• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.285-290
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• 2008

This study was carried out to examine microbiological contamination of ready-to-eat foods (kimbab, sushi, salad, sandwich, sashimi) and to prove hazard of ready-to-eat foods by microbiological analysis. Collection of 440 samples of ready- to-eat foods were obtained from department stores, discount stores, super-markets in Seoul, Gyeonggi, Chungcheong, Gyeongsang, Honam areas. Sushi showed the highest detection rate of micro organism with value of20.4%, and then detection rates of kimbab, sashimi and salad were 13.0%, 12.5% and 6.9%, respectively. S. aureus was the most detected microorganism with value of 6.6%, and then Coliform and L. monocytogenes were detected 2.7% and 2.3%.

• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.253-263
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• 2023

The purpose of this study was to analyse factors related to Home Meal Replacement (HMR) use among university students and to determine the dietary quality according to its consumption. A survey on the consumption of HMR and Nutrition Quotient (NQ) was conducted from September to November 2021. The study included 232 university students (88 males, 144 females) from Chungcheong. The proportion of consumption at least once a week was 71.55% for ready-to-eat foods, 55.60% for ready-to-cook foods, 40.95% for fresh-cut products, and 21.12% for meal-kits. The preference ratings were as follows: ready-to-eat foods, 3.77 out of 5 points, meal-kits, 3.53 points, fresh-cut products, 3.52 points, and ready-to-cook foods, 3.45 points. In terms of satisfaction, convenience (4.06 out of 5 points), taste (3.71 points), variety (3.67 points), and food hygiene (3.62 points) were rated the highest. The scores in the moderation NQ were significantly lower in the groups that consumed ready-to-eat foods (p=0.0002), ready-to-cook foods (p=0.0002), and meal-kits (p=0.0068) at least once a week compared to the groups that consumed them less than once a week. In conclusion, the results will serve as basic data for nutrition education for proper consumption of HMR among university students.

• Preventive Nutrition and Food Science
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.236-239
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• 2004

Microbial contamination of ready-to-eat ingredients for Kimbab manufacturing and the effect of irradiation to reduce the microbial contamination of the products were investigated. Among 9 food items tested, there were no viable cells in the ham, seasoned and cooked beef, imitation crab leg, fried egg, and seasoned burdoc. Cucumber, surimi gel, and seasoned and blanched spinach were counted at 5.07$\pm$0.97, 3.50$\pm$0.14, and 5.41$\pm$0.51 log CFU/g, respectively. Irradiation at 1 kGy reduced the number of microorganism in these ready-to-eat foods to an undetectable level. However, the dried laver showed an 8.83$\pm$0.10 log CFU/g and an irradiation at 3 kGy reduced the level to only 7.14$\pm$0.23. Sensory evaluation of the irradiated Kimbab prepared from these food materials indicated that the measure of the control of the sensorial quality should be provided before applying an irradiation to the prepared Kimbab.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.349-357
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• 2024

Foodborne pathogens, like Listeria monocytogenes, continue to inflict substantial financial losses on the food industry. Various methods for detecting Listeria in food have been developed and numerous studies have been conducted to compare the different methods. But, in recent years, new Listeria species have been identified, and currently the genus comprises 26 species. Therefore, it would be a more accurate approach to re-evaluate existing detection methods by considering new species. The present investigation involved the analysis of 42 ready-to-eat (RTE) foods, encompassing a variety of food categories, such as mezes, salads, dairy products, and meat products, with the aim of ascertaining the presence of Listeria. Among the traditional culture-dependent reference methods, the ISO 11290 method was preferred. The process of strain identification was conducted with the API Identification System. Furthermore, to ascertain the existence of L. monocytogenes and Listeria spp., the samples underwent additional analysis employing the VIDAS Immunoassay System, ELISA, and RT-PCR methodologies. Thus, four alternative approaches were employed in this study to compare not only the different methods used to determine Listeria while taking into account the newly identified Listeria species, but also to assess the compliance of retail RTE food items with microbiological criteria pertaining to the genus Listeria. Based on the conducted analyses, L. monocytogenes was conclusively determined to be present in one sample. The presence of Listeria spp. was detected in 30.9% of the samples, specifically in Turkish cig kofte, sliced salami, and salads.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.217-227
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• 2023

