• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.20 no.8
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• pp.1204-1209
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• 2010

We evaluated the antibacterial activities of selected edible Korean plant seeds against the food-borne pathogens Staphylococcus aureus KCTC1927, Escherichia coli KCTC2593, Salmonella typhimurium KCTC2054, and Bacillus cereus KCTC1014. While screening for antibacterial agents, we discovered that wheat germ extract contains 2,6-dimethoxy-1,4-benzoquinone (DMBQ) and is highly inhibitory to S. aureus and B. cereus. This is the first report of the antibacterial activity of wheat germ extract. We also investigated the antibacterial activities of the 1,4-benzoquinone standards 1,4-benzoquinone (BQ), hydroquinone (HQ), methoxybenzoquinone (MBQ), and 2,6-dimethoxy-1,4-benzoquinone (DMBQ). DMBQ and BQ were the most highly inhibitory to S. aureus and S. typhimurium, followed by MBQ and HQ. MICs for DMBQ and BQ ranged between 8 and 64 ${\mu}g/ml$ against the four foodborne pathogens tested. DMBQ and BQ showed significant antibacterial activity; the most sensitive organism was S. aureus with an MIC of 8 ${\mu}g/ml$. BQ exhibited good activity against S. typhimurium (32 ${\mu}g/ml$) and B. cereus (32 ${\mu}g/ml$). The results suggest that wheat germ extract has potential for the development of natural antimicrobials and food preservatives for controlling foodborne pathogens.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.48 no.4
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• pp.335-340
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• 2016

This study was conducted to find out the most suitable DNA isolation methods for PCR detection of foodborne pathogens. Four DNA isolation methods including Universal Genomic DNA Extraction Kit (TaKaRa), PrepMan Ultra (Applied Biosystems), boiling method and alkaline lysis method (w/PEG) were tested and compared. The Universal Genomic DNA Extraction kit (TaKaRa) was considered as the more efficient isolation method for Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Staphylococcus aureus in lettuce, fish and beef. Meanwhile to detect the foodborne pathogens directly from foods without enrichment, the four different buffers such as double-distilled water, saline, glycine-saline, glycine-saline with Tween-20 and beef extract were also evaluated. As a result, saline was more suitable buffer for E. coli O157:H7. And double-distilled water was more suitable buffer than saline for S. aureus, respectively

• Korean journal of food and cookery science
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.294-303
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• 2008

The purpose of this study was to investigate middle school students` perceptions on foodborne illness prevention in relation to their personal hygiene practices. The survey was administered in July, 2007 at one middle school, with a total of 390 students participating. The self-completed questionnaire consisted of several questions regarding the students` awareness of foodborne illness, perceptions of foodborne illness prevention, and personal hygiene practices. T-tests were used to identify the differences in their perceptions of foodborne illness prevention based on gender and Chi square tests were used to identify the relationships between their perceptions of foodborne illness prevention and personal hygiene practices. Eight percent of the respondents experienced foodborne illness at least once a year and 33.8% of them have stopped eating certain foods due to anxiety towards foodborne illness. The students perceived school foods (26.0%) and street foods(17.9%) as the main sources of foodborne illness, and dairy products(20.0%) and fresh fish (19.7%) were considered foods having the greatest potential for causing foodborne illness. Many students were aware of Escherichia coli O157(43.1%) and Hepatitis A(23.3%), but only a few recognized Clostridium botulinum(4.1%) and Salmonella(7.9%), even though these are major foodborne illness-causing pathogens. The students considered foodborne illness prevention very important(mean = 4.33); also, the results showed that many washed their hands 3-4 times (34.1%) and 5-6 times(29.2%) per day. Hand washing frequency was significantly related to the perceived importance of personal hygiene practice as well as to education on safety and sanitation. However, the students` perception on the importance of personal hygiene practices were not significantly different based on having received safety and sanitation education. Ultimately, these results will be used to develop guidelines for effective education on safety and sanitation.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.37 no.10
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• pp.1337-1342
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• 2008

This study was conducted to investigate effects of chemical sanitizers on inhibiting foodborne pathogens, such as Listeria monocytogenes (L. monocytogenes), Salmonella Typhimurium (S. Typhimurium), and E scherichia coli O157:H7 (E. coli O157:H7), on cabbages. Cabbages were inoculated with the culture cocktail of pathogens and treated with water, 100 ppm commercial chlorine, and 50, 100, and 200 ppm chlorine dioxide ($ClO_2$) for 1, 5, and 10 min at room temperature ($22{\pm}2^{\circ}C$). Treatments with water did not significantly reduce levels of three pathogens whereas other treatments with chemical sanitizers significantly reduced levels of three pathogens. Treatment with 200 ppm $ClO_2$ for 10 min was the most effective at inhibiting pathogens and reduction levels were 1.90, 1.92, and 1.98 log CFU/g for L. monocytogens, S. Typhimurium, and E. coli O157:H7, respectively. Levels of reduction were increased with the increase of $ClO_2$ concentrations. When chemically injured cells were investigated, there were no significant differences on the levels of injured cells between before and after treatment with commercial chlorine and $ClO_2$. These results suggest that $ClO_2$ can be used as an alternative sanitizer for reducing pathogens on fresh produces.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.91-99
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• 2011

