• Journal of agriculture & life science
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• v.46 no.4
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• pp.141-153
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• 2012

Samples collected from six tomato farms(A, B, C : soil culture, D, E, F : Nutriculture) located in Gyeongsangnam-do were tested for the analyses of biological(sanitary indications, major foodborne pathogens, fungi), chemical(heavy metals, pesticides) and physical hazards. The highest levels of total bacteria(7.5 log CFU/g) and coliforms(5.0 log CFU/g) in soil culture farms were higher than those of nutriculture farms(total bacteria: 2.5 log CFU/mL, coliforms: 0.6 log CFU/mL). In crops and personal hygiene soil culture farms showed a slightly higher contamination levels. From all farms, the levels of fungi in soil farms were higher than those of nutrient solution. In case of major pathogens, Bacillus cereus and Staphylococcus aureus were detected in all sample with the exception of nutrient solution. Meantime, Escherichia coli, Listeria monocytogenes, E.coli O157 and Salmonella spp. were not detected. For airborne bacteria, soilculture farms showed less contamination than nutriculture farms. A piece of glass and can was confirmed asphysical hazards. Heavy metal(Cd, Pb, Cu, Cr, Hg, Zn, Ni and As) and pesticide residues as chemical hazards were detected, but their levels were lower than the regulation limit. These results demonstrate that potential hazards on harvesting stage of tomato fam were exposed. Therefore, proper management is needed to prevent biological hazards due to cross-contamination, while physical and chemical hazards were in appropriate levels based on GAP criteria.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.28-34
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• 2015

This study is to investigate microbiological hazards which can be used as fundamental data to adequately control leeks hazards and develop leeks GAP model for those who want to get GAP system. The microbiological investigations on cultivation environments (soil and water), crops (leeks), personal hygiene (workers' hands, clothes and gloves) and working tools (boxes) have been conducted for one year, so the period was classified under non-cultivation, cultivation, and post harvest. Total bacteria was detected from soil (4.0~6.7 log CFU/g), leeks (4.6~5.1 log CFU/g), hands (ND~3.3 log CFU/hand) and gloves ($ND{\sim}5.4\;log\;CFU/cm^2$) while nothing was detected from the other samples. The coliform contamination of leeks (4.8~5.0 log CFU/g) was more high than that of soil (3.9~4.2 log CFU/g). In case of foodborne pathogens, only B. cereus was detected at the level of 0.5~4.6 log CFU/g (or hand, $100cm^2$). Fungi was observed at the level of 2.1~3.8 log CFU/g (or hand, $100cm^2$) excepting water and some working tools. These results demonstrate that the contamination of leeks is comparatively higher than that of soil sample. The reason may be the cross-contamination by biological hazards presenting on soil. Therefore, it is necessary to properly control soil and fertilizer for safety against biological hazards.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.271-276
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• 2012

BACKGROUND: It is hard to control the agricultural products exceeding MRL (maximum residue limit) before forwarding. Therefore, NAQS (National Agricultural Products Quality Management Service, South Korea) established PHRL (pre-harvest residue limit) on agricultural products during their cultivation periods. This study was performed to set the PHRLs of peach during cultivation period, and also to estimate biological half-lives for residues of clothianidin and fluquinconazole. METHODS AND RESULTS: Two groups of peach were treated under Korean GAP (Good Agricultural Practices) with application time, single and triple treatments. Sample was collected over 14days (each after 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14 days. 8times), and clothianidin and fluquinconazole were analyzed by HPLC/DAD and GC/ECD, respectively. CONCLUSION: The biological half-life of clothianidin in single treatment and triple treatment was 5.2days and 7.0days. That of fluquinconazole was also 3.9days and 4.1days, respectively. The PHRL of peach on 10days before harvest was 1.4 mg/kg in clothianidin and 1.8 mg/kg in fluquinconazole.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.273-282
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• 2011

This study established hazards which may cause risk to human at farm during cultivation stage of paprika. Samples of plants (paprika, leaf, stem), cultivation environments (water, soil), personal hygiene (hand, glove, clothes), work utensils (carpet, basket, box) and airborne bacteria were collected from three paprika farms (A, B, C) located in Western Gyeongnam, Korea. The collected samples were assessed for biological (sanitary indications and major foodborne pathogens), chemical (heavy metals, pesticide residues) and physical hazards. In biological hazards, total bacteria and coliform were detected at the levels of 1.9~6.6 and 0.0~4.610g CFU/g, leaf, mL, hand or 100 $cm^2$, while Escherichia coli was not detected in all samples. In major pathogens, only Bacillus cereus were detected at levels of ${\leq}$ 1.5 log CFU/g, mL, hand or 100 $cm^2$, while Staphylococuus aureus, Listeria monocytogenes, E. coli O157 and Salmonella spp. were not detected in all samples. Heavy metal and pesticide residue as chemical hazards were detected at levels below the regulation limit, physical hazard factors, such as insects, pieces of metal and glasses, were also found in paprika farms. Proper management is needed to prevent biological hazards due to cross-contamination while physical and chemical hazards were appropriate GAP criteria.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.40-51
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• 2019

