• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.341-345
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• 2010

Three-hundred samples of powdered infant formula milk and related products from four different manufacturers in 2010 were collected and surveyed their contaminations for aerobic bacteria, coliform, Enterobacter(Cronobacter) sakazakii, and food-borne pathogens. Fifteen samples of sterilized infant formula milk were all negative on these microorganisms. In all collected products of un sterilized infant formulas and follow-on infant formulas, aerobic bacteria were detected at 239 (83.9%) among 285 samples, and they all were found below $10^3$ cfu/g. Coliform bacteria were also detected at four among 285 samples. Salmonella spp. and Ent. sakazakii, weren't detected at the all samples. Bacillus cereus was detected at 24 (8.4%) among 285 samples. The level of B. cereus was below 100 cfu/g but it was suitable for the range of specification of B. cereus in infant formulas. Clostridium perjringens, Escherichia coli O157:H7, Staphylococcus aureus and Listeria monocytogenes weren't also detected. In consequence, it was suitable for total viable count, coliform and potential pathogen to the specification of infant formulas and related products.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.41 no.1
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• pp.128-134
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• 2013

Salmonella enterica serovar typhi, a Gram-negative food-borne pathogen, causes typhoid fever in humans. OmpC is an outer membrane porin of S. typhi expressed throughout the infection period. OmpC is potentially an attractive antigen for multivalent vaccines and diagnostic kit designs. In this study we combined in silico, in vitro and in vivo approaches to analyze various aspects of OmpC's antigenic properties. The conserved region, in addition to secondary and tertiary structures, and linear B cell epitopes, were predicted. A number of results obtained from in silico analyses were validated by experimental studies. OmpC was amplified, cloned and then expressed, with the recombinant protein then being purified. BALB/c mice were immunized by purified denatured OmpC. The titer of antibody was raised. Results of challenges with the pathogen revealed that the immunity is non-protective. Most of the theoretical and experimental results were in consensus. Introduced linear B cell epitopes can be employed for the design of diagnostic kits based on antigen-antibody interactions.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Service
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.1-6
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• 2004

It was conducted to evaluate the microbiological quality on the surface of slaughtered beef and pork products in Seoul from January 2003 to December 2003. Two hundreds four beefs and 284 pork carcasses were surveyed on generic E coli, total bacterial count for microbiological quality, and Salmonella spp as food-borne pathogen. The prevalence of the excellent or good grade(10$^4$ CFU/$\textrm{cm}^2$ in SPC) of beef and pork carcasses were 99.7% and 97.9%, respectively. The frequency of beef carcasses with less than 10$^2$ CFU/$\textrm{cm}^2$ of E coli was 100%, while that of pork carcasses was 98.2%. Salmonella spp was not recovered from all of beef and pork carcasses.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.78-82
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• 2023

Edwardsiella (E) tarda belongs to the Enterobacteriaceae family and is a motile, gram-negative, rod-shaped, facultative anaerobe regarded as an opportunistic and food-borne pathogen in animals and humans. A 21-year-old male Eurasian brown bear (Ursus arctos arctos) died suddenly without any preliminary signs. Necropsy performed according to standard protocol revealed swollen abdomen with hemorrhagic congestions of the gastroenteric organs, ascites, and hemorrhagic exudates around the mouth. The liver showed discoloration, along with a severely swollen and multiple hemorrhages of the spleen, an elongated gallbladder, and a congested cortex and medullar lesion of kidneys. The stomach contained semi-liquid exudates and undigested chicken exuding a decayed odor. The stomach membranes were dark-gray in color with several cysts in the fundus lesions. Rod-shaped bacteria were found in the major organs by Giemsa staining, identified as E. tarda using a biochemical rapid diagnostic identification kit.

• Mycobiology
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• v.51 no.6
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• pp.463-467
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• 2023

Soybean is one of the world's most widely cultivated food crops, and soybean seeds are supplied from national seed resources in Korea. However, the transmission of seed-borne diseases through infected soybean seeds is problematic. Among these diseases, soybean seed decay is caused by Diaporthe spp. Infecting the pods, and the infected seeds show rotting symptoms. Most diseased seeds are removed during the selection process; however, it is difficult to distinguish infected seeds that do not display symptoms. Hence, a sequencebased method was devised to screen Diaporthe-infected seeds. Based on the nuclear ribosomal internal transcribe spacer (ITS) region of the pathogen, a primer was designed to distinguish the infection from other soybean seed pathogens. As a result of the comparison between healthy and Diaporthe-diseased seeds by using the primers, Diaporthe was detected only in the diseased seeds. Therefore, it is possible to distribute healthy soybean seeds by detecting Diaporthe-diseased seeds at the genetic level using the Diaporthe-specific primers.

