• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.37-44
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• 2020

This study investigated the probability of foodborne illness caused by raw oyster consumption contaminated with high risk Vibrio species such as V. vulnificus and V. cholerae. Eighty-eight raw oyster samples were collected from the south coast, west coast and Seoul areas, and examined for the prevalence of high risk Vibrio species. The growth patterns of V. vulnificus and V. cholerae in raw oysters were evaluated, and consumption frequency and amounts for raw oyster were investigated from a Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. With the collected data, a risk assessment simulation was conducted to estimate the probability of foodborne illness caused by intake of raw oysters, using @RISK. Of 88 raw oysters, there were no V. vulnificus- or V. cholerae-positive samples. Thus, initial contamination levels of Vibrio species in raw oysters were estimated by the statistical methods developed by Vose and Sanaa, and the estimated value for the both Vibrio spp. was -3.6 Log CFU/g. In raw oyster, cell counts of V. vulnificus and V. cholerae remained unchanged. The incidence of raw oyster consumers was 0.35%, and the appropriate probabilistic distribution for the consumption amounts was the exponential distribution. A risk assessment simulation model was developed with the collected data, and the probability of the foodborne illness caused by the consumption of raw oyster was 9.08×10^-15 for V. vulnificus and 8.16×10^-13 for V. cholerae. Consumption frequency was the first factor, influencing the probability of foodborne illness.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.43 no.1
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• pp.91-97
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• 2011

This study was performed to assess the microbiological quality and potential health risk of fresh-cut produce and organic vegetables sampled from supermarkets and department stores in Korea. A total of 96 samples comprised three types of fresh-cut produce (sprouts, mixed-vegetables, fruit) and three types of organic vegetables (lettuce, perilla leaf, green pepper). The samples were analyzed for total viable cell counts, coliforms, Enterobacteriaceae, Escherichia coli, Salmonella spp., Listeria monocytogenes, Vibrio parahaemolyticus, Bacillus cereus, and Staphylococcus aureus. The microbiological counts of fruit were very low. Sprouts were highly contaminated by total viable cell counts ($8.3{\pm}0.57$ log CFU/g), Enterobacteriaceae ($7.1{\pm}0.76$ log CFU/g), and coliforms ($4.9{\pm}0.40$ log MPN/g), and showed a high incidence level of B. cereus ($2.9{\pm}0.48$ log CFU/g). Of the fresh-cut produce analyzed, six (13.6%) mixed-vegetable salads were E. coli positive. S. aureus was detected in only one sprout sample and one mixed-vegetable salad, and its contamination levels were under 2 log CFU/g, which is appropriate for Korean standards (<3 log CFU/g) of fresh-cut produce. Of the organic vegetables, lettuces were highly contaminated by total viable cell counts ($6.4{\pm}0.74$ log CFU/g), Enterobacteriaceae ($5.7{\pm}0.98$ log CFU/g), and coliforms ($3.7{\pm}1.72$ log MPN/g). Two (13.6%) organic lettuce and one (7.1%) perillar leaf sample were E. coli positive, and S. aureus was detected in one lettuce and two perilla leaf samples. Salmonella spp., Vibrio parahaemolyticus, and Listeria monocytogenes were not detected in any of the fresh-cut produce or organic vegetables analyzed.

• Food Science and Preservation
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• v.16 no.6
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• pp.965-970
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• 2009

PCR technology has been widely used to detect and quantify microbial pathogens in foodstuffs, because the technique is rapid, sensitive, and selective. In this study, detection of contaminating pathogenic bacteria on shells of chicken eggs was performed using both a commercial multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) kit and a viable count method employing a selective medium. The PCR kit was capable of detecting Campylobacter jejuni, Escherichia coli O157:H7, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus, Vibrio parahaemolyticus, Listeria monocytogenes, Yersinia enterocolitica, Salmonella species, and Shigella species. Using the PCR method, five bacterial species were detected from 30 samples (33.3%) of 90 batches of eggs commercially available in a market. PCR products from B. cereus, S. aureus, L. monocytogenes, Y. enterocolitica, and E. coli O157:H7 were detected, and the numbers and frequencies of positive samples were 17 (18.8%), 12 (13.3%), 15 (16.6%), 16 (17.7%),and 4 (4.4%), respectively. None of any Salmonella species, C. jejuni, V. parahaemolyticus, or Shigella species was detected in this study. The results of PCR testing were confirmed using a typical viable count method employing a selective medium. We suggest that the multiplex polymerase chain reaction (mPCR) assay is a rapid and reliable method for detection of pathogenic bacteria contaminating eggs.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.271-278
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• 2006