Ginseng has a unique production system that is different from those used for other crops. It is subject to the Ginseng Industry Act., requires a long-term cultivation period of 4-6 years, involves complicated cultivation characteristics whereby ginseng is not produced in a single location, and many ginseng farmers engage in mixed-farming. Therefore, to bring the production of Ginseng in line with GAP standards, it is necessary to better understand the on-site practices of Ginseng farmers according to established control points, and to provide a proper action plan for improving efficiency. Among ginseng farmers in Korea who applied for GAP certification, 77.6% obtained it, which is lower than the 94.1% of farmers who obtained certification for other products. 13.7% of the applicants were judged to be unsuitable during document review due to their use of unregistered pesticides and soil heavy metals. Another 8.7% of applicants failed to obtain certification due to inadequate management results. This is a considerably higher rate of failure than the 5.3% incompatibility of document inspection and 0.6% incompatibility of on-site inspection, which suggests that it is relatively more difficult to obtain GAP certification for ginseng farming than for other crops. Ginseng farmers were given an average of 2.65 points out of 10 essential control points and a total 72 control points, which was slightly lower than the 2.81 points obtained for other crops. In particular, ginseng farmers were given an average of 1.96 points in the evaluation of compliance with the safe use standards for pesticides, which was much lower than the average of 2.95 points for other crops. Therefore, it is necessary to train ginseng farmers to comply with the safe use of pesticides. In the other essential control points, the ginseng farmers were rated at an average of 2.33 points, lower than the 2.58 points given for other crops. Several other areas of compliance in which the ginseng farmers also rated low in comparison to other crops were found. These inclued record keeping over 1 year, record of pesticide use, pesticide storages, posts harvest storage management, hand washing before and after work, hygiene related to work clothing, training of workers safety and hygiene, and written plan of hazard management. Also, among the total 72 control points, there are 12 control points (10 required, 2 recommended) that do not apply to ginseng. Therefore, it is considered inappropriate to conduct an effective evaluation of the ginseng production process based on the existing certification standards. In conclusion, differentiated certification standards are needed to expand GAP certification for ginseng farmers, and it is also necessary to develop programs that can be implemented in a more systematic and field-oriented manner to provide the farmers with proper GAP management education.

• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.142-148
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• 2020

The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence, toxin gene profiles, and enterotoxin producing ability of Bacillus cereus isolated from environment-friendly vegetables and good agricultural practices (GAP) vegetables. A total of 49 vegetables including 40 environment-friendly vegetables and 9 GAP vegetables were tested. The Vitek 2 system was used to identify B. cereus and the PCR was used to detect 6 toxin genes, respectively. B. cereus was detected in 34 (69.3%) of 49 vegetables and the prevalence of B. cereus in GAP vegetables (44.4%) was lower than in the environment-friendly vegetables (75.0%). The detection rates of entFM, nheA, hblC, and cytK enterotoxin genes, respectively, among all isolates were 100%, 97.0%, 88.2%, and 73.5%, respectively. All of the isolates had at least one or more enterotoxin gene and 20 isolates (58.8%) had hemolysin BL enterotoxin producing ability. The risk of food poisoning from the environment-friendly vegetables and the GAP vegetables has been shown as constant. Thus, it is necessary to expand the supply of GAP vegetables showing lower B. cereus contamination than the environment-friendly vegetables. The characteristics of the environment-friendly vegetables and the GAP vegetables that must be consumed after cleaning should be disseminated to consumers regarding food poisoning prevention.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.295-300
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• 2012

The purpose of this study was to analyze microbiological hazards for plants, cultivation environments and personal hygiene of perilla leaf farms at the harvesting stage. Samples were collected from three perilla leaf farms(A, B, C) located in Gyeongnam, Korea and tested for sanitary indications, fungi and pathogenic bacteria(Escherichia coli O157:H7, Listeria monocytogens, Salmonella spp., Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus cereus). As a result, total bacteria and coliform in perilla leaf were detected at the levels of 4.4~5.2 and 3.4~4.3 log CFU/g, respectively, but E. coli was not detected in all samples. Among the pathogenic bacteria, B. cereus(perilla leaf: 2.0~2.4 log CFU/g, stem: 1.4~2.1 log CFU/g, water: 0.7 log CFU/ml, soil: 4.2~5.0 log CFU/g, hands: 3.0 log CFU/ hand, gloves: 2.1~2.4 log CFU/100 $cm^2$, glothes: 1.5~2.8 log CFU/100 $cm^2$) and S. aureus(3.4 log CFU/hand) were detected in all samples and worker's hand from farm A, respectively. However, other pathogenic bacteria were not detected. This study demonstrates that perilla leaf at the harvesting stage was significantly contaminated with microbial hazards.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.45 no.1
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• pp.104-110
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• 2013

