• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.268-277
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• 2014

This study assessed microbiological hazards at postharvest stage of dropwort farms (A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I) located in 4 different areas in Korea. The samples were assessed for sanitary indication bacteria (total aerobic bacteria, coliform, and Escherichia coli) and pathogenic bacteria (Escherichia coli O157:H7, Listeria monocytogenes, Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus cereus). Total aerobic bacteria and coliform in 9 dropwort farms were detected at the levels of 0~7.00 and 0~4.25 log CFU/g, mL, of $100cm^2$. In particular, microbial contamination in worker's hand showed higher than cultivation environment factors. Escherichia coli was detected in several farms of soil, irrigation water, washing water and worker's hand and also, dropwort in these farms was contaminated with E. coli (positive reaction). In case of pathogenic bacteria, B. cereus was detected at the highest levels in soil. S. aureus was detected qualitatively from only one sample of dropwort washed by water. E. coli O157:H7 and L. monocytogenes were not detected. Although dropwort pass through 2 process (trimming and washing), the microbial contamination was not differ significantly before and after which indicates that current washing system was not effect on reduction of microorganism. From these results, the postharvest environment and workers have been considered as cross-contamination factors. Thus, processing equipments and personal hygiene should be managed to reduce the microbial contamination of dropwort. Accordingly management system such as good agricultural practices (GAP) criteria is needed for the safety of dropwort

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.34 no.6
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• pp.526-533
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• 2019

The purpose of this study was to investigate hazardous microorganisms in mixed baby leafy vegetables and various baby leafy vegetables used as raw materials for fresh-cut produce in spring and summer. To estimate microbial loads, a total of 298 samples including 181 samples of mixed baby leafy vegetables purchased in a Korean market and 117 samples of various baby leafy vegetables from distribution companies were collected. Fecal indicators (coliform and Escherichia coli) as well as food-borne pathogens (E. coli O157:H7, Salmonella spp., Staphylococcus aureus) were enumerated. As a result, the mixed baby leafy vegetable samples showed significantly higher (P<0.05) coliform bacteria numbers in summer (5.59±1.18 log CFU/g) compared to spring (3.60±2.53 log CFU/g). E. coli was detected in 1.3% (1/79) and 42.2% (43/102) of samples collected in spring and summer, respectively. Only one sample collected from a market in spring was contaminated with S. aureus. In the experiment with baby leafy vegetables, the number of coliforms detected in baby leafy vegetables cultivated in soil in spring was 1.15±1.95 log CFU/g, and that in summer was 4.09±2.52 log CFU/g. However, the number of coliforms recovered from baby leafy vegetables cultivated in media was above 5.0 log CFU/g regardless of season. Occurrences of E. coli were 44.4% (12/27) and 19.0% (4/21) for baby leafy vegetables cultivated in soil and media, respectively. However, E. coli O157:H7 and Salmonella spp. were not detected. These results are in relation to microbial loads on mixed baby leafy vegetables associated with raw materials. Therefore, it is necessary to develop and implement hygienic practices at baby leafy vegetable farms to enhance the safety of fresh produce.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.123-127
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• 2011

This study was conducted to decrease the microbial hazard in kimchi saline water with microwave plasma sterilization system and to evaluate the inactivation of foodborne pathogens by the microwave plasma sterilization system as a non-thermal treatment. Contamination of coliform, Escherichia coli, and yeasts and molds were detected in the used saline water, and the microbial populations increased as the saline water was reused repeatedly. The $D_{10}$-values of E. coli O157:H7, Salmonella Typhimurium, and Listeria monocytogenes by the microwave plasma sterilization system were 0.48, 0.52, and 0.45 cycle, respectively. In addition, the microbial populations of coliform, E. coli, Salmonella spp., total aerobic bacteria, and yeasts and molds in the used kimchi saline water were significantly decreased by treating the saline water using the microwave plasma sterilization system. Therefore, these results suggest that microwave plasma sterilization system can be useful in improving the microbial safety of the used saline water.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.621-625
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• 2004

