focusing behind irradiated water using an aluminum-based reflective nanolens array disinfected E. coli O157:H7 more than did simple UV reflection. Such enhancement of the UV disinfection effectiveness was significantly effective when a nanolens array with D 226.64 nm, close to the wavelength of the irradiated UV (254 nm), was used.

• Journal of the Korean Dietetic Association
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.389-406
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• 2007

This study was conducted to estimate the safety level of non-cooking and cooking processed foods to propose the sanitary management of foods donated to foodbanks. The time and temperature were measured and the microbial levels of aerobic plate counts (APC), coliforms, E. coli, Salmonella spp., S. aureus, B. cereus, and E. coli O157:H7 were analyzed on ten food items donated to seven foodbanks. The amount of cooked foods donated to each foodbank was about 10 to 40 servings. All foodbanks hired a supervisor and had at least one refrigerator/freezer and one temperature-controlled vehicle, but only four foodbanks had the separate offices to manage the foodbank operation. The flow of donated foods was gone through the steps; production, meal service and holding at donator, collection by foodbank, transport (or holding after transport) and distribution to recipients. After production, the levels of APC of both non-cooking and cooking processed foods were complied with the standards by Ministry of Education & Human Resources Development, and were not increased till distribution. Only the level of coliforms in dried squid & cucumber salad (1.5×$10^3$ CFU/g) was not met the standards. E. coli and other pathogens were not detected in all tested samples. The microbial levels of delivery vessels and work tables were satisfactory, but the APC levels of two of four tested serving tables (6.9×$10^3$ and 5.3×$10^3$ CFU/100$cm^2$) and the coliforms level of one (1.1×$10^3$ CFU/100$cm^2$) were over the standards. The air-borne microflora level in serving room was estimated as satisfactory. It took about 3.0 to 6.5 hours from after-production to distribution and the temperatures of donated foods were exposed mostly to temperature danger zone, which had a high potential of microbial growth. These results imply that a checklist to monitor time and temperature in each step should be provided and the employees involving foodbank operation should be properly educated to ensure the safety of donated foods.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.50-56
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• 2017

The purpose of this study was to investigate the microbiological contamination of water and drinking cups in springs and to estimate the toxin gene, enterotoxin production ability and antibiotic susceptibility of foodborne pathogens. Ten spring water and 34 drinking cups were tested. The average number of total aerobic bacteria and coliform bacteria in spring water were 1.8 log CFU/mL and 1.2 log CFU/mL, and in drinking cups were $4.7log\;CFU/100cm^2$ and $1.7log\;CFU/100cm^2$. Salmonella spp., Staphylococcus aureus, E. coli O157:H7, Listeria monocytogenes, Vibrio parahaemolyticus, Yersinia enterocolitica were not isolated from all of samples but Bacillus cereus was detected in 5 (14.7%) of 34 drinking cups. The nheA and entFM genes were major enterotoxin genes in B. cereus isolated from drinking cups. All of B. cereus tested in this study produce non-heamolytic enterotoxin but only 2 isolates possessed heamolysin BL enterotoxin producing ability. B. cereus was resistant to ${\beta}-lactam$ antibiotics. These results revealed that the sanitary conditions of drinking cups in spring should be improved promptly. The substitution carrying a personal drinking cup for the public drinking cups equipped in springs is suggested to prevent food-borne illness.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.333-342
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• 2003

The pathogenic effort of high glucose, possibly in concert with fatty acids, is mediated to vascular complications of diabetes via increased production of reactive oxygen species(ROS), reactive nitrogen species(RNS), and subsequent oxidative stress. This study was carried out to investigate the suppressive effect of buchu(Allium tuberosum) on oxidative stress in streptozotocin(STZ)-induced diabetes in Sprague Dawley male rats. The effect of buchu supplementation (10%) on lipid peroxidation, and antioxidative defense system in blood and liver was compared among normal rats fed basal diet(normal) and diabetic rats fed basal diet(DM-control) or 10% buchu-supplemented diet(DM-buchu). Diabetes was experimentally induced by the femoral muscle injection of 50 mg STZ per kg of body weight. Animals were sacrificed after 4 wks of experimental diets feeding. The induction of diabetes by STZ elevated the level of lipid peroxidation represented by thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances(TBARS) and conjugated dienes in plasma, LDL, liver, and erythrocytes. 10% buchu-supplemented diet significantly reduced the levels of conjugated dienes in erythrocytes(p<0.05) and lowered TBARS in liver and LDL to the levels of control. Induction of diabetes by STZ elevated Mn-superoxide dismutase(Mn-SOD) activity and lowered activities of glutathionine reductase(GSH-red) and glutathionine peroxidase(GSH-px). Catalase activity was not affected by the induction of diabetes by STZ. However, buchu supplementation to diabetic rats significantly elevated catalase activity(p<0.05) and slightly elevated GSH-px and GSH-red activities in liver. GSH levels of blood and liver were lowered or not changed by induction of diabetes by STZ, respectively, while buchu supplementation to diabetic rats significantly elevated hepatic GSH level (p<0.05). In conclusion, it can be concluded that buchu might be a food source to attenuate oxidative stress in diabetic patients by inhibiting lipid peroxidation, by increasing hepatic GSH level, and by inducing anti-oxidative enzyme systems.