This study assessed hazards at the harvest stage of strawberry farms which may cause risk to humans. A total of 216 samples were collected from 6 strawberry farms (soil culture farms: A, B, C; nutriculture farms: D, E, F) located in Western Gyeongnam. The collected samples were subjected for sanitary indicator bacteria (aerobic plate count, coliforms and Escherichia coli), major foodborne pathogens (E. coli O157:H7, Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella spp., Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus cereus), and fungi. The levels of APC and coliform in the soil culture farms were 1.0-6.9 and 0.4-4.6 log CFU/g (leaf, mL, hand or 100 $cm^2$), respectively. The samples obtained from the nutriculture farms were contaminated with the levels of 0.8-4.9, and 0.2-2.6 log CFU/g (leaf, mL, hand or 100 $cm^2$) of APC and coliform. However, E. coli was not detected in any samples. In major foodborne pathogens, S. aureus was detected at the level of ${\leq}$3.3 log CFU/hand in workers' hand samples and B. cereus was detected at the levels of 0.4-4.1 log CFU/g (hand or 100 $cm^2$) in soil, plants and workers' hygiene. L. monocytogenes, E. coli O157:H7 and Salmonella spp. were not detected. Fungi were detected at the levels of 1.0-5.2 and 0.2-4.4 log CFU/g (leaf, mL, hand or 100 $cm^2$) in soil culture and nutriculture farms, respectively.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.46 no.1
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• pp.108-114
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• 2014

To analyze the hazards associated with cucumber and hot pepper cultivation areas, a total of 72 samples were obtained and tested to detect the presence of biological (sanitary indicative, pathogenic bacteria and fungi) and chemical hazards (heavy metals and pesticide residues). The levels of sanitary indicative bacteria (aerobic plate counts and coliforms) and fungi were ND-7.2 and ND-4.8 log CFU/(g, mL, hand, or $100cm^2$) in cucumber cultivation areas, and ND-6.8 and 0.4-5.3 log CFU/(g, mL, hand, or $100cm^2$) in hot pepper cultivation areas. More specifically, the soil of hot pepper cultivation areas was contaminated with coliforms at a maximum level of 5.6 log CFU/g. Staphylococcus aureus was detected only in glove samples at a level of 1.4 log CFU/$100cm^2$ and Bacillus cereus was detected in the majority of samples at a level of ND-4.8 log CFU/(g, mL, hand, or $100cm^2$). Listeria monocytogenes, Escherichia coli O157:H7, and Salmonella spp. were not detected. Heavy metal (Zn, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Hg) chemical hazards were detected at levels lower than the regulation limit. Residual insecticides were not detected in cucumbers; however, hexaconazole was detected at a level of 0.016 mg/kg (maximum residue limit: 0.3 mg/kg) in hot peppers.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.39 no.4
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• pp.305-311
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• 2020

BACKGROUND: The healthy food trend has encouraged the consumption of natural products, including berries. This trend is expected to increase the strawberry consumption. There has been a concern about the exposure of pesticides approved for use on strawberry. In this study, the dissipation patterns of systemic and non-systemic pesticides were evaluated in strawberry under plastic-covered greenhouse conditions. METHODS AND RESULTS: Cyflumetofen and dimethomorph were applied on strawberry in the critical GAP (Good Agricultural Practices). Strawberries were harvested at 0, 1, 2, 3, 5, 7 and 10 days after final application of the pesticides. The analyses of the residual pesticides were performed by HPLC-DAD with C18 column. The limits of quantitation (LOQ) of cyflumetofen and dimethomorph were 0.04 and 0.02 mg/kg, respectively. The recovery of cyflumetofen and dimethomorph were 88.1 ~ 103.3% and 79.0 ~ 110.2% for the spiked two levels (LOQ and 10LOQ), respectively. The biological half-lives of cyflumetofen and dimethomorph werer 7.5 and 8.9 days, respectively. The dissipation rates in strawberry were calculated by the statistics method at a 95% confidence level. The distribution showed that pesticides with low log Pow were indicated by the decreased dissipation rate and pesticides with similar log Pow and low solubility also showed the decreased dissipation rate. CONCLUSION: The residues of cyflumetofen and dimethomorph in strawberry at time 0 after the final application were below the established MRL in Korea. The dissipation behavior of systemic and non-systemic pesticides in strawberry is affected by their log Pow and water solubility values.