To investigate the variations of physico-chemical factors and microbial population, in ten stations at water region of coastal area of Chagwi-Do, Nutritive salts, water temperature, transparency, suspended solid, salinity, COD, DO, pH, heterotrophic bacteria, coliform group and Vibrio spp. were analysed three times in September, November in 2004 and February in 2005. Heterotrophic bacteria in surface water was $3.5X10^1{\sim}1.16X10^3cfu/ml,\;1.0X10^2{\sim}5.2X10^1cfu/ml\;2.0X10^1{\sim}7.6X10^1cfu/ml$ and bottom water counted $7.0X10^2{\sim}1.0X10^3cfu/ml,\;1.4X10^1{\sim}2.5X10^2cfu/ml\;2.0X10^2{\sim}4.2X10^1cfu/ml$ in September, November in 2004 and February in 2005, respectively. The cell number of total coliform bacteria in the surface water amounted to $0{\sim}4.3X10^2cfu/ml,\;0{\sim}6.0X10^1cfu/ml,\;0{\sim}1.0X10^1cfu/ml$ and bottom water amounted $0{\sim}2.2X10^2cfu/ml,\;0{\sim}5.4X0^2cfu/ml,\;0{\sim}2.0X10^1cfu/ml$ in September, November in 2004 and February in 2005, respectively. As for Vibrio spp., the cell number in the surface water was $1.0X10^1{\sim}2.5X10^2cfu/ml,\;1.0X10^1{\sim}2.0X10^1cfu/ml,\;0cfu/ml$ and bottom water counted $1.0X10^1{\sim}5.2X10^2cfu/ml,\;0cfu/ml,\;2.0X10^1cfu/ml$ in September, November in 2004 and February in 2005, respectively.

• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.59 no.1
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• pp.63-68
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• 2016

This study was performed to assess the microbiological quality of Brassica campestris var. narinosa microgreen from harvesting and processing steps. The samples were analyzed for total viable cell counts (TVC), coliforms, Enterobacteriaceae, Escherichia coli, Salmonella spp., Listeria monocytogenes, Vibrio parahaemolyticus, Bacillus cereus, and Staphylococcus aureus. The total viable counts of microgreen (whole leaves) and environment samples from harvesting steps were higher than 6.8 log CFU/g and the contamination level of coliforms in the samples were 3.2 log CFU/g and 3.5 log CFU/g of microgreen and soil, respectively. In case of microgreen samples collected from processing steps, the contamination level of TVC and coliforms were higher in raw materials than samples obtained from later stages of processing, i.e. washing, drain, and final products. The contamination levels of B. cereus in raw materials and environments decreased approximately 1.4 log CFU/g in final products. S. aureus was detected in soil samples but Salmonella spp., Listeria monocytogenes, Vibrio parahaemolyticus and pathogenic E. coli was not detected. In order to identify the sources of contamination for microgreen, the genetic similarity of B. cereus isolates obtained from harvesting and processing steps were compared using the repetitive-sequence-based polymerase chain reaction method. B. cereus isolates obtained from harvesting environments and microgreen were clustered with a similarity greater than 95%. In case of B. cereus isolates obtained from microgreen and environmental samples at processing steps showed low genetic similarity.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.31-35
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• 2002

According to food poisoning statistic data of 2000, the food poisoning outbreaks have occurred mainly by meat (27.9%), shellfish and its processed products (26.0%), and ready-to eat meals (24.0%) such as Kimbap and packed lunch boxes. The major causative flood poisoning bacteria were Salmonella spp. (35.6%), Staphylococcus aureus(11.3%) and Vibrio parahaemolyticus (3.2%). In this study, we conducted the isolation and enumeration for S. aureus in Kimbap. This monitoring data will be applied to the following study, risk assessment. The Kimbap samples were collected from department stores, convenient stores and snack bars located in Seoul, Busan, Daejeon, and Gwangju. The overall isolation rate of S. aureus from 214 Kimbap samples was 34.1% and the average count was 623 cells. Enterotoxin typing test for isolates showed 42.5%, 4.1% and 2.7% for type, A, B and C, respectively. There was no significant seasonal difference in S. aureus isolation, but the average count in summer(793 cfu/g) was 1.8 times higher than that of winter(446 cfu/g).

