• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.56 no.5
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• pp.521-525
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• 2018

Rodents are well-known reservoirs and vectors of many emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases, but little is known about their role in zoonotic disease transmission in Bhutan. In this study, a cross-sectional investigation of zoonotic disease pathogens in rodents was performed in Chukha district, Bhutan, where a high incidence of scrub typhus and cases of acute undifferentiated febrile illness had been reported in people during the preceding 4-6 months. Twelve rodents were trapped alive using wire-mesh traps. Following euthanasia, liver and kidney tissues were removed and tested using PCR for Orientia tsutsugamushi and other bacterial and rickettsial pathogens causing bartonellosis, borreliosis, human monocytic ehrlichiosis, human granulocytic anaplasmosis, leptospirosis, and rickettsiosis. A phylogenetic analysis was performed on all rodent species captured and pathogens detected. Four out of the 12 rodents (33.3%) tested positive by PCR for zoonotic pathogens. Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Bartonella grahamii, and B. queenslandensis were identified for the first time in Bhutan. Leptospira interrogans was also detected for the first time from rodents in Bhutan. The findings demonstrate the presence of these zoonotic pathogens in rodents in Bhutan, which may pose a risk of disease transmission to humans.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.42 no.6
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• pp.465-477
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• 2016

Objectives: This review examined the scientific evidence regarding the impact of climate change on food safety. Methods: The impact of climate change on food safety was assessed based on a survey of related publications reported in the past 20 years. The terms used for literature selection reflect three aspects: climate change; food; and food safety. Results: Climate change is expected to affect the key elements of food production - water and climate. These impact on food safety through many different pathways. Directly, food shortages according to the population grovoth result in a food security/food supply problem, These relationships are commonly understood. The indirect impacts include an increase in food-borne diseases and pathogens, increased mycotoxin production, and increased risk of pesticide residues in foods due to greater use of pesticides in response to warming and increased precipitation and the accompanying diseases in certain crops. Field studies and statistical and scenario analyses were performed to provide evidence. However, quantification of these relationships is still lacking. Conclusion: Adaptation measures at the local and community levels are essential since the pressures from weather and climate events may differ according to region and sector. It is recommended that we go beyond empirical observations of the association between climate change and food safety and develop more scientific explanations. We also need to explore alternative materials for bioenergy demands in order to improve sustainability.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.594-598
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• 2006

The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence and frequency of food-borne pathogens in unprocessed Products such as grains, tubers, vegetables, and seaweeds. Three hundred and twenty seven samples were purchased from the retail market and the supermarket in the Kyonggi-do and Seoul areas, and washed with running tap water for 4 minutes. The total aerobic bacteria count was approximately 2 to 6 log CFU/g and the highest counts were 6 log CFU/g far lettuce and sesame leaf. The coliform count showed 1-5 log CFU/g and the highest counts were 4 log CFU/g for lettuce and carrot. Escherichia coli was detected in seven samples of white rice, sweet potato, lettuce, sesame leaf, and cabbage. Clostridium perfringens was detected in six samples of brown seaweed, laver, lettuce, and sweet potato. However, Bacillus cereus contamination was found in more than 30% of brown rice, carrot, sweet potato, lettuce and sesame leaf samples, and some of these showed contamination of more than 2.0 log CFU/g. Therefore, these results suggest that pretreatment with sanitizer to remove Bacillus cereus in such products is necessary.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.1-8
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• 2008

More safe and natural food was recently needed by consumers. Antimicrobials including sodium azide, penicillin, and vancomycin were used for therapeutic agents against pathogens such as Listeria monocytogenes, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli O157:H7 in dairy and meat industry. These antimicrobials and preservatives were prohibited in stock farm and food because they were caused resistant strain and side effects. Bacteriocins are proteinaceous compounds that may present antimicrobial activity towards important food-borne pathogens and spoilage-related microflora. Therefore, bacteriocins were reported as an alternative of antimicrobials. Due to these properties, bacteriocin-producing strains or purified bacteriocins have a great potential of use in biologically based food preservation systems. Despite the growing number of articles regarding on the isolation of bacteriocinogenic strains, genetic determinants for production, purification and biochemical characterization of these inhibitory substances, there are only limited reports of successful application of bacteriocins to dairy and meats. This review describes bacteriocins related to dairy and meat products for the further use.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.605-612
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• 2012

Spore-forming bacteria are being used as probiotic supplements for human and animal use, due to their low pH stability and ability to survive the gastric barrier. In this study, the BCNU 9028 strain was screened from meju, a Korean fermented soybean food starter. Biochemical and physiological characteristics, as well as 16S rDNA sequence analyses, indicate that this strain belongs to the genus $Bacillus$. $Bacillus$ sp. BCNU 9028 showed a 92% survivability at pH 2.5 and could also withstand 0.3% ox bile. Furthermore, it was postulated that $Bacillus$ sp. BCNU 9028 could prevent biofilm formation and adherence of food-borne pathogens such as $Listeria$ $monocytogenes$, $S.$ $aureus$ and $E.$ $coli$ on the basis of its autoaggregation and coaggregation capacity with food-borne pathogens. It was shown that BCNU 9028 has good abilities to adhere to the intestinal tract from its hydrophobic character (63.3%). The $Bacillus$ sp. BCNU 9028 strain especially elicited antibacterial activity against both Gram-positive and -negative pathogens. These findings suggested that the $Bacillus$ sp. BCNU 9028 strain could be used as a potential probiotic.