• Food Science and Biotechnology
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.537-540
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• 2009

Bactericidal efficacies of various sanitizers and disinfectants against 10 Bacillus cereus strains isolated from Korean foods and 8 standard B. cereus strains were investigated. The sanitizing capabilities of ethanol, iodine, chloride, quaternary ammonium, hydrogen peroxide, and peroxide acetic acid were investigated using the EN 1276 method based on quantitative suspension testing. The resistance against sanitizers and disinfectants was higher for wild-type than standard strains, and the bactericidal activities decreased in dirty conditions. Ethanol, chlorine, and iodine at the maximum level allowed under Korean food sanitation laws showed a great effectiveness against B. cereus. Hydrogen peroxide at 1,100 ppm showed the lowest bactericidal activity against B. cereus. These results indicate that the legally allowed maximum concentrations of sanitizers and disinfectants in Korea do not reduce all B. cereus strains by at least $5\;{\log}_{10}\;CFU/mL$.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.54 no.2
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• pp.155-157
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• 2018

Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Thompson strain MFDS1004024 was isolated from crab-stick in Korean food-borne outbreak in 2014. Here, we present the complete genome sequence of strain MFDS1004024 with a size of 4,742,942 bp and a mean G + C content of 52%. The genome included 4,373 coding sequences, and 22 ribosomal RNA and 84 transfer RNA genes. Also, we found that strain MFDS1004024 has some genes for Salmonella infection and beta-lactam resistance in its genome based on the result of genome analysis.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.51 no.4
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• pp.390-402
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• 2023

Salmonella are Gram-negative pathogenic bacteria commonly found in food animals such as poultry and swine and potentially constitute risks and threats to food safety and public health through transmissible virulence and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) genes. Although there are previous studies in the Philippines regarding genotypic and phenotypic AMR in Salmonella, there are very few on virulence and their associations. Hence, this study collected 700 Salmonella isolates from swine samples in abattoirs and wet markets among four districts in Metro Manila and characterized their genotypic virulence and β-lactam AMR profiles. Gene frequency patterns and statistical associations between virulence and bla genes and comparisons based on location types (abattoirs and wet markets) and districts were also determined. High prevalence (>50%) of virulence genes was detected encompassing Salmonella pathogenicity islands (SPIs) 1-5 suggesting their pathogenic potential, but none possessed plasmid-borne virulence genes spvR and spvC. For bla, bla_TEM was detected with high prevalence (>45%) and revealed significant associations to four SPI genes, namely, avrA, hilA, mgtC, and spi4R, which suggest high resistance potential particularly to β-lactam antibiotics and relationships with pathogenicity that remain mechanistically unestablished until now. Lastly, comparisons of location types and districts showed variations in gene prevalence suggesting effects from environmental factors throughout the swine production chain. This study provides vital data on the genotypic virulence and AMR of Salmonella from swine in abattoirs and wet markets that suggest their pathogenicity and resistance potential for policymakers to implement enforced surveillance and regulations for the improvement of the Philippine swine industry.

• Food Science and Biotechnology
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• v.16 no.6
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• pp.948-953
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• 2007

The powdered cereal sunsik is a partially thermal-processed product that required safety evaluations for food-borne pathogens. Thirty-six sunsik products from Korean markets were collected and analyzed for contamination by total viable cell counts, coliforms, Escherichia coli, and the spore-forming Clostridium perfringens and Bacillus cereus. Enterobacter sakazakii, as a newly emerging pathogen, was also analyzed. Approximately 28% of sunsik were contaminated at 5 log CFU/g for total viable counts. Coliforms and E. coli were detected in 33 and 4% of the samples, respectively. The spore-forming B. cereus was found in 42% of the samples at a maximal level of 3 log CFU/g on average. About 6% the samples were contaminated with Cl. perfringens at an average level of 15 CFU/g. Forty-five % of sunsik contained E. sakazakii, at levels from 0.007 to over 1.1 cell/g by MPN method. In addition, one sunsik product for infants and children showed over 3 log CFU/g for both B. cereus and E. sakazaki. Therefore, concern should be placed on controlling for microbial hazards such as B. cereus and E. sakazakii in sunsik, particularly for the products fed to infants under 6 months of age.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.40 no.4
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• pp.248-259
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• 2021

BACKGROUND: Contaminated water was a major source of food-borne pathogens in various recent fresh produce-related outbreaks. This study was conducted to investigate the microbial contamination level and correlations between the level of sanitary indicator bacteria and the detection ratio of pathogens in agricultural water by logistic regression analysis. METHODS AND RESULTS: Agricultural water was collected from 457 sites including surface water (n=300 sites) and groundwater (n=157 sites) in South Korea from 2018 to 2020. Sanitary indicator bacteria (total coliform, fecal coliform, and Escherichia coli) and food-borne pathogens (pathogenic E. coli, E. coli O157:H7, Salmonella spp., and Listeria monocytogenes) were analyzed. In surface water, the coliform, fecal coliform, and E. coli were 3.27±0.89 log CFU/100 mL, 1.90±1.19 log CFU/100 mL, and 1.39±1.26 log CFU/100 mL, respectively. For groundwater, three kinds of sanitary indicators ranged in the level from 0.09 - 0.57 log CFU/100 mL. Pathogenic E. coli, Salmonella and Listeria monocytogenes were detected from 3%-site, 1.5%- site, and 0.6%-site water samples, respectively. According to the results of correlations between the level of sanitary indicator bacteria and the detection ratio of pathogens by logistic regression analysis, the probability of pathogen detection increased individually by 1.45 and 1.34 times as each total coliform and E. coli concentration increased by 1 log CFU/100mL. The accuracy of the model was 70.4%, and sensitivity and specificity were 81.5% and 51.7%, respectively. CONCLUSION(S): The results indicate the need to manage the microbial risk of agricultural water to enhance the safety of fresh produce. In addition, logistic regression analysis is useful to analyze the correlation between the level of sanitary indicator bacteria and the detection ratio of pathogens in agricultural water.