Risk ranking must be determined for various hazards/food combinations to conduct microbial risk management effectively. Risk Ranger is a simple, easy-to-use calculation tool developed in Microsoft Excel and designed to rank the risk (low, medium, and high) for semi-quantitative microbial risk assessment. The user is required to answer 11 questions in Risk Ranger related to 1) severity of the hazard, 2) likelihood of a disease-causing dose of the hazard being present in the meal, and 3) the probability of exposure to the hazard in a defined time. This study determined the risk ranking for twenty three combinations of foodborne pathogens/potentially hazardous foods (PHFs) using a Risk Ranger. In this study, pathogenic E. coli in fresh cut produce salad was scored as 79, which was the highest rank among the 23 combinations of the foodborne pathogens and PHFs. On the other hand, zero risk was obtained with V parahaemolyticus in sushi, Salmonella in meat products and E. coli O157:H7 in hamburger patties. Although Risk Ranger is very simple method to rate the risk of foodborne pathogens and PHFs combination, the accuracy of result was mainly affected by the availability and accuracy of data in the literature. According to the result of literature review, the data are needed for contamination rate of raw materials, consumption amount/frequency of PHFs, and the effect of processing on pathogen. Risk ranking must be continuously revalidated with new data.

• Food Science and Biotechnology
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.89-94
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• 2009

Frequent outbreaks of foodborne illness have been increasing the awareness of food safety. Conventional methods for pathogen detection and identification are labor-intensive and take days to complete. Some immunological, rapid assays are developed, but these assays still require prolonged enrichment steps. Recently developed biosensors have shown potential for the rapid detection of foodborne pathogens. In this study, an impedimetric biosensor was developed for rapid detection of Salmonella entritidis in food sample. To develop the biosensor, an interdigitated microelectrode (IME) was fabricated by using a semiconductor fabrication process. Anti-Salmonella antibodies were immobilized based on neutravidin-biotin binding on the surface of the IME to form an active sensing layer. To evaluate the effect of electrode gap on sensitivity of the sensor, 3 types of sensors with different electrode gap sizes (2, 5, and $10{\mu}m$) were fabricated and tested. The impedimetric biosensor could detect $10^3\;CFU/mL$ of Salmonella in pork meat extract with an incubation time of 5 min. This method may provide a simple, rapid, and sensitive method to detect foodborne pathogens.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.42 no.6
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• pp.1009-1019
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• 2022

In recent years, biocontrol of foodborne pathogens has become a concern in the food industry, owing to safety issues. Listeria monocytogenes is one of the foodborne pathogens that causes listeriosis. The major concern in the control of L. monocytogenes is its viability as it can survive in a wide range of environments. The purpose of this study was to isolate lactic acid bacteria with antimicrobial activity, evaluate their applicability as a cheese starter, and evaluate their inhibitory effects on L. monocytogenes. Lactococcus lactis strain with antibacterial activity was isolated from raw milk. The isolated strain was a low acidifier, making it a suitable candidate as an adjunct starter culture. The commercial starter culture TCC-3 was used as a primary starter in this study. Fresh cheese was produced using TCC-3 and L. lactis CAU2013 at a laboratory scale. Growth of L. monocytogenes (5 Log CFU/g) in the cheese inoculated with it was monitored during the storage at 4℃ and 10℃ for 5 days. The count of L. monocytogenes was 1 Log unit lower in the cheese produced using the lactic acid bacteria strain compared to that in the cheese produced using the commercial starter. The use of bacteriocin-producing lactic acid bacteria as a starter culture efficiently inhibited the growth of L. monocytogenes. Therefore, L. lactis can be used as a protective adjunct starter culture for cheese production and can improve the safety of the product leading to an increase in its shelf-life.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.229-235
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• 2013

In an effort to develop biopolymer-based antioxidant and antibacterial materials, a chitosan-phloroglucinol conjugate was prepared and cellular antioxidant activity and minimum inhibitory concentration against foodborne pathogens and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) evaluated. The chitosan-phloroglucinol conjugate showed higher antioxidant activities than the unmodified chitosan (P < 0.05). The chitosan-phloroglucinol conjugate showed 62.29% reactive oxygen species scavenging activity, 56.11% lipid peroxidation inhibition activity, and 2.21-fold increase of glutathione expression in mouse macrophage cells. Additionally, the chitosan-phloroglucinol conjugate exhibited higher antibacterial activities than the unmodified chitosan, and the chitosan-phloroglucinol conjugate showed fourfold higher antibacterial activities against MRSA and clinical isolates and twofold higher activities against foodborne pathogens compared to the unmodified chitosan.

• Food Science and Industry
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• v.41 no.1
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• pp.59-62
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• 2008

• Food Science and Industry
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• v.45 no.1
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• pp.48-59
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• 2012