• Journal of Dairy Science and Biotechnology
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.179-186
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• 2013

Pseudomonas spp. are Gram-negative psychrophilic bacteria, which can proliferate at refrigeration temperature. The bacteria produce heat-stable enzymes that can degrade fat and protein in foods. Hence, Pseudomonas spp. are related to the spoilage of milk, dairy products, and meat products under cold storage, causing economic loss. In the food industry, various methods have been used to remove bacteria including Pseudomonas spp. in food-related conditions, but they can be resistant to antimicrobials and sanitizers because they form biofilms regulated by quorum sensing (cell density-dependent cell-to-cell signaling). Since Pseudomonas cells in biofilms can cross-contaminate foods resulting in food spoilage and the survival of food-borne pathogens in food-related conditions, efficient decontamination technology and microbiological criteria should be established to reduce the occurrence of food spoilage by Pseudomonas spp.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.87-95
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• 2012

This study was investigated to determine the contamination levels of total aerobic bacteria, coliform group, $E.$ $coli$ and food-borne pathogens of side dishes from 2 traditional markets (100 samples) and 2 super markets (100 samples) located on Ulsan. The levels (range) of total aerobic bacteria was 4.75 log CFU/g (1.60~6.92 log CFU/g) in traditional market and 4.62 log CFU/g (2.00~6.46 log CFU/g) in super market, respectively. Coliform was detected in 64 and 66 samples sold at traditional markets and super markets, respectively. $E.$ $coli$ was detected in 4 and 6 samples sold at traditional markets and super markets, respectively. The food-borne pathogens, namely $Bacillus$ $cereus$ and $Listeria$ $monocytogenes$ were detected in 1 sample sold at traditional markets, respectively, and $Bacillus$ $cereus$ was detected in 4 samples sold at super markets. However, other pathogens such as $Salmonella$ spp., $Shigella$ spp., $Vibrio$ $parahaemolyticus$, $Yersinia$ $enterocolitica$, $Clostridium$ $perfringens$, $Camphylobacter$ $jejuni$ and Pathogenic $E.$ $coli$ were not detected. The $Saengchae$ and $Seasoned$ $Jeotgal$ were relatively vulnerable compared to the others in the food-borne pathogens.

• Korean Journal of Medicinal Crop Science
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.38-46
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• 2020

Background: Although Sancho (Zanthoxylum schinifolium Siebold & Zucc) oil has traditionally been used for its antibiotics properties, there is currently a lack of scientific evidence regarding its biological activities. In this study, we investigated the antimicrobial and antioxidant activities of Sancho oil against food-hazardous microorganisms, phytopathogens, and dermatophytes. Methods and Results: We investiated the antimicrobial activity of Sancho oil against 11 food-hazardous microorganisms, nine phytopathogens, and six dermatophytes. The Sancho oil was found to show the strongest antibacterial activity against Shigella flexneri and Listeria spp. Sancho oil also showed high antifungal activity against plant pathogens, particularly Fusarium oxysporum, and showed antimicrobial activity against dermatophytes such as Trichophyton rubrum, Microsporum canis and Candida albicans. The antioxidant activity of Sancho oil was measured using the DPPH method, and was found to be stronger than that of unrefined oil. Moreover, this activity increased with increasing oil concentration. Conclusions: We found that Sancho oil showed differing antimicrobial activities against food-hazardous microorganisms, dermatophytes, and plant pathogens. The antimicrobial activity spectrum of Sancho oil was not broad and varied among microbial strains. On the basis of our findings, we consider that Sancho oil could be used an antibacterial material for food-borne S. flexneri and Listeria spp., a biopesticide for Fusarium spp., and a treatment for dermatophytes such as T. rubrum.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.500-506
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• 2005

This study was carried out to obtain knowledges on the survival of Streptococcus mutans in the yoghurt added with green tea powder. The growth inhibition of green tea powder on the food borne pathogens and oral bacteria was measured by total microbial count, Among the tested food borne pathogens, the growth of Staphylococcus aureus and Salmonella enteritidis were not significantly affected by the addition of green tea powder, but green tea powder showed the growth inhibition effect on Escherichia coli O157:H7. The number of surviving Streptococcus mutans cell was decreased by $0.56\~0.99log$ cycle after 24 hem incubation by the addition of $0.5\~2.5\%$ green tea powder in the medium. And also the viable cell count of surviving Streptococcus mutans cells (initial inoculum $3.4\times10^7CFU/mL$) were decreased to $1.4\times10^4\~7.2\times10^4 CFU/mL$ after 48 hours incubation when $0.5\~2.5\%$ green tea powder were added to the drinkable yoghurt, Growth of Streptococcus mutans was strongly inhibited by the addition and incubation of green tea powder for 48 hum in the yoghurt.

• Preventive Nutrition and Food Science
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.232-235
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• 2004

Since ready-to-use (RTU) products are not fully cooked, the shelf-life of the product is comparably short and the products are easily spoiled when contaminated with food-borne pathogens. Low-dose gamma irradiation of 0.5, 1, or 2 kGy effectively reduced the total aerobic bacterial counts in 2 Korean manufactured RTU products by 1.63 to 2.95 log CFU/g during cold storage. Irradiation at 2 kGy reduced the psychrotrophic bacterial counts in most of the samples to below the limit of detection (< log CFU/g). Irradiation at 0.5 kGy completely eliminated Escherichia coli from the commercial RTU samples.