The consumption of ready-to-eat side dishes is rapidly growing in South Korea. These foods are particularly vulnerable to microbiological contamination as they are often cooked without any treatment, such as heating or stored at room temperature after cooking. Hence, in 2022, we analyzed the ready-to-eat side dishes sold in Gyeongsangnam-do, South Korea for microbiological contamination. We collected 100 samples from supermarkets in 7 cities, and then examined them for presence of food-borne pathogens and sanitary indicator bacteria. In the analysis of the food-borne pathogens, Bacillus cereus and Clostridium perfringens were isolated from 51 samples (51.0%) and 3 samples (3.0%), respectively. However, both quantitatively met the Korean Food Standards Codex. Genes of five different enterotoxins and one emetic toxin were analyzed from the 51 isolated B. cereus strains. We detected enterotoxin entFM (100.0%), nheA (94.1%), hblC (58.8%), cytK (56.9%), and bceT (41.2%) in 51 isolates, and emetic toxin gene, CER, in only one (2.0%) isolate. We did not detect C. perfringens toxin gene (cpe) that causes food poisoning in any one of the three C. perfringens isolates. In the case of sanitary indicator bacteria, Kimchi had the highest levels of total aerobic bacteria and coliforms, followed by Saengchae, Jeotgal, Jeolim, Namul, and Jorim, respectively. We counted total aerobic bacteria at two different storage temperatures (4℃ and 20℃) to determine the effect of storage temperature. When stored at 20℃, total aerobic bacteria count increased in most of the ready-to-eat side dishes, except for Jeotgal. This result conclusively shows the need for refrigerating the ready-to-eat side dishes after purchase. Further research is needed to assess the risk and safety of the ready-to-eat side dishes available in the market and determine appropriate safety management practices.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.32 no.7
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• pp.1027-1035
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• 2019

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of aged garlic powder (AGP) on physicochemical characteristics, texture profiles, and oxidative stability of ready-to-eat (RTE) pork patties. Methods: There were five treatment groups: a control; 1% fresh garlic powder (T1); 0.5%, 1%, and 2% AGP (T2, T3, and T4). Pork patties with vacuum packaging were roasted at $71^{\circ}C$ for core temperature, stored at $4^{\circ}C$ for 14 d, and then reheated for 1 min using a microwave. Results: The AGP groups showed a lower the level of lipid oxidation and higher thiol contents than the control and T1. The pH value of the control increased whereas that of aged garlic groups decreased after re-heating process. In addition, the redness significantly increased with increasing level of AGP whereas the redness of the control and T1 decreased after reheating process. T4 added patties improved textural and sensory properties compared to the control. Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that AGP addition to RTE pork patties can improve their sensory characteristics and oxidative stability.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.252-257
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• 2013

In this study the automated technique TEMPO STA method, a new automated enumeration based on MPN method, was compared to the direct plate count method by testing various ready-to-eat compound food products. Artificially inoculated food samples with Staphylococcus aureus - Bibimbap, Bibimnaengmyeon, Mulnaengmyeon, Kimmaki, Salad, Japchae, and Sushi- were tested. Statistical analysis of the results showed above 99% in agreement between the two enumeration methods. Also, we monitored 466 various ready-to-eat compound food products samples. The measure uncertainties of the two methods is also familiar, while TEMPO STA automated method is simpler, less time-consuming, more effective and more stable.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.251-258
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• 2005