Electron donating abilities, nitrite scavenging effects and antimicrobial activities of various fractions obtained from ethanol extract of Smilax china were examined. Among the fractions investigated, the highest electron donating ability was determined with ethyl acetate fraction showing about 81.0% when reacted for 10 min. However, the lowest ability was found from chloroform fraction. Ethyl acetate and butanol fractions also showed very high nitrite scavenging activity at all concentrations tested. All the fractions revealed antimicrobial activity against Listeria monocytogenes and Staphylococcus aureus, Gram (+) bacteria, at both 2.5% and 5.0% concentrations. However, no antimicrobial activity was observed on Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Salmonella Typhimurium, Gram (-) bacteria, at 2.5%, but very low activity was detected by 5.0% concentration of ethanol extract, ethyl acetate and water fractions.

• Korean journal of food and cookery science
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• v.16 no.5
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• pp.379-384
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• 2000

Antimicrobial activity to the extracts of Platycodon glandiforum A. De. candolle was investigated against various food poisioning microorganisms(Listeria monocytogenes ATCC 15313, Staphylococcus aureus 196E ATCC 13565, Escherichia coli O157:H7 ATCC 43895, Salmonella typhimurium ATCC 13311 and Yersinia enterocolitica). The water and 70% ethanol extracts of Platycodon glandiforum A. De. candolle showed the strongest antimicrobial activities against Listeria monocytogenes in concentration of 500∼1000 $\mu\textrm{g}$/ml into culture broth (TSB) and was very stable over heat at 121$^{\circ}C$ for 15 min.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.97-102
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• 2003

Raw and washed spinaches were tested to evaluate the incidences of Aeromonas hydrophila, Escherichia coli O157:H7, Plesiomonas shigelloides, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella spp., Shigella spp., Yersinia enterocolitica, Bacillus cereus, Campylobacter jejuni, Clostridium perfringens, Listeria monocytogenes, and Staphylococcus aureus. Four pathogenic bacteria were isolated from spinach samples, and identified by morphological and biochemical methods, including API and ATB identification systems. Isolates from MacConkey, Cereus Selective, Clostridium Perfringens, and Baird-Parker agar media were in 99.9, 99.8, 99.9, and 97.8% agreements with A. hydrophila, B. cereus, C. perfringens, and S. aureus at the species level, respectively. SET-RPLA revealed, among the five strains of S. aureus isolates, two produced type A enterotoxin. All five strains of B. cereus isolates produced enterotoxin as revealed with CRET-RPLA.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.40 no.10
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• pp.1353-1360
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• 2011

This study was performed to investigate the antimicrobial effects against food-borne pathogens and antioxidant activity of Rhododendron brachycarpum ethanol-extract. The antimicrobial activity of the extract was determined using a paper disc-diffusion method, and the diameter of the clear zone was measured. The diameter of the clear zone in the presence of 10 mg of extract was maximal against Bacillus cereus among the three tested Gram-positive bacteria and against Escherichia coli O157:H7 among the five tested Gram-negative bacteria. Analysis of the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) showed that the extract exhibited a similar efficacy as that of sorbic acid, a well-known chemical preservative. The growth inhibitory effects of the extract at concentrations of 250, 500, 1,000, and 2,000 mg/L on food-borne pathogens were determined against Staphylococcus aureus, Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella Typhimurium, and Escherichia coli O157:H7. Growth of the microorganisms was not affected by the extract at concentrations up to 250 mg/L, but it was significantly (p<0.05) inhibited by the extract at concentrations higher than 1,000 mg/L. The antioxidant effects of the extract were examined via measurement of DPPH radical scavenging activity, inhibition of reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation using fluorescent dichlorofluorescien (DCF) assay, and prevention of peroxyl radical- and hydroxyl radical-induced supercoiled DNA breakage. The $IC_{50}$ of the extract for DPPH radical scavenging activity was about half that of ${\alpha}$-tocopherol, which was used as a positive control. DCF fluorescence intensity decreased as the concentration of the extract increased, demonstrating that ROS generation was inhibited in a concentration-dependent manner. The ROS inhibitory effect of the extract was higher than that of ascorbic acid. The extract prevented supercoiled DNA strand breakage induced by peroxyl radical and hydroxyl radical. Thus, the results of the present study demonstrate that the extract exhibits antimicrobial effects against food-borne pathogens as well as potent antioxidant capacity, suggesting that R. brachycarpum could be used as a natural antibacterial agent and effective antioxidant in food.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.270-274
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• 2018

