• Food Science and Biotechnology
• /
• v.17 no.3
• /
• pp.483-488
• /
• 2008

Foodborne pathogenic bacteria in various food samples in Korea were monitored and the obtained data was statistically analyzed. A total of 1,240 food samples including 280 sashimi, 244 processed frozen products, 258 kimbab (cooked rice wrapped with seaweed), 337 soybean pastes were obtained from 7 cities including Seoul in Korea. Microorganisms tested were Bacillus cereus, Salmonella spp., Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, E. coli O157:H7, Vibrio parahaemolyticus, Yersinia enterocolitica, Listeria monocytogenes, Campylobacter jejuni, and Clostridium perfringens. The contaminated microorganisms in food samples were comprised of 10.55% B. cereus, 2.7% S. aureus, 2.0% V. parahaemolyticus, 0.8% C. perfringens, 0.2% Y. enterocolitica, and 0.1% of L. monocytogenes, respectively. Salmonella spp., C. jejuni, and E. coli O157:H7 were not detected in any of the food samples. Particularly, B. cereus that harbors the enterotoxin gene was detected in various foods and regions in Korea, therefore it should be a given special consideration not to allow the hazardous level of contamination.

• Journal of Biosystems Engineering
• /
• v.39 no.4
• /
• pp.345-351
• /
• 2014

Purpose: Rapid detection of bacteria is very important in agricultural and food industries to prevent many foodborne illnesses. The objective of this study was to develop a portable nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR)-based system to detect foodborne pathogens (E. coli). This study was focused on developing a method to detect low concentrations of magnetic nanoparticles using NMR techniques. Methods: NMR relaxometry was performed to examine the NMR properties of iron nanoparticle mixtures with different concentrations by using a 1 T permanent magnet magnetic resonance imaging system. Exponential curve fitting (ECF) and inverse Laplace transform (ILT) methods were used to estimate the NMR relaxation time constants, $T_1$ and $T_2$, of guar gum solutions with different iron nanoparticle concentrations (0, $10^{-3}$, $10^{-4}$, $10^{-5}$, $10^{-6}$, and $10^{-7}M$). Results: The ECF and ILT methods did not show much difference in these values. Analysis of the NMR relaxation data showed that the ILT method is comparable to the classical ECF method and is more sensitive to the presence of iron nanoparticles. This study also showed that the spin-spin relaxation time constants acquired by a Carr-Purcell-Meiboom-Gill (CPMG) pulse sequence are more useful for determining the concentration of iron nanoparticle solutions comparwith the spin-lattice relaxation time constants acquired by an inversion recovery pulse sequence. Conclusions: We conclude that NMR relaxometry that utilizes CPMG pulse sequence and ILT analysis is more suitable for detecting foodborne pathogens bound to magnetic nanoparticles in agricultural and food products than using inversion recovery pulse sequence and ECF analysis.

• The Korean Journal of Community Living Science
• /
• v.15 no.2
• /
• pp.167-177
• /
• 2004

The number of foodborne salmonellosis was estimated by using microbial risk assessment(MRA) methodology and the possibility of application was studied through comparison with previous results. The contamination levels of Salmonella sp. were estimated by using published domestic studies(1997∼2000) and monitoring data (1999∼2001) from food-safety related institutes. Data on food consumption came from the 2001 National Health and Nutrition Survey, and dose-response models from studies in other countries. Simulation results showed that there were 753,368 cases of salmonellosis in Korea in 1 year, which is about 115 times that reported in previous years and lower than the WHO's estimation increase. From these results, microbial risk assessment is likely to be available for estimation of the number of foodborne illnesses and determination of the order of priority in food-safety management. Butthe verification methods are not established and most of the data on contamination levels of foodborne bacteria, food consumption, and dose-response relationships have not been established. In addition, the actual conditions of circulation, storage and cooking must be studied further.

