• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.33 no.5
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• pp.347-353
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• 2018

Red pepper is widely used as a spicy flavor ingredient in the food industry and many households. The objective of this study was to assess the total aerobic bacteria count, coliforms count and incidence of Escherichiacoli, Salmonella spp., Escherichiacoli O157:H7, Listeria monocytogenes, and Bacillus cereus in red pepper and red pepper cultivated soil. The total aerobic bacteria number in red pepper and soil were in the range of 2.97 to 8.13 and 5.91 to 7.65 log CFU/g, respectively. The coliforms in red pepper and soil were in the range of 1.87 to 6.71 and 0.67 to 6.16 log CFU/g, respectively. E. coli was detected in 3 of 54 soil samples. In 3 out 63 red pepper and 53 of 54 soil samples, B. cereus was detected, while Salmonella spp., E.coli O157:H7, and L.monocytogenes were not detected. The results from this study provide an important basic information associated with the microbiological safety of fresh vegetables. Continuous caution is needed to prevent the contamination of pathogenic microorganisms during its farming.

• Food Science and Preservation
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.569-573
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• 2003

To determine the antimicrobial activity of methanol extracts form 'Formosa' plum against 4 kinds of pathogenic bacteria, the fermosa were got at different growth stages and were extracted using methanol, respectively. The Formosa methanol extracts treated with 5.0 mg/disc showed the highest antimicrobial activity against 4 kinds of pathogenic bacteria and those of Formosa 1-4(immature fruit), which thin out 10∼25 days before foal harvest, showed higher antimicrobial activity against gram positive and gram negative microorganisms than Formosa 5-6(mature fruit). Especially, the methanol extracts of Formosa 1 and 2 were exhibited the strongest growth inhibiting activities to these bacteria. The minimal inhibitory concentrations(MIC) of immature Fomosa methanol extracts was 320 $\mu\textrm{g}$/mL against Escherichia coli 0157:H7 and 160 $\mu\textrm{g}$/mL against Staphylococcus aureus respectively. The MIC of immature Formosa methanol extracts to Salmonella typhimurium and Listeria monocytogenes were 640 $\mu\textrm{g}$/mL. These results suggest that methanol extracs of immature formosa can be used as an effective natural antimicrobial agent in food.

• 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.

• 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.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.77-81
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• 2007

Antimicrobial activity of both fresh Prunus mume and Prunus mume liqueur byproduct (PLB), generated after producing Prunus mume liqueur were examined against various pathogeinc bacteria such as Listeria monocytogenes Scott A, Listeria monocytogenes ATCC 19115, Bacillus cereus KCCM 11341, Staphylococcus aureus KCCM 12255, Pseudomonas fluorescens ATCC 21541, Escherichia coli O157:H7, Salmonella Typhimurium ATCC 14028, and Shigella sonnei. PLB showed strong antibacterial effects against tested pathogenic bacteria.L. monocytogenes ATCC 19115, B. cereus KCCM 11341, S. sonnei, and E. coli O157:H7 were not detected in trytpic soy broth containing 1% of prunus mume or PLB after 24-hour incubation at $37^{\circ}C$, respectively. Prunus mume showed higher antimicrobial activities than that of PLB against tested pathogens.

• BMB Reports
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• v.45 no.2
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• pp.71-78
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• 2012

Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus is a predatory bacterium which attacks and consumes other bacterial strains, including the well known pathogens E. coli O157 : H7, Salmonella typhimurium and Helicobacter pylori. This remarkable activity has been the focus of research for nearly five decades, with exciting practical applications to medical, agriculture and farming practices recently being published. This article reviews many of the exciting steps research into this bacterium, and similar bacteria, has taken, focusing primarily on their use as both an antibiotic to remove harmful and pathogenic bacteria and as a probiotic to help curb and control the bacterial populations within the intestinal tract. Owing to the unique and dual nature of this bacterium, this review proposes the use of "amphibiotic" to describe these bacteria and their activities.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.103-107
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• 2004