Chlorine dioxide ($ClO_2$) gas is a neutral chlorine compound. $ClO_2$ gas was proven to effectively decontaminate different environments, such as hospital rooms, ambulances, biosafety level 3 laboratories, and cafeterias. In this study, to evaluate the effects of $ClO_2$ gas, bacteria of clinical importance were applied. Staphylococci, Streptococci and Bacillus strains were applied and Klebsiella, and others e.g., Escherichia coli, Shigella, Salmonella, Serratia were also done for the inhibitory analysis. Bacteria plates were applied with a hygiene stick, namely, "FarmeTok (Medistick/Puristic)" to produce $ClO_2$. $ClO_2$-releasing hygiene stick showed the very strong inhibition of bacterial growth but had different inhibitions to the bacteria above 96.7% except for MRSA of 90% inhibition. It is difficult to explain why the MRSA were not inhibited less than others at this point. It can be only suggested that more releasing $ClO_2$ should be essential to kill or inhibit the MRSA. B. subtilis, S. agalactiae, S. pyogenes, E. coli O157:H7, S. typhi (S. enterica serotype typhi) and S. marcesence were inhibited over 99%. This study will provide fundamental data to research growth inhibition by $ClO_2$ gas with bacteria of clinical importance value.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.441-447
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• 2012

In this study, ready-to-cook (RTC) pork bulgogi was investigated microbiologically to determine contamination levels. The investigation was conducted because of an increasing trend in the consumption of RTC meat products in Korea. Ninety marinated RTC pork bulgogi samples were collected from major retail outlets (M), department stores (D), and local markets (L) in Seoul, Korea from March to June 2011. This study examined total plate counts (TPC), Escherichia coli, and coliform bacterial counts, and the presence of Bacillus cereus, Staphylococcus aureus, Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella spp., and E. coli O157:H7. The mean TPC values were 5.89, 6.08, and 5.89 Log CFU/g for M, D, and L, respectively. E. coli was not detected in any sample, but coliforms were present in 72 (80%) of the 90 samples collected. B. cereus, E. coli O157:H7, and Salmonella spp. were not detected; however, S. aureus and L. monocytogenes were detected in five (5.5%) and one (1.1%) of the 90 samples. Samples collected from M and D were contaminated with S. aureus and those from L with L. monocytogenes. These results demonstrate that the conditions under which RTC pork bulgogis are handled and processed are unsanitary.

• Food Science and Biotechnology
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.483-488
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• 2008

Foodborne pathogenic bacteria in various food samples in Korea were monitored and the obtained data was statistically analyzed. A total of 1,240 food samples including 280 sashimi, 244 processed frozen products, 258 kimbab (cooked rice wrapped with seaweed), 337 soybean pastes were obtained from 7 cities including Seoul in Korea. Microorganisms tested were Bacillus cereus, Salmonella spp., Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, E. coli O157:H7, Vibrio parahaemolyticus, Yersinia enterocolitica, Listeria monocytogenes, Campylobacter jejuni, and Clostridium perfringens. The contaminated microorganisms in food samples were comprised of 10.55% B. cereus, 2.7% S. aureus, 2.0% V. parahaemolyticus, 0.8% C. perfringens, 0.2% Y. enterocolitica, and 0.1% of L. monocytogenes, respectively. Salmonella spp., C. jejuni, and E. coli O157:H7 were not detected in any of the food samples. Particularly, B. cereus that harbors the enterotoxin gene was detected in various foods and regions in Korea, therefore it should be a given special consideration not to allow the hazardous level of contamination.