• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.50-56
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• 2017

The purpose of this study was to investigate the microbiological contamination of water and drinking cups in springs and to estimate the toxin gene, enterotoxin production ability and antibiotic susceptibility of foodborne pathogens. Ten spring water and 34 drinking cups were tested. The average number of total aerobic bacteria and coliform bacteria in spring water were 1.8 log CFU/mL and 1.2 log CFU/mL, and in drinking cups were $4.7log\;CFU/100cm^2$ and $1.7log\;CFU/100cm^2$. Salmonella spp., Staphylococcus aureus, E. coli O157:H7, Listeria monocytogenes, Vibrio parahaemolyticus, Yersinia enterocolitica were not isolated from all of samples but Bacillus cereus was detected in 5 (14.7%) of 34 drinking cups. The nheA and entFM genes were major enterotoxin genes in B. cereus isolated from drinking cups. All of B. cereus tested in this study produce non-heamolytic enterotoxin but only 2 isolates possessed heamolysin BL enterotoxin producing ability. B. cereus was resistant to ${\beta}-lactam$ antibiotics. These results revealed that the sanitary conditions of drinking cups in spring should be improved promptly. The substitution carrying a personal drinking cup for the public drinking cups equipped in springs is suggested to prevent food-borne illness.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.43 no.7
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• pp.1009-1016
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• 2014

This study investigated the probiotic and functional characteristics of Mukeunji starter, Lactobacillus curvatus ML17, isolated from Mukeunji. Lb. curvatus ML17 was confirmed as a safe microorganism due to its non-hemolytic activity and non-production of harmful ${\beta}$-glucuronidase and ${\beta}$-glucosidase. Tolerance to artificial gastric and bile juice of Lb. curvatus ML17 was investigated. After incubation in artificial gastric and bile juice, the number of surviving cells was $1.38{\times}10^8$ CFU/mL. According to the results of adhesion assay, this strain also exhibited good adhesion to Caco-2 cells. Lb. curvatus ML17 showed good antimicrobial activity against food borne pathogens, especially Micrococcus luteus, Bacillus cereus, Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Cell-free extract of Lb. curvatus ML17 exhibited high levels of DPPH scavenging capacity and inhibitory effects on growth of AGS human gastric adenocarcinoma cells and HT-29 human colon carcinoma cells. These results suggest that Lb. curvatus ML17 has potential for application in functional foods.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.46 no.4
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• pp.450-458
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• 2017

In this study, the antimicrobial activity of black garlic pomace extract (BGPE) was examined, and its washing applicability to spinach was investigated. BGPE had antimicrobial activity against both Gram-positive (Listeria monocytogenes and Staphylococcus aureus) and Gram-negative (Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Salmonella Typhimurium) food-borne pathogens. In particular, antimicrobial activities of BGPE against Gram-positive bacteria were higher than those against Gram-negative bacteria. Spinach samples were treated with 0.5% BGPE to determine the effect of BGPE on reducing naturally existing microorganisms on the surface of spinach leaves. BGPE treatment reduced populations of total aerobic bacteria and yeast/molds in spinach by 1.23~1.35 log CFU/g and 0.82~1.12 log CFU/g during 9 days of storage, respectively, compared with those of control samples. After treatment, there were no significant differences in color quality such as Hunter L, a, and b values and total color difference (${\Delta}E$). These results clearly indicate that BGPE treatment can be useful for improving microbiological safety and maintaining color quality of spinach during storage.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.252-260
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• 2009

Whereas the numbers of childcare centers and kindergartens are increasing rapidly, systematic management to control the food safety of foodservice operation is not yet well established. Samples from 12 centers in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province were collected to assess the microbiological quality of 32 raw materials, 24 cooked foods, 76 food-contact surfaces (knives, cutting boards, dish towels and gloves), 17 employees' hands and 12 air-borne bacteria. The microbiological analyses were performed for aerobic plate counts (APC), Enterobacteriaceae, E. coli and 7 pathogens (B. cereus, C. jejuni, C. perfringens, L. monocytogenes, Salmonella spp., S. aureus, and V. parahaemolyticus). Among raw materials, E. coli ($1.39{\sim}2.08\;\log\;CFU/g$) were detected in 4 out of 6 meats and 7.46 log CFU/g of APC in tofu. High enterobacteriaceae levels of 4.23, 5.14 and 4.19 log CFU/g were found in cucumber salad, steamed spinach with seasonings and steamed bean sprout with seasonings, respectively. No pathogens were found in all samples except for C. perfringens detected from raw spinach and raw lotus root. Only APC and enterobacteriaceae were found in food-contact surfaces. Two of the 23 knives and three of the 24 kitchen boards showed over 500 CFU/$100\;cm^2$ of APC; also, APC levels (5.03 to 5.44 log CFU/g) were detected in 4 of the 12 dish towels. Only one glove showed Enterobacteriaceae (2.44 log CFU/glove) contamination. Enterobacteriaceae were found in 2 employees' hands ($2.37{\sim}4.44\;\log\;CFU$/hand) among the 16 employees. The contamination levels of air-borne bacteria were shown unacceptable in two (2.25 and 2.30 log CFU/petri-film/15 min) out of the 12 kitchen areas. These results suggest that the microbiological hazards in some foods and environments are not well controlled and thus a guideline should be provided to ensure the food safety in childcare center and kindergarten foodservice operations.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.309-314
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• 2015