This study was carried out to investigate the growth of pathogenic germ in fermented pork with Korean traditional seasonings. The samples, outside muscle of pork ham were cut by the shape of cube (7${\times}$12${\times}$2cm) and seasoned with five Korean traditional seasonings such as garlic paste (Tl), pickled Kimchi (T2), pickled Kimchi juice (T3), soybean paste (T4), red pepper paste (T5). The rate of meat to seasonings was same. The seasoned samples were fermented at -1${\pm}$1$^{\circ}C$ for 28 days. Microbial pathogens such as Escherichia coli O157, Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella enteritidis were not detected in all paste and samples. When 1.5${\times}$l0$^3$ CFU/$\textrm{cm}^2$ of Escherichia coli O157 was inoculated, the numbers were slightly increased to 10$^3$-10$^4$ CFU/$\textrm{cm}^2$ at 3 days and gradually decreased to the level of inoculation at 18 days in all samples. In the inoculation with Listeria monocytogenes (8${\times}$l0$^4$ CFU/$\textrm{cm}^2$), the numbers were below 10$^3$ CFU/$\textrm{cm}^2$ during 28 days in T3 and T4, while they were increased to 10$\^$6/ CFU/$\textrm{cm}^2$ in Tl and T2 at 3 and 13 days respectively, and decreased to 10$^4$ CFU/$\textrm{cm}^2$. In the inoculation with Salmonella enteritidis (3${\times}$l0$^4$ CFU/$\textrm{cm}^2$), the numbers increased to 10$\^$5/ CFU/$\textrm{cm}^2$ at 18 days, but they were rapidly decreased to the level of initial inoculation at 23 days.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.452-457
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• 2009

In order to secure microbiological safety and quality of commercial vegetable sprouts, buckwheat seeds and sprouts were investigated for their microbiological flora and for the effect of chlorine treatment on quality. Microbiological analyses showed that major inherent bacteria including Enterobacter, Sphingomonas, and Klebsiella were found in commercial buckwheat sprouts with a population size ranging from $10^5$ to $10^7$ CFU/g. In addition, buckwheat seeds had a similar microbial flora to sprouts. Foodborne pathogenic bacteria such as Escherichia coli O157:H7, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella Typhimurium, and Listeria monocytogenes were not detected in the sprout or in the seed samples. Chlorine treatment with 50-150 ppm sodium hypochlorite noticeably reduced viable bacteria cell counts of the sprouts by about 1 log. However, no significant difference was observed among the different chlorine concentrations. After storage for 7 days at $5^{\circ}C$, the sprouts treated with 100-150 ppm chlorine showed higher sensory scores in visual quality than the others (p<0.05). The results indicated that proper pretreatment, such as dipping in chlorinated water, could confer a beneficial effect on the microbiological safety and visual quality of buckwheat sprouts.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.53 no.6
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• pp.799-808
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• 2021

This study was performed to investigate the extent of microbial contamination, the presence of enterotoxin genes, and the antibiotic susceptibility of Bacillus cereus in 58 red pepper plants and 43 environmental samples (soil, irrigation water, and gloves) associated with the plant cultivation. The detected counts of total aerobic bacteria, coliform bacteria, Escherichia coli, Bacillus cereus, and Staphylococcus aureus were lower in these samples, as compared to the regulations of standards for foods; moreover, pathogens, such as E. coli, E. coli O157:H7, Listeria monocytogenes, and Salmonella spp., were not detected. Genes encoding hemolysin BL enterotoxins (hblA, hblC, and hblD) as well as non-hemolytic enterotoxins (nheA, nheB, and nheC) were detected in 23 B. cereus specimens that were isolated from the test samples and had β-hemolytic activity. Interestingly, B. cereus is resistant to β-lactam and susceptible to non-β-lactam antibiotics. However, in this case, the isolated B. cereus specimens exhibited a shift from resistant to intermediate in response to cefotaxime and from susceptible to intermediate in case of rifampin, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, vancomycin, clindamycin, and erythromycin. Therefore, the levels of B. cereus should be monitored to detect changes in antibiotic susceptibility and guarantee their safety.

• Food Science and Biotechnology
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.615-620
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• 2007

Commercially packed kimchi products from 6 different manufacturers, which are exported overseas as well as sold domestically, were analyzed to determine their microorganism distributions and presence of pathogenic bacteria. All samples showed decreasing pH levels (from 5.7-6.2 to 3.9-4.3) and increasing titratable acidities (from 0.3-0.4 to 0.8-1.2%) during 15 days of storage at $4^{\circ}C$. Total bacterial counts ranged from $2.1{\times}10^5-1.9{\times}10^6\;CFU/mL$ in the initial kimchi samples, and then increased to $1.1{\times}10^8-1.8{\times}10^9\;CFU/mL$. The coliform numbers decreased from approximately $2.5{\times}10^2-1.7{\times}10^4\;CFU/mL$ to zero. Major foodborne pathogens such as Salmonella spp., Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli O157:H7, Listeria monocytogenes, Bacillus cereus, Yersinia enterocolitica, and Shigella spp. were not detected in any of the samples. However, 2 out of the 6 samples carried E. coli, emphasizing the need for improved hygiene practice. Interestingly, Hafnia alvei, belonging to the Enterobacteriaceae family, was isolated in all of the samples. Further study is needed on this newly reported bacterium in kimchi.