• Journal of the Korean Dietetic Association
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.236-252
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• 2013

The purpose of this study was to assess the microbiological quality of home-delivered meals during production and delivery for children from low-income families. Production flows from a facility in Seoul that provides home-delivered meals were analyzed and the time-temperature of the food was measured. Microbiological assessment was performed for the production environment, personal hygiene, and food samples at each production and delivery step based on the process approach. It took 2 hours or longer from completion of production to meal delivery. An aerobic colony count (ACC) and coliform were not detected at knives, cutting boards, and dish towels. However, ACC (at pre-preparation, preparation, and packing areas) and coliform (at the preparation area) were detected on the hands and gloves of employees. Air-borne bacterial counts varied according to day and preparation area (ND~6 CFU/plate/15 min). Food temperatures, on the completion of production and meal delivery, fell into temperature danger zones. ACC and coliform counts of raw ingredients did not decrease after pre-preparation (washing and sanitizing) for menus involving food preparation with no cook step. ACC decreased after cooking step for menus of food preparation with cook step, but the ACC of the stir-fried and seasoned dried filefish fillet on the completion of cooking was too numerous to count due to improper heating. The ACC of seasoned young Chinese cabbages (a menu with complex food preparation) increased during delivery (from 2.5 log CFU/ml to 5.0 log CFU/ml). This qualitative assessment of foodborne pathogens revealed that B. cereus was detected in vegetable and meat product menus. These results suggest time-temperature control is necessary during production and delivery and management guidelines during production of home-delivered meals are provided for safe production.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.32 no.4 s.91
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• pp.316-323
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• 2006

This study was performed to assess the microbial contamination level for the processing of sandwich products in the middle of Gyeongnam province from December 2004 to January 2005. A total of 85 samples were collected from 5 sandwich shops. These samples were tested sanitary indication bacteria, such as aerobic Plate count(APC), coliforms, and Escherchia coli and pathogenic bacteria such as Escherichia coli O157:H7, Salmonella spp., Listeria monocytogenes, and Staphylococcus aureus. As a result of APC and coliform count ranged 0-4.59 $log_{10}$ CFU/(ml, g, 100 $cm^2$, hand) and 0-3.86 $log_{10}$ CFU/(ml, g, 100 $cm^2$, hand), respectively. Especially, the highly contaminated items for APC were confirmed 1.64-4.59 $log_{10}$ CFU/g to employees', raw materials and sandwich in all items. Escherichia coli was isolated from 5 samples. Listeria monocytogenes and Staphylococcus aureus were detected in 1 sample and 11 samples from utensil, raw materials and sandwiches, respectively. However, Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Salmonella spp. were not detected in anywhere. For the production of safety sandwich, education of sanitation for employees, control of raw materials, and continuous monitoring for microorganism will be required.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Service
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.209-216
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• 2013

A total of 301 samples of bovine liver, spleen and omasum were collected from butchers and restaurants in Gwangju, Korea during 2012 and all samples were subjected to bacteriological examination and antibiotic residues. Also, this study was performed to survey the consciousness for hygiene of livestock workers who are handling bovine by-products in Gwangju. The detection rate of aerobic plate count (APC) was higher in summer than in other seasons in all by-products (P=0.000). The detection rate of E. coli count was lower in the liver than the spleen and omasum (P=0.000). Twenty four of the samples (8.0%) were contaminated with S. aureus while one spleen sample (0.3%) was contaminated with L. monocytogenes and finally 10 (3.3%) of the liver and omasum samples were contaminated with Cl. perfringens. Five of the twenty-four S. aureus isolates harbored enterotoxin gene. However, the cpe gene of Cl. perfingens was not detected among any of the 10 isolates. Antibiotic residues were not detected in the liver samples. The consciousness survey's results showed that most of them (58.8%) were safe.