• Journal of fish pathology
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.91-97
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• 2005

Bio-secure culture of olive flounder Paralichthys olivaceus in the IBK (Intensive Bioproduction Korean) recirculating system with dry pellet was tested for 6 months. The IBK system consists of 12 rearing tanks, 6 sedimentation tanks. 4-sectioned submerged biofilter chamber and channels. The size of each rearing tank was 3m in diameter and 1m in depth. The size of each biofilter chamber was $3.1\times3.3\times2.0$ m (D) and was filled with corrugated plastic plates as a biofilter medium. Total surface area of the biofilter was 3,789.7 $m^2$ Water was circulated by one of two vertical axial pump and circulating rate was about 34 times per day. A UV light sterilizer was used to treat inlet sea water with the flow rate of 4 ton/hr. All fish were treated with 150 ppm formalin 3 times with 5 day interval before stocking. It took 60 days for 'conditioning' the biofilter with the stocking density of 4.5 kg of fish $m^2$. The concentrations of ammonium-nitrogen, nitrite-nitrogen and nitrate-nitrogen in the system remained at the range of 0.096-0.315 mg/L, 0.015-0.504 mg/L, and 2.530-39.517 mg/L, respectively. Water temperature fluctuated from 17.5 to 25.1$^{\circ}C$ and salinity was from 30.1 to 33.5 ppt during rearing period. The fish grew from the average weight of 615.2 g to 1,201.1 g for 180 days. Initial and final fish densities were 8.4 and 15.9$kg/m^2$, Survival rate was 97.1 %. Neither parasites nor noticeable diseases was observed during the raring period even Vibrio spp. were detected from some fish in the system.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.40 no.5
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• pp.562-567
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• 2008

The primary objective of this study was to select a probiotic starter for cheonggukjang using 60 strains isolated from rice straw. Among isolated strains, only 8 strains including strain B-59 evidenced proteolytic, amylolytic and soybean activity. These 8 strains were all gram-positive, spore-forming rods. The B-59 strain evidenced antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aureus, Listeria monocytogenes, Pseudomonas fluorescens, and Vibrio parahaemolyticus. The antimicrobial activity of isolated B-59 was verified by its ability to inhibit the growth of S. aureus, L. monocytogenes, P. fluorescens, and V. parahaemolyticus. The selected B-59 strain was indentified as Bacillus licheniformis, as shown by a result of 99.0% homology upon API kit analysis. The selected B-59 strain also displayed viability in pH 2.5 artificial gastric juice, artificial bile acid, NaCl (2, 4, 8, 16, 32%), and ethanol (4, 8, 16, 32%). The antioxidative activity of the strain B-59 culture was assessed via a DPPH free radical scavenging activity assay. The activity increased with an increasing in the fermentation time of strain B-59 for 20 hours.

• 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.

• Journal of fish pathology
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.369-377
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• 2010

The epidemiological study was performed to survey the prevalence of fish pathogens of cultured olive flounder, Paralichthys olivaceus collected in Pohang, Ulsan.Gijang, Keoje and Wando area of Korea from 2005 to 2007. In this study, the fish pathogens were detected from 1,528 among 2,238 fish samples and annual incidences were 60.6% in 2005, 66.7% in 2006 and 72.3% in 2007, respectively. Seasonal prevalence was 63.5% in February, 67.3% in May, 75.1% in August and 64.2% in November for three years. The detection rates of parasites, bacteria or viruses were 36.7%, 32.8% and 31.4%, respectively. 775 cases (34.6%) among 2,238 fish samples showed mixed infection with a different pathogens. The distribution of specific diseases showed that detection rates of diseases occurring the most frequently during the study period were Trichodina spp., (28.2%), viral nervous necrosis virus (24.3%), Vibrio (11.6%), viral hemorrhagic septicaemia virus (10.5%).