• Korean journal of food and cookery science
• /
• v.24 no.4
• /
• pp.445-451
• /
• 2008

This study compared the effects of chlorine dioxide and a commercial chlorine sanitizer for inhibiting foodborne pathogens, including Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium, Listeria monocytogenes, and Escherichia coli O157 : H7, on lettuce leaves. The lettuce samples were inoculated with each cocktail of the three strains, and were then treated with chemical sanitizers [distilled water, 100 ppm commercial chlorine and 50 ppm, 100 ppm, 200 ppm chlorine dioxide ($ClO_2$)] for 1 min, 5 min, and 10 min at room temperature($22{\pm}2^{\circ}C$). Following inoculation of the leaves, initial populations of E. coli O157:H7, L. monocytogenes, and S. Typhimurium were approximately 5.54, 4.47, and 5.12 log CFU/g, respectively these levels were not significantly reduced by the treatment with water,whereas the 100 ppm commercial chlorine sanitizer treatment and $ClO_2$ (at all tested concentrations) were effective at reducing levels of all three pathogens. The treatment of 200 ppm $ClO_2$ for 10 min was most effective at inhibiting the three pathogens, and reduction levels of E. coli O157 : H7, L. monocytogenes, and S. Typhimurium were 2.28, 1.95, 1.76 log, respectively. The inhibitory effect of $ClO_2$ increased with increasing treatment concentration of $ClO_2$, but there was no significant difference by the treatment times. When chemically injured cells of E. coli O157 : H7 and L. monocytogenes and S. Typhimurium were examined by SPRAB and selective overlay methods, respectively, it was observed that the commercial chlorine sanitizer generated greater numbers of injured L. monocytogenes than the $ClO_2$ treatment. From the overall results, $ClO_2$ was more effective at inhibiting pathogenic bacteria compared to the commercial chlorine sanitizer therefore, it has potential to be utilized as an alternative sanitizer to increase the microbial safety of fresh produce.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
• /
• v.33 no.3
• /
• pp.184-189
• /
• 2007

Pathogenic microbial foodborne disease outbreaks (PMFBDOs) have increased in many countries, the boom in food service establishment is not matched by effective food safety and control. In this study, we investigated the current state and the epidemic aspects of FBDOs in Korea and Japan. In Korea, the average prevalence rate of foodborne disease (FBD) was 15.0 per 100,000 population and cases per outbreak of FBD was 57.0. During the same period in Japan, the prevalence rate showed an average of 24.9, and the cases per outbreak were 16. When both prevalence rate and cases per outbreak were compared, the prevalence rate in Japan was much higher than that in Korea (p<0.01). However, average cases per outbreak of FBD in Japan were much lower than those in Korea (p<0.01). In Korea, outbreaks of FBDs were more common in spring (p<0.01), while in Japan, more frequent in summer and winter (p<0.01). Outbreaks of FBD occurred largely through restaurant and school foods (32.0% and 27.5%) in Korea. In Japan, the proportion of the outbreak cases in the restaurant and home were 23.7% and 12.1%, and cases of unknown causes of FBDs were 48.2%, respectively. Bacteria were the major causes of infection in both countries. The prevalence of PMFBDOs by Salmonella spp. Vibrio parahemolyticus and Staphylococcus aureus were much higher in Korea, while those by Camphylobacter spp. and SRSV were more common in Japan. The causes by virus were more frequent in Japan (13.7%) than in Korea (7.7%). The prevalence of FBDs in Korea and Japan showed characteristic differences, especially in the PMFBDOs due to such factors as geography, climate, culture, diet and food management.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
• /
• v.25 no.9
• /
• pp.463-472
• /
• 2022

In this study, a microbial risk assessment was performed for the bacteria Vibrio parahaemolyticus, which causes a foodborne illness following the consumption of Jeotgal, a fermented seafood in South Korea. The assessment comprised of six stages: product, market, home, consumption, dose-response, and risk. The initial contamination level (IC) was calculated based on the prevalence of V. parahaemolyticus in 90 Jeotgal samples. The kinetic behavior of V. parahaemolyticus was described using predictive models. The data on transportation conditions from manufacturer to market and home were collected through personal communication and from previous studies. Data for the Jeotgal consumption status were obtained, and an appropriate probability distribution was established. The simulation models responding to the scenario were analyzed using the @RISK program. The IC of V. parahaemolyticus was estimated using beta distribution [Beta (1, 91)]. The cell counts during transportation were estimated using Weibull and polynomial models [δ = 1 / (0.0718 - 0.0097 × T + 0.0005 × T²)], while the probability distributions for time and temperature were estimated using Pert, Weibull, Uniform, and LogLogistic distributions. Daily average consumption amounts were assessed using the Pareto distribution [0.60284,1.32,Risk Truncate(0,155)]. The results indicated that the risk of V. parahaemolyticus infection through Jeotgal consumption is low in South Korea.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.16 no.8
• /
• pp.1301-1305
• /
• 2006