• Food Science and Preservation
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.429-435
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• 2011

The demand of packaged baby leaves has been increased for its convenient use as fresh-cut produce. This investigation was aimed to explore the effects of different sanitizers on the quality parameters of 'Tah Tasai' Chinese cabbage (Brassica campestris var. narinosa) baby leaves. Thirteen days old baby leaves were harvested and washed in tap water (TW), 100 ppm chlorine solution (Cl), 2 ppm ozonated water ($O_3$), 15 ppm chlorine dioxide solution ($ClO_2$) and washing with 0.2% citric acid solution followed by 50% ethanol spray (CA+Et). The samples were then packaged in 50 ${\mu}m$ polyethylene bags and stored at $5^{\circ}C$ for 10 days. Off-odor of packaged baby leaves was not detected during storage. There was no significant difference in color parameters among the treatments. Samples treated with $O_3$ showed substantially higher electrolyte leakage throughout the storage. This treatment also rendered a higher accumulation of $CO_2$ in the packages. Samples treated with Cl and CA+Et maintained good overall visual quality with higher scores compared to that of $O_3$ and $ClO_2$. Although Cl treatment showed lower number of total aerobic count at the beginning of storage, citric acid in combination with ethanol treatment was more effective until the end of storage. The combined treatment also showed comparatively lower coliform plate count. This result indicates that citric acid wash followed by ethanol spray could be an alternative to chlorine for environment friendly sanitization of baby leaves.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Service
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.313-319
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• 2012

Consumer's preference and microbial inspections on fresh raw beef were carried out to understand the actual market status in Gwanju, Korea. Over 15 questions on questionnaire by 1,111 randomly selected respondents between April and May in 2011, results showed 65.5% positive on eating fresh raw beef, 63.8% negative on good hygiene condition of fresh raw beef, and 72.5% positive on the secure of the hygiene-safety for priority program, respectively. For microbial inspections, a total of 302 samples were collected from fresh raw beef purchased from slaughterhouse (n=122), transport (n=69) and consumer (n=81) stage, from lettuce (n=30) at consumer stage. The aerobic plate count (APC), E. coli count and food borne bacteria such as Salmonella spp., Listeria monocytogenes, Staphylococcus(S.) aureus and E. coli O157:H7 were tested in the samples. As results, the level of count on APC of fresh raw beef ranged $6{\times}10^1{\sim}1.8{\times}10^5CFU/g$ from slaughterhouse, $2{\times}10^2{\sim}8.3{\times}10^5CFU/g$ from transport stage and $1{\times}10^2{\sim}4{\times}10^5CFU/g$ from consumer stage. The level of count on E. coli of fresh raw beef ranged $1{\sim}9{\times}10^1CFU/g$ from slaughterhouse, $1{\sim}7{\times}10CFU/g$ from transport stage and $1{\sim}5.5{\times}10CFU/g$ from consumer stage. In total, 26 S. aureus were isolated, 10 (14.5%) from fresh raw beef at transport stage, 12 (14.8%) from fresh raw beef and 4 (13.3%) from lettuce at consumer stage. Enterotoxin of S. aureus was not detected among 26 isolates. All S. aureus isolates were typed using a DiversiLab$^{TM}$ rep-PCR system for genetic similarity test, showing over 95% of genetic relationship amon isolates.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.45 no.4
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• pp.560-564
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• 2012

This study was undertaken to assess the microbiological quality and prevalence of pathogens in organic vegetables produced in Korea. A total of 189 organically grown vegetable samples (perilla leaf 50, lettuce 50, tomato 39, cucumber 50) were analyzed for the presence of aerobic plate count, Escherichia coli O157:H7, Salmonella spp., Staphylococcus aureus, Listeria monocytogenes, and Yersinia enterocolitica. The total aerobic plate counts were in the range of 4.2 to $7.7log\;CFU\;g^{-1}$ for perilla leaf, 5.0 to $8.0log\;CFU\;g^{-1}$ for lettuce, 4.0 to $7.5log\;CFU\;g^{-1}$ for tomato, and 6.6 to $8.6log\;CFU\;g^{-1}$ for cucumber. The highest counts were found in cucumber. E. coli O157:H7, Salmonella spp., S. aureus, L. monocytogenes, and Y. enterocolitica were not detected from any organically grown vegetable samples. This research suggests that continuous monitoring in organic vegetables is required to improve fresh produce safety.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.193-200
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• 2002

