• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.31-37
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• 2018

This study was conducted to evaluate the microbiological safety of leafy vegetables (perilla leaf and lettuce) in relation to cultivation methods. A total of 2,304 samples were collected from plants, harvesting tools and soil mulching film during the production and harvest stages from organic- and conventional- farms. From the samples, sanitary indicator microorganisms (total aerobic bacteria, coliforms, E. coli., Environmental Listeria, and yeast and mold) and pathogenic microorganisms (S. aureus, B. cereus, Salmonella spp., Clostridium spp., and L. monocytogenes) were analyzed. In the production stage of leafy vegetables, the sanitary indicator microorganisms was not detected regardless of cultivation method or it was detected to be less than $3.4\;Log\;CFU/100cm^2$. B. cereus and S. aureus were found to be 0.22~1.55 Log CFU/g in perilla leaf and lettuce produced by organic farms, and S. aureus was not detected and B. cereus was found to be 0.42~2.19 Log CFU/g in conventional farms. There were no significant differences between two cultivation methods. In the harvesting tools and soil mulching film, the contamination levels of sanitary indicator microorganisms and pathogenic microorganisms was low regardless of the cultivation method. However, there was a positive correlation ($R^2=0.4526$) in that the higher the microbial contamination level in the harvesting tool, the higher the microbial contamination on the surface of the plant. In addition, sanitary indicator microorganisms and pathogenic microorganisms were not detected or low in soil mulching during the production of organic leafy vegetables. As a result of this study, microbial hygiene control by soil mulching and harvesting tools was more important than difference of cultivation method in production of leafy vegetables.

• Food Science and Preservation
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.234-240
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• 2006

The purpose of this study was to evaluate microbiologically cooking utensils, equipment employees, and environment in 12 large Korean, Western, Chinese, and Japanese restaurant. Microbiological testing was conducted for pathogens including E. coli, Samolnella, L. monocytogenes, S. aureus, E. coli O157:H7, V. parahaemolyticus, B. cereus, and Y. enterocolitica as well as total plate count and coliforms. The results showed cooking water and drinking water in some Korean restaurants and drinking water in some Western and Japanese restaurants were unsatisfactory, especially, barley tea, which was cooled after being boiled, was unsatisfactory. Most cooking utensils such as knives, cutting boards, kitchen towels, tongs, and basket had total plate and coliforms count in excess of standards, and knives and cutting boards at some Chinese restaurant had E. coli. At some restaurant, S. aureus was found on some food worker's hands. Also, the total plate count of the air showed a high count around worktables, inside the refrigerator, and in the kitchen in most restaurants. These result suggest that sanitation needs improvement in the environments in these foodservice establishment.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.47-52
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• 2009

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of yeast(Saccharomyces exiguus SJPAF1, referred to as SA) addition on odor emission and contaminants reduction in piggery sluny. Four different rates of yeast addition were compared: no addition(SA0), 0.7L(SA0.7), 1.0L(SA1.0), and 1.5L(SA1.5) to one tone of piggery slurry. Odor emission tended to decrease with increasing the yeast application with concurrent effects of changes in temperature on outside of reactors. Particularly, reduction in ammonia emission was proportional to the yeast application rate; it reduced from 161.1 ppm in SA0 to 47.1 ppm in SA1.5 after 6 days of treatment Decomposition of piggery shiny by yeast increased to 13.8% more in SA1.5, and total amounts of piggery slurry decreased to 12.5% in SA1.5. Total coliforms were detected below 30MPN $ml^{-1}$ in SA1.5, while $8.3{\times}10^3$ MPN $ml^{-1}$ of Total coliforms were found in SA0. However, the effect of yeast addition in piggery slurry seemed to have no influence on the removal efficiency of contaminants such as BOD, COD, $NO_3^{-}-N$, $NH_4^{+}-N$, $PO_4^{-}P$. Consequently, the yeast(Saccharomyces exiguus SJPAF1) addition of 1.5% in the piggery sluny seems to have potential applicability for improving agent of pig-farm environment.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.306-313
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• 2017