The purpose of this study is to monitor the microbial contamination of ice collected from food stores or restaurants from all over the country. From the ice collected on a regional basis, it was observed that the average number of total aerobic bacteria (TAB) of samples from Seoul was the highest, showing 2.31 log CFU/g, while that of samples from Jeolla-do was the lowest, showing 1.83 log CFU/g. The food-borne pathogens (Staphylococcus aureus, Listeria monocytogenes) were not detected from the ice. Also the average number of TAB of packaged ice (commercial ice) was 0.45 log CFU/g lower than that of ice from ice-making machine. Among three types of stores (the bakery, the dessert store and the beverage store), ice from dessert store showed the highest number of TAB (2.37 log CFU/g). This study suggests that the hygienic management of the ice from the stores is necessary. Therefore, to ensure the hygienic management of ice, not only the ice-making machine should be sanitized on a regular basis but also a thorough individual hygiene is required from food manufacturing workers.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.472-479
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• 2002

The antimicrobial effects of metabolites from isolated strains from feces of Korean newborn baby and from Dongchimi against six food-borne microorganisms, and characteristics of the metabolites were investigated.. The metabolites from isolated strains adjusted pH to 3.5, 4.0, and 4.5 showed strong growth inhibition against S. Typhimurium, and S. Enteritidis. The metabolites has kept its inhibition activities to the pathogens after catalase, trypsin or pepsin treatment. In addition, antimicrobial activity of metabolites was not decreased by heat treatment at $121^{\circ}C$ for 15 min. D2 and F35-2 strains were confirmed homofermentative and F20-3 was heterofermentative bacteria identified by final organic acid and gas production. The amount of lactic acid produced by D2 and F35-2 strains after 24 h of incubation was 1.84 and 1.85% respectively, but F20-3 strain produced acetic acid (0.22%) and lactic acid (0.91%).

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.38-43
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• 2018

A few authors have already investigated microbial contamination of leafy vegetables in distribution condition and examined the effect of temperature abuse on microbial safety or product quality. But this study analyzed proliferation of indicator microorganisms and food poisoning bacteria in real situation in Korean agroindustry and investigated washing effect of micobial contamination on leaf surface. Leafy vegetables were found to be contaminated with aerobic bacteria at $0.1{\sim}0.32{\times}10^3CFU/g$. Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus cereus were detected in leafy vegetables at $0{\sim}0.54{\times}10^3CFU/g$. However, Salmonella spp., Coliforms, Clostridium spp. and Listeria spp. were not detected in any samples. Indicator microorganisms and food poisoning bacteria on leafy vegetables increased at room temperature when simulatively distributed condition. After clean-up, the indicator microorganisms and food poisoning bacteria of kimchi cabbage, lettuce and perilla leaf were decreased to a very low level. This study suggests that it is necessary to improve the level of hygiene management such as use of cold chain system and hygiene management of transport tools during the distribution process for fresh leafy vegetables.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.39 no.3
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• pp.299-303
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• 2007

The objective of this study was the development of immunochromatography (ICG) for the rapid and accurate detection of Listeria monocytogenes. Here, monoclonal antibodies (MAb) were conjugated with 40 nm colloidal gold particles, where the conjugate was used as the detection reagent in the ICG. The ICG was composed of three pads (sample, conjugate, and absorbance pads) and one nitrocellulose membrane. The colloidal gold-MAb conjugate was applied to the conjugate pad, and the test line and control line on the membrane were treated with MAb (FKLM-3BI2-37) and anti-mouse IgG, respectively. The detection limit of the ICG was $10^{5}$ cell/mL and it showed no cross-reaction to food borne pathogens. We inoculated meat and lettuce samples with various counts of L. monocytogenes, and analyzed them by ICG. All the inoculated meat samples gave positive results after enrichment for 24 h in LEB. These results indicate that ICG was able to serve as a primary screening tool for L. monocytogenes in various foods and agricultural products within 20 min after enrichment.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.32 no.7
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• pp.1053-1058
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• 2003