Three species of fish such as yellow tail (Seriola quinqueradiata), bastard halibut (Paralichthys olivaceus) and black rockfish (Sebastes schlegeli) were exposed to the dinoflagellate, Cochlodinium polykrikoides, and quality changes of fish after death were investigated during the extended storage. The volatile basic nitrogen (VBN) and aerobic plate counts (APC) were determined in the muscles of fish, arid organoleptic change was evaluated in the kills, skins and muscles. APC in all the fish species did not change in 6 hours of storage, but increased gradually thereafter. VBN contents in the muscles continuously increased throughout the storage of fish. Slightly higher levels of APC and VBN were observed in the tested fish than control fish, which had been exposed to air until died and stored in seawater without treating C. polykrikoides. After 12 hours of storage, APC and VBN contents in the muscles did not exceed the initial spoilage limit, 10$^{5}$ CFU/g fur APC and 30 mg/100 g for VBN, in all of the fish including control fish. Organoleptic change in fish treated with C. polykrikoides did not greatly differ from the control fish. After 8 hours of storage, distinctive deterioration of muscle was detected organoleptically in the treated fish and the control fish. The compiled result indicated that moribund fish exposed to C. polykrikoides bloom should be handled properly in 6 hours of storage after death of fish.

• Food Science and Preservation
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.317-322
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• 2005

The purposes of this study were to assess the microbiological contamination level of various disposable kitchen utensils and evaluate the effectiveness of gamma irradiation as a sterilization process for the utensils. The 51 kinds in 17 groups of disposable kitchen utensils were tested for the enumeration of total aerobic plate count, coliforms, fungi and Salmonella. Generally, cell density of microorganisms in disposable kitchen utensils were lower than that of cooking utensils currently using in kitchen. The survivals of total aerobic plate counts, putrefactive bacteria, on the surface of the disposable utensils were ranged up to $10^3\;CFU/100\;cm^2$. Filamentous fungi were detected in 13 samples. Coliform bacteria were detected in two kinds of samples but Salmonella spp. was detected below detection limits in all the samples. The microorganisms survived on the surface of utensils were effectively eliminated by gamma irradiation process at 3 kGy.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.141-147
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• 2010

This study evaluated the antimicrobial effects of retort process and gamma irradiation on reduction of total bacterial populations in spicy chicken sauce, which is served on top of the steamed rice. Commercial spicy chicken sauce was treated with retort and gamma ray at 0, 1, 3, 5, and 10 kGy. Total aerobic bacterial populations were then enumerated on plate count agar and isolated bacteria from the test samples were identified using PCR analysis. Moreover, gamma ray sensitivity of identified bacteria was evaluated by $D_{10}$ values, and genotoxicity of gamma-irradiated samples was examined. Gamma irradiation at 3 kGy reduced total aerobic bacterial cell counts in spicy chicken sauce below detection limit, but total aerobic bacterial cell counts in test samples treated with retort were 2.1 log CFU/g. Identified bacteria from the samples were Bacillus subtilis, B. amyloiquefaciense, and B. pumils, and the $D_{10}$ values for B. subtilis and B. cereus were 0.39 ($R^2\;=\;0.921$) and 0.28 log CFU/g ($R^2\;=\;0.904$), respectively. The SOS chromotest showed that the gamma-irradiated spicy chicken sauce did not cause mutagenicity. These results indicate that gamma irradiation of spicy chicken sauce could be useful in ensuring microbial safety.

• Korean journal of food and cookery science
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• v.13 no.5
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• pp.592-601
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• 1997

The purposes of this study were to develop Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point-based standardized recipe applicable to cook/chilled soy sauceglazed mackerel and to evaluate the qualities related to the product flow of this item. After conducting experimental cooking, preliminary test, and analysis of recipes, critical control points were identified, control methods were determined, and HACCP-based recipe was standardized. At each critical control point, time-temperature profile was recorded and microbiological analysis (total aerobic plate counts, psychrotrophic plate count, coliform, and fecal coliform count), chemical analysis (pH, acid value and volatile based nitrogen (VBN)) and sensory evaluation of the item were done. Time-temperature data showed that the time the menu item had passed through temperature danger zone (5∼60$^{\circ}C$) during all phases was 60 min. At rapid cooling, but after cooling at room temperature, the temperature of this menu item did not drop below the ambient temperature. The results of microbiological test were negative throughout all phases following cooking and the results of chemical analysis did not change significantly in terms of storage periods except for VBN which increased on 7th day significantly(p<0.05). After steam/convection oven reheating and microwave oven reheating, the sensory score of the only appearance decreased significantly related to the storage time of overall quality profiles. But significant differences were not detected according to two reheating methods. In conclusion, this HACCP-based recipe was considered as an effective tool for assuring microbial as well as sensory quality of this cook/chilled item.