This study systemically analyzed the data on the microbial levels in fresh vegetables in Korea to identify the points to control. We scanned the studies published between 2001 and 2015 in peer-reviewed research papers on the microbial levels in fresh vegetables produced in Korea. Plant products were categorized by using the US IFSAC (Interagency Food Safety Analytics Collaboration) category. The most consumed, the non-heat treated, the epidemiological foodborne diseases sources of fresh vegetable in foodservice (KCDC data) were identified by literature review. Articles were screened using National Digital Science Library (NDSL) search engine regarding to microbial hazards in plant products. Based on the total plate count number and coliforms on the 89 data cases from 26 published articles, the total plate count number was high in the order of sprouts, leaf and stem, bulbs and roots, vine-grown, solanaceous, melons, and pome. Escherichia coli was frequently detected in leaf and stem and sprouts products. Focused on the microbial data of leek, lettuce and cabbage, the levels of total plate count, coliforms and Bacillus cereus showed the levels of 4.15~7.69 log CFU/g, 1~6.99 log CFU/g, and 0.51~3.9 log CFU/g, respectively, by 33 published papers. The levels of environmental factors affecting the microbial safety of lettuce and leek before harvest were investigated. Manure, soil, hands, scale, gloves were the major potential microbial contamination points to control. In addition, GAP (good agricultural practice), microbial testing, and improvement of irrigation methods are required to provide the safer fresh produce.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.319-323
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• 2013

The objective of this study was to investigate the microbial contamination levels of ginseng and ginseng products distributed in markets. A total of 81 ginseng and ginseng products samples (fresh ginseng 37, white ginseng 15, red ginseng 15, red ginseng beverage 14) were tested to analyze sanitary indicator bacteria (total aerobic bacteria, coliforms and Escherichia coli), major foodborne pathogens, and fungi. The contamination levels of total aerobic bacteria and coliforms were in the range of 3.19 to 7.02 log CFU/g for fresh ginseng, 0.25 to 7.31 log CFU/g for white ginseng, 0 to 2.89 log CFU/g for red ginseng and 0 to 1.70 log CFU/mL for red ginseng beverage. In case of major foodborne pathogens, B. cereus was detected at levels of 0.50 to 2.41 log CFU/g in samples except red ginseng beverage. Fungi was detected at levels of 2.41 log CFU/g in fresh ginseng, the contamination levels of the other ginseng products samples were lower than 1 log CFU/g or mL. These results indicate that the ginseng and ginseng products were comparatively safe with respect to microbiological hazard.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Service
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.119-128
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• 2012

This study was performed to investigate the freshness and nutritive components of eggs from Incheon area. The eggs of 64 brands collected from 7 hypermarkets and 6 brands collected from farms were examined to test the Haugh unit (HU), egg yolk index and specific gravity. HU and specific gravity were higher in farm eggs than in hypermarket eggs (P<0.05), and there was no difference in the egg yolk index. Among hypermarket eggs, HU and egg yolk index were higher in the graded eggs than in non-graded eggs (P<0.05), and specific gravity was not different between them. HU and egg yolk index of the eggs collected in March were higher than those in August (P<0.05). To monitor the bacterial contamination, total coliforms, total bacterial counts (TBC) and Salmonella enteritidis were examined. Salmonella enteritidis and total coliforms were not detected from all eggs. TBC of farm eggs were less than $10^1$ CFU/mL in all samples and TBC of hypermarket eggs were less than $10^1$ CFU/mL in 187 samples, $10^1{\sim}10^2$ CFU/mL in 3 samples and $10^3{\sim}10^4$ CFU/mL in 2 samples, respectively. Antimicrobial residues were not detected from all eggs tested. The vitamin E contents in the vitamin E enriched eggs from 6 brands hypermarket were 1.98~22.96 mg/yolk100 g ($14.04{\pm}8.81$ mg/yolk100g), and those of 5 brands among them were higher than the average of ordinary eggs. In one brand egg, vitamin E content was lower than the average of ordinary eggs. The vitamin E contents of ordinary eggs were 1.75~16.36 mg/yolk100 g (average $5.57{\pm}2.76$ mg/yolk100 g) and there were no price differences between vitamin E enriched eggs and ordinary eggs. In the contents of vitamin E, docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and cholesterol, there were no significant differences according to the price. These results suggests that egg production, distribution, and management system should be improved for supplying fresh eggs to consumers at reasonable prices.

