• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.897-904
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• 2007

The aim of this paper is to discuss the methodology of our investigation of the dynamics of protein degradation and the total in situ protealytic activity in meso/eutrophic, eutrophic, and hypereutrophic freshwater environments. Analysis of the kinetics and rates of enzymatic release of amino acids in water samples preserved with sodium azide allows determination of the concentrations of labile proteins $(C_{LAB})$, and their half-life time $(T_{1/2})$. Moreover, it gives more realistic information on resultant activity in situ $(V_{T1/2})$ of ecto- and extracellular proteases that are responsible for the biological degradation of these compounds. Although the results provided by the proposed method are general y well correlated with those obtained by classical procedures, they better characterize the dynamics of protein degradation processes, especially in eutrophic or hypereutrophic lakes. In these environments, processes of protein decomposition occur mainly on the particles and depend primarily on a metabolic activity of seston-attached bacteria. The method was tested in three lakes. The different degree of eutrophication of these lakes was clearly demonstrated by the measured real proteolytic pattern and confirmed by conventional trophic state determinants.

• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.55-60
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• 2017

Provision of safe, accessible, and good water quality in the community is an important step towards reducing various waterborne illnesses. However, improving the quality of water should include spreading awareness to the public regarding the importance of cleaning their household water tanks. The aim of this study was to investigate the microbial quality of water of household water tanks in Dubai. The water samples from household water tanks were collected from forty houses, and a questionnaire was given to the residents to determine the history of the water tanks. The membrane filtration technique was used to quantify heterotrophic and total coliform bacteria on plate count agar and the violet red bile agar respectively. The overall results of this study have shown that 18 out of total 40 household water tanks contained different types of bacteria concentration level beyond local and widely accepted international standards. The overall results of this study indicated that there is a lack of awareness among residents regarding the importance of maintaining proper sanitation and hygiene of the household water tanks.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.70-77
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• 2003

Theoretical estimation of overall stoichiometry for the microbial degradation of hazardous organic compounds is described. Half-reaction method based on microbial energetics was used in the theoretical estimation. In addition to the half-reaction method, other theoretical methods such as intermediate formation, oxygenation reaction, and estimation of the standard free energy of formation by group contribution theory were also applied. As a case study, the application of these methods was demonstrated for the estimation of microbial kinetics in the biodegradation of phenanthrene which was chosen as a model hazardous organic compound along with glucose and hexadecane. The cell yield, oxygen requirement, nitrogen requirement, and mineralization ratio could be estimated from the overall stoichiometry. It is believed that these theoretical estimation methods are useful tools for practical design and assessment of bioremediation of soil and groundwater contaminated with hazardous organic compounds.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.59-65
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• 2014

We measured the reductions in size and solubility of mackerel muscle that was freeze-dried, deoiled by supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-$CO_2$), or roasted. The percent size reduction and solubility were high in SC-$CO_2$-treated muscle compared with freeze-dried and roasted muscle. We used oil-free residues to test for heavy metals and determine microbial safety. The SC-$CO_2$, hexane, and ethanol were used to separate oil from muscle. The concentrations of cadmium (Cd) in all treated muscles were less than the values reported in the literature, as were the concentrations of lead in SC-$CO_2$- and hexane- treated muscle. In contrast, concentrations of arsenic and mercury in muscles were greater than the reported values regardless of treatment. Zinc and iron, which are beneficial for health, were found in high levels after all treatments of muscle tissue. After 6 months of storage at different temperatures, SC-$CO_2$-and ethanol-treated muscle showed few bacterial colonies, and none were found after 4 months of storage at $-20^{\circ}C$. These results will be useful to food-processing industries for maintaining high-quality, safe mackerel muscle.

• Journal of Dairy Science and Biotechnology
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.51-57
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• 2011

Milk and dairy products are nutritionally one of the most important food in human health and the quality of raw milk is significantly important to ensure safety of dairy products. However, milk and dairy products are commonly related with chemical and microbial contaminations. Therefore, rapid and reliable detection of hazardous (e.g. pathogenic bacteria, pesticides, antibiotics, microbial toxins) in milk and dairy products is essential to ensure human health and food safety. Conventional methods for detection of food hazardous are mostly time-consuming to yield a results. Recently, biosensors have been focused as its rapidity and high sensitivity to analyse chemical and microbial hazardous from a variety of foods and environments. This study reviewed the recent trends and applications of biosensors as rapid detection method of hazardous in milk and dairy products.