The development of rapid, infallible, and sensitive methods of detecting foodborne pathogens has received much impetus in recent years owing to an increased public awareness of the health hazards. For the rapid and simultaneous detection of these foodborne pathogens, a multiplex PCR method was developed. Yersinia enterocolitica, Staphylococcus aureus, and Shigella spp. are bacteria of concern because of their specific growing condition that enables them to live at low temperatures. In order to detect each pathogenic bacterium, specific primers from Y. enterocolitica, St. aureus, and Sh. flexneri were selected and validated successfully. To apply this method to food stored at low temperature, Y. enterocolitica, St. aureus, and Sh. flexneri were artificially inoculated in lettuce and incubated for enrichment. The multiplex PCR assays were able to simultaneously detect three pathogens, and the presence of three bands was observed at initial inoculation levels of approximately 1$\times$10$^1$ CFU/g in lettuce. Therefore, this method could be used for simultaneous detection of Y. enterocolitica, St. aureus, and Shigella spp. contaminated in lettuce during cultivation, transportation, preservation, and storage.

• Korean journal of food and cookery science
• /
• v.28 no.1
• /
• pp.9-15
• /
• 2012

This study analyzed the antibacterial activity of a Rubus coreanum (Bokbunja) ethanol extract. The antimicrobial activity was determined by disc diffusion, minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), and growth inhibition methods with seven kinds of bacteria related to foodborne illness (Bacillus cereus, Escherichia coli, Escherichia coli O157:H7, Listeria monocytogenes, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, and Salmonella typhimurium). In the results, disc diffusions of the ethanol extract from R. coreanum (9.8-17.5 mm at $4,000{\mu}g/disc$) clearly showed the antimicrobial activity of the extract against all tested microorganisms. Rubus coreanum promoted an inhibitory effect as follows: E. coli O157:H7 > P. aeruginosa > L. monocytogenes > E. coli > S. aureus > B. cereus ${\geq}$ S. typhimurium. In the MIC test, R. coreanum showed high antimicrobial effect against L. monocytogenes at 500 ppm. Moreover, the R. coreanum ethanol extract showed strong growth inhibition against microorganisms, similar to the MIC results. These results show that a R. coreanum ethanol extract has powerful antimicrobial activity against all tested microorganisms, suggesting that R. coreanum will be useful as a potential natural preservative.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
• /
• v.40 no.2
• /
• pp.297-310
• /
• 2020

This study aims to evaluate the probiotic properties of Lactobacillus brevis (L. brevis) KU200019 and the synergistic activity with prebiotics on antimicrobial activity, and the potential application as an adjunct culture in fermented dairy products. The commercial strain, L. brevis ATCC 14869 was used as reference strain. L. brevis KU200019 was showed higher viability in simulated gastric (99.38±0.21%) and bile (115.10±0.13%) conditions compared to reference strain. L. brevis KU200019 exhibited antimicrobial activity against various foodborne pathogens. The supplementation of fructooligosaccharides (FOS) enhanced viability of lactic acid bacteria (>8 Log CFU/mL) and antioxidant activity [2,2-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical assay (DPPH) assay, 31.23±1.14%; 2,2-azinobis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS) assay, 38.82±1.46%] in fermented skim milk during refrigerated storage. L. brevis KU200019 was distinguished from the reference strain by its higher probiotic potential, antimicrobial activity, and higher antioxidant activity in fermented milk. Therefore, L. brevis KU200019 with FOS was demonstrated promising properties for further application in fermented dairy products with enhanced safety and quality.

• Journal of Dairy Science and Biotechnology
• /
• v.29 no.2
• /
• pp.59-68
• /
• 2011

In Korea, there are a couple of risk assessment organizations: The Animal Plant and Fisheries Quarantine and Inspection Agency(QIA) and the Korea Food and Drug Administration (KFDA). The major food laws include the Food Sanitation Act (FSA), the Livestock Product Processing Act (LPPA), and the Agricultural Products Quality Control Act (APQCA). Milk and dairy products are mostly controlled by the Food Sanitation Act and the Livestock Product Processing Act. This study was carried out to estimate the current standard methods of foodborne pathogens for dairy products, comparing the Livestock Products Processing Act with the Food Sanitation Act. The standard methods of foodborne pathogens for dairy products are composed by growth culture, isolation culture, and identification, however, standard methods of QIA and KFDA are different at the using of medium and inspection stage. Therefore, consolidation of risk management and risk assessment methods are regarded important to provide safe dairy products to consumer.