The purposes of this study were to conceptualize the Home Meal Replacement (HMR) in Korea and to gather professionals' opinions of prospect and task for HMR industry in Korea. A total of 67 experts participated in a three round survey by Delphi technique, which was used to integrate and share the each expert's professional idea. According to the result, HMR was translated into 'Gajeongsiksa daeyongsik' in Korean and given definition to 'a meal taken directly or through brief cooking process at home by purchasing ready to eat or ready to end-cook type of food'. As the result of categorizing HMR products of Korean food, 'I. Ready to eat' such as side dishes, kimchi, salad, sandwich, kimbab, and so on and 'II. Ready to heat' such as rice, porridge, retort food (soup, broth, curry, spaghetti, etc.), frozen pizza, grilled food, jabchae, instant soup, and so on were construed in a limited sense of the HMR. In addition, 'III. Ready to end-cook' such as frozen dumpling, frozen pork cutlet, seasoned meat, powder-type soup, and so on as well as these two kinds were interpreted in a broad sense of the HMR. In the prospect of HMR industry in Korea, the Korean HMR industry would develop continuously accompanied by increasing of consumers using HMR products. Introduction and generalization of HMRs would serve the convenience for meal preparation and then influence the change of home meal pattern. Nevertheless, it was concerned about that using HMRs might have limitation on solving the problems of dietary life including irregular meal, skipping a meal, and so on and influence the nutrition imbalance. For the development of HMRs, developing various menu and the packaging materials for HMR products, constructing the thorough sanitary management, and strengthening R & D for the HMR of Korean food were the future tasks in Korean HMR industry.

• Food Science and Biotechnology
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.1240-1245
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• 2008

Kimbab is the most popular ready-to-eat (RTE) food in Korea. A rapid detection method based on multiplex PCR technique was developed for detection of major food-borne pathogens like Salmonella spp., Shigella spp., Bacillus cereus, Listeria monocytongenes, and Staphylococcus aureus. Specific bands were obtained as 108 bp (Sau, S. aureus), 284 bp (Sal, S. enterica, S. enteritids, and S. typhmurium), 404 bp (Lmo, L. monocytogenes), 475 bp (Bce, B. cereus), and 600 bp (Shi, S. flexineri and S. sonnei). Visible cell numbers varied from 4.14-5.03, 3.61-4.47, and 4.10-5.11 log CFU/g in randomly collected June, July, and August samples, respectively. Among the 30 kimbab samples obtained 83.3% samples were contaminated and 16.7% samples were free from contamination. The highest rate of contamination was with S. aureus (56.7%) followed by B. cereus (43.3%), Salmonella spp. (36.7%), Shigella spp. (13.3%), and L. monocytogenes (6.7%). The identification of the pathogenic species could be faster using one polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and the ability to test for food-borne pathogenic species in kimbab will save time and increase the ability to assure its quality.

• Korean journal of food and cookery science
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.61-71
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• 2011

This study was conducted to estimate the shelf-life of Kimbab manufactured using a Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP). We performed a microbiological verification after applying the HACCP plan to Kimbab. Additionally, the shelf-life of Kimbab at each holding temperature was calculated as a regression equation between the aerobic plate counts and holding time during the storage period. The critical control points of the HACCP plan, that were applied to Kimbab, included: cold-holding of refrigerated foods, checking the endpoint cooking temperature of heated food, and cold-holding of cooked foods. As a result of the microbiological verification of Kimbab, the aerobic plate counts averaged 3.46 log CFU/g. In contrast, the coliforms, E. coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and Salmonella spp. were not detected in any of the samples. The estimated shelf-life of Kimbab was calculated to be 45 hours at $10^{\circ}C$, 29 hours at $15^{\circ}C$, 6 hours at $25^{\circ}C$ and 3 hours at $35^{\circ}C$. In conclusion, manufacturers should apply a prerequisite program and a HACCP system for a safe consumption of ready-to-eat foods and label products with a proper shelf-life. Distributors should control the proper holding time-temperature until sale and consumers should eat immediately after purchasing ready-to-eat foods.