• Molecular & Cellular Toxicology
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.11-14
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• 2006

In this study we attempted to develop a novel genomic method to selectively isolate target functional microbial genomes from environmental samples. For this purpose, stable isotope probing (SIP) was applied in selectively isolating organic pollutant-assimilating populations. When soil microbes were fed with $^{13}C-labeled $ biphenyl, biphenyl-utilizing cells were incorporated with the heavy carbon isotope. The heavy DNA portion was successfully separated by CsCl equilibrium density gradient. And the diversity in the heavy DNA was sufficiently reduced, being suitable for the current DNA microarray techniques to detect biphenyl-utilizing populations in the soil. In addition, we proposed a new way to get more genetic information by combining this SIP method with selective metagenomic approach. The increased selective power of these new DNA isolation methods will be expected to provide a good quality of new genetic information, which, in turn, will result in development of a variety of biomarkers that may be used in assessing ecotoxicology issues including the impacts of organic hazards, and antibiotic-resistant pathogens on human and ecological systems.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.274-281
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• 2019

Objective: The objective of this study was to estimate the risk of Campylobacter jejuni (C. jejuni) infection from various jerky products in Korea. Methods: For the exposure assessment, the prevalence and predictive models of C. jejuni in the jerky and the temperature and time of the distribution and storage were investigated. In addition, the consumption amounts and frequencies of the products were also investigated. The data for C. jejuni for the prevalence, distribution temperature, distribution time, consumption amount, and consumption frequency were fitted with the @RISK fitting program to obtain appropriate probabilistic distributions. Subsequently, the dose-response models for Campylobacter were researched in the literature. Eventually, the distributions, predictive model, and dose-response model were used to make a simulation model with @RISK to estimate the risk of C. jejuni foodborne illness from the intake of jerky. Results: Among 275 jerky samples, there were no C. jejuni positive samples, and thus, the initial contamination level was statistically predicted with the RiskUniform distribution [RiskUniform (-2, 0.48)]. To describe the changes in the C. jejuni cell counts during distribution and storage, the developed predictive models with the Weibull model (primary model) and polynomial model (secondary model) were utilized. The appropriate probabilistic distribution was the BetaGeneral distribution, and it showed that the average jerky consumption was 51.83 g/d with a frequency of 0.61%. The developed simulation model from this data series and the dose-response model (Beta Poisson model) showed that the risk of C. jejuni foodborne illness per day per person from jerky consumption was $1.56{\times}10^{-12}$. Conclusion: This result suggests that the risk of C. jejuni in jerky could be considered low in Korea.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.55 no.4
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• pp.431-436
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• 2022

For the safety assessment of microbiological and chemical hazards in katsuobushi, fifteen samples of katsuobushi were purchased from supermarkets. The contamination levels of total viable bacteria, coliforms, Escherichia coli, and nine pathogenic bacteria [Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella spp., Listeria monocytogenes, Bacillus cereus, Vibrio parahaemolyticus, Clostridium perfringens, Enterohemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC), Yersinia enterocolitica and Campylobacter jejuni/coli] were quantitatively or qualitatively assessed. Additionally, the heavy metals (total and methyl mercury) content, radioactivity (¹³¹ I, ¹³⁴ Cs⁺ and ¹³⁷ Cs) were quantitatively assessed. Microbial and chemical analyses were performed using standard methods in Korean food code. The contamination level of total viable bacteria was 2.70 (1.18-4.42) log CFU/g. Coliforms, E. coli and S. aureus were not detected in any samples. Other eight pathogenic bacteria were negative in all samples. The contamination levels of total and methyl mercury were 0.366 (0.227-0.481) and 0.120 (0.002-0.241) mg/kg, respectively. In addition, radioactivity was not detected in any samples. The results will be helpful in revitalizing domestic use and boosting exports of katsuobushi because the microbiological and chemical safety of katsuobushi has been assured. Furthermore, the results may be used as a basis for performing chemical and microbial risk assessments of katsuobushi.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.65 no.5
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• pp.1024-1039
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• 2023

In this study, we performed a quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA) of Salmonella through intake of egg consumption after cooking (dry-heat, moist-heat, and raw consumption). Egg samples (n = 201) from retail markets were analyzed for the presence of Salmonella. In addition, temperature and time were investigated during egg transit, storage, and display. A predictive model was developed to characterize the kinetic behavior of Salmonella in eggs, and data on egg consumption and frequency were collected. Eventually, the data was simulated to estimate egg-related foodborne illnesses. Salmonella was not found in any of the 201 egg samples. Thus, the estimated initial contamination level was -4.0 Log CFU/g. With R² values of 0.898 and 0.922, the constructed predictive models were adequate for describing the fate of Salmonella in eggs throughout distribution and storage. Eggs were consumed raw (1.5%, 39.2 g), dry-heated (57.5%, 43.0 g), and moist-heated (41%, 36.1 g). The probability of foodborne Salmonella illness from