The solvent extracts of Houttuynia cordata root, which were extracted by using several solvents with different polarities, were prepared for utility as a natural preservatives. The antimicrobial activity was investigated by disc diffusion method against 22 microorganisms consisting of food borne pathogens, food poisioning microorganisms and food-related bacteria. The extraction yields were 15.7%, 3.7%, 0.13%, 0.5% and 5.9% in ethanol, chloroform ethylacetate, butanol and aqueous fractions, respectively. Antimicrobial activities were shown in ethanol, ethylacetate and butanol fraction of Houttuynia cordata root. However chloroform and aqueous fractions showed weak antimicrobial activity against the tested bacteria. Among the four fractions, ethylacetate fraction showed the strongest antimicrobial activities against microorganisms tested, such as B. megaterium, E. coli, K. pneumoniae and S. typhimurium. The polyphenolic compounds widely occuring in the traditional medicine plants have been reported to possess high antimicrobial activity. The polyphenolic compound in ethylacetate and butanol fraction were 35.9% and 16.0%, ethanol, chloroform and aqueous fraction were 5.0%, 2.3% and 1.7%, respectively. There are some relationship between antimicrobial activity and polyphenol content in natural plants. The ethylacetate fraction could be suitable for the development of a food preservative.

• 한국균학회소식:학술대회논문집
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• 2018.05a
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• pp.13-13
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• 2018

Alternaria is a ubiquitous fungal genus, widely distributed in the environment and a range of different habitats. It includes both plant pathogenic and saprophytic species, which can affect crops in the field or cause post-harvest spoilage of plant fruits and kernels. Numerous Alternaria species cause damage to agricultural products including cereal grains, fruits and vegetables, and are responsible for severe economic losses worldwide. Most Alternaria species have the ability to produce a variety of secondary metabolites, which may play important roles in plant pathology as well as food quality and safety. Alternariol (AOH), alternariol monomethyl ether (AME), tenuazonic acid (TeA), tentoxin (TEN) and altenuene (ALT) are considered the main Alternaria compounds thought to pose a risk to human health. However, food-borne Alternaria species are able to produce many additional metabolites, whose toxicity has been tested incompletely or not tested at all. Both alternariols are mutagenic and their presence in cereal grain has been associated with high levels of human esophageal cancer in China. TeA exerts cytotoxic and phytotoxic properties, and is acutely toxic in different animal species, causing hemorrhages in several organs. The possible involvement of TA in the etiology of onyalai, a human hematological disorder occurring in Africa, has been suggested. Altertoxins (ALXs) have been found to be more potent mutagens and acutely toxic to mice than AOH and AME. Other metabolites, such as TEN, are reported to be phytotoxins, and their toxicity on animals has not been demonstrated up to now. Vegetable foods infected by Alternaria rot are obviously not suitable for consumption. Thus, whole fresh fruits are not believed to contribute significantly with Alternaria toxins to human exposure. However, processed vegetable products may introduce considerable amounts of these toxins to the human diet if decayed or moldy fruit is not removed before processing. The taxonomy of the genus is not well defined yet, which makes it difficult to establish an accurate relationship between the contaminant species and their associated mycotoxins. Great efforts have been made to organize taxa into subgeneric taxonomic levels, especially for the small-spored, food associated species, which are closely related and constitute the most relevant food pathogens from this genus. Several crops of agricultural value are susceptible to infection by different Alternaria species and can contribute to the entry of Alternaria mycotoxins in the food chain. The distribution of Alternaria species was studied in different commodities grown in Argentina. These food populations were characterized through a polyphasic approach, with special interest in their secondary metabolite profiles, to understand their full chemical potential. Alternaria species associated with tomato, bell pepper, blueberry, apples and wheat cultivated in Argentina showed a surprisingly high metabolomic and mycotoxigenic potential. The natural occurrence of Alternaria toxins in these foods was also investigated. The results here presented will provide background for discussion on regulations for Alternaria toxins in foods.