• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.87-96
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• 2022

Recently, the purchase of fresh-cut produce and meal kits has increased. Ready-to-eat (RTE) fresh-cut products have potentially hazard of cross-contamination of various microorganisms in the processes of peeling, slicing, dicing, and shredding. There are frequent cases of protozoa food poisoning, such as Cyclospora and Cryptosporidium, caused by fresh-cut products. The objective of the study is to investigate the microbiological qualities of various types of RTE fresh-cut products in the domestic on/offline markets. RTE fresh-cut fruits cup (n=100), fresh-cut vegetables (n=50), and vegetables in meal kits (Vietnamese spring rolls and white radish rolls kits, n=50) were seasonally analyzed. The contamination levels of hygienic indicator organisms, yeast and mold (YM), and foodborne pathogens (Bacillus cereus, Staphylococcus aureus, Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella spp., and Escherichia coli O157:H7) were monitored. Overall, the lowest microbiological qualities of meal kits vegetables were observed, followed by RTE fresh-cut fruits cup and fresh-cut vegetables. Contamination levels of total aerobic bacteria, coliforms, and YM in meal kits vegetables were 5.91, 3.90, and 4.71 logs CFU/g, respectively. From the qualitative analysis, 6 out of 200 RTE fresh-cut products (3%) returned positive result for S. aureus. From the quantitative analysis, the contamination levels of S. aureus in purple cabbage from a meal-kit and fresh-cut pineapple were below the acceptable limit (100 CFU/g). Staphylococcus enterotoxin seg and sei genes were detected in RTE fresh-cut celery and red cabbage from meal-kits, respectively. S. aureus contamination must be carefully controlled during the manufacturing processes of RTE fresh-cut products. Neither Cyclospora cayetanensis nor Cryptosporidium parvum was detected in the samples of RTE fresh-cut products and vegetables from meal-kits from the Korean retail markets.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.37 no.6
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• pp.400-410
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• 2022

This study was performed to analyze the microbial contamination levels of three non-heated rice cake manufacturers in terms of seasonal manufacturing process and to investigate the effects of summertime soaking on contamination levels and temperature-controlled soaking in water on reduction in microbial levels. The total aerobic bacteria (TAB) ranged from 2.69 log CFU/g to 5.08 log CFU/g in the produce, but the microbial contamination increased sharply during soaking. The levels of TAB and coliforms during summer soaking were 7.01 and 3.96 log CFU/g, respectively, and this was significantly higher than those in other seasons. The contamination level was high in the subsequent freezing, with the TAB level (6.24 log CFU/g) exceeding the legal standard. The temperature of soaking water in summer increased from 19.1℃ to 26.8℃ after 12 h of soaking. The microbial contamination was significantly high commensurate with increased soaking time, and the TAB level in the frozen process exceeded the legal standard from 9 h of soaking. The use of ice packs to prevent the increase in temperature of the soaking water in summer resulted in maintenance of temperature at 20.1℃ for up to 12 h. The average TAB value in the freezing process was 4.42 log CFU/g after 12 h of soaking, and this is 1.77 log CFU/g lower than that before. Based on these results, it was determined that controlling the soaking time and water temperature are essential for the production of a safe unheated frozen rice cake. The safety of the HACCP system could be established by applying these preventive management standards.

• Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.82-92
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• 1976

The study was carried out to investigate the changes of the various chemical components and the microflora during the aging period of Korean navive Kochuzang. (Red pepper soybean paste) Korean native maeju loaves were separated into surface and inner parts. Three kinds of Korean native Kochuzang were prepared from surface part, inner part, and ordinary of maeju. The selection and the indentification of the high enzyme producing strains from the microflora and characteristics of their enzymes were studied. I. The changes of the various chemical components during the aging period of Kochuzang. 1) The changes of pH in the 3 kinds of Kochuzang displayed rapid decrease for the first 10 days after preparing and gradual curve of decrease until 60 days, but slight increase for the next 30 days. The pH of the surface part Kochuzang was lower than that of inner part or ordinary Kochuzang. 2) The total acid contents in the 3 kinds of Kochuzang showed gradual increase until the 60 days but it slowly reduced after this time. 3) The total nitrogen contents in the 3 kind of Kochuzang showed gradual inerease up to the 60 days, but slight decrease after this time. 4) The changes of trichloroacetic acid soluble nitrogen in the 3 kinds of Kochuzang showed a remarkable increase for the first 10 days, however gradual increase after this time. 5) The increase of amino nitrogen contents in the 3 kinds of Kochuzang seemed to be remarkable until the first 30 days, however to be less remarkable after this time. 6) The contents of reducing sugar in the 3 kinds of Kochuzang showed remarkable increase until the first 50 days and it slowly reduced after this time. II. The changes of microflora during the aging period of Kochuzang. 1) Aerobic, anaerobic bacteria and mold in the 3 kinds of Kochuzang were increased until the first 30 to 40 days, but they were reduced after this time. 2) No yeast in the three kinds of Kochuzang appeared until the first 20 days. Yeast were proved to grow, when the pH value was decreased below 5.4 after the 30 days. Yeasts in the surface part and ordinary Kochuzang were gradually increased and those in the inner part Kochuzang were decreased as aging. III. The selection and identification of high amylase and protease producing strains from the microflora during the aging period of Kochuzang. 1) The amylase and protease highly producing strains from microflora were identified as Bacillus subtilis-P, Bacillus subtilis-G, Bacillus licheniformis-K, Aspergillus oryzae-B. 2) Amylase activity of Aspergillus oryzae-B was highest among the strains and the strains in order of the higher activity to the lower one were Bacillus subtilis-P Bacillus licheniformis-K, Bacillus subtilis-G. Protease activities of Aspergillus oryzae-B and Bacillus subtilis-P were about the same and the strains in order of the higher activity to the lower one were Bacillus licheniformis-K, Bacillus subtilis-G. 3) Amylase activity was inhibited more than protease activity was with NaCl concentration. Amylase activity was inhibited by 45 to 65 percent and protease activity by 40 to 46 percent at the concentration of 15 percent NaCl, which was the average concentration of NaCl in Kochuzang.