• Journal of Fisheries and Marine Sciences Education
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• v.28 no.5
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• pp.1435-1443
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• 2016

This study evaluated the sanitary state of seawater and shellfish in Yeoja bay from January 2014 to June 2016. The sampling stations for sanitary survey in Yeoja Bay was composed of 50 stations for seawater and 4 stations for ark shell and the samples have been collected monthly at a stated date. The total and fecal coliforms in seawater and Escherichia coli (E. coli) in shellfish were investigated as sanitary indicator bacteria, respectively. The geometric mean and the estimated 90th percentile ranges of total and fecal coliforms for seawater were <1.8-3.9, <1.8-2.6 and <1.8-29.7, <1.8-9.3 MPN/100 mL, respectively. The range of E. coli levels for ark shell were <20~330 MPN/100 g. The sanitary state in Yeoja bay was evaluated clean area according Korea criteria and conditionally approved area according US criteria and Class B area according EU criteria.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.94-101
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• 2018

Although Kimchi has health benefits, food poisoning associated with consumption of Kimchi has been frequently reported. Accordingly, microbiological properties of Kimchi (100 samples) and washing effects on microbial reduction against its ingredients (200 samples) were examined. Total aerobic bacteria, coliforms, Escherichia coli, Bacillus cereus, and Clostridium perfringens were quantified. In addition, B. cereus, Salmonella spp., Enterohemorrhagic E. coli, C. perfringens, Campylobacter jejuni/coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Vibrio parahaemolyticus, Listeria monocytogenes, and Yersinia enterocolitica were analysed qualitatively. Total aerobic bacteria count was approximately 1.4-9.0 log CFU/g, which were highest in ginger (8.8 log CFU/g), and Chonggak Kimchi (9.0 log CFU/g). The range of coliform counts detected in all raw materials was 0.5-7.3 log CFU/g and ginger showed the greatest number 7.3 log CFU/g among others. Contamination was decreased to 0.2-3.2, 0.3-2.7, and 1.0-3.9 log CFU/g for total aerobic bacteria, coliforms, and B. cereus, respectively, after washing. Minimising microbial contamination in Kimchi ingredients is necessary to ensure the safety of Kimchi. These results indicate that washing is a useful method to reduce bacterial contamination in Kimchi.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.54 no.2
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• pp.235-240
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• 2022

In this study, the delivery conditions and microbial contamination in Mille-feuille Nabe and fresh spring roll meal kits purchased online were assessed. The average surface temperature on the product arrival was 14.4℃. The average number of total aerobic bacteria and coliforms in Mille-feuille Nabe was 3.27 log CFU/g and 1.27 log CFU/g, respectively, in meat, and 6.66 log CFU/g and 2.94 log CFU/g, respectively, in vegetables. The average number of total aerobic bacteria and coliforms in fresh spring rolls was 3.82 log CFU/g and 1.93 log CFU/g in meat, and 5.62 log CFU/g and 3.31 log CFU/g in vegetables, respectively. Escherichia coli was detected in bok choy and perilla leaves, with an average of 0.86 log CFU/g. Salmonella spp. and E. coli O157:H7 were not detected in any of the samples; however, Listeria monocytogenes was detected in all three beef samples. Therefore, before consuming meal kits, sufficient washing and heating are recommended to prevent occurrences of food poisoning.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.268-273
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• 2005

Changes in contents of phytochemical compounds (${\beta}$-carotene, ascorbic acid, chlorophylls, total flavonoid, total polyphenol) and hazardous factors (microbial counts, nitrate) of spinach (Spinacia oleracia L.) were investigated by conventional and microwave blanching methods. ${\beta}$-Carotene and chlorophylls contents of spinach were significantly increased by blanching, with conventional blanching resulting in higher contents than microwave blanching. In contrast, contents of ascorbic acid, total flavonoid, and total polyphenol of blanched spinach decreased, with microwave blanching resulting in higher ascorbic acid, total flavonoid, and total polyphenol contents than conventional blanching. Total plate count and total coliforms of blanched spinach significantly decreased, with conventional blanching showing less than 20-25% of microwave blanching. Nitrate content of blanched spinach also showed decreasing pattern, with decrease due to microwave blanching being lower, although not significantly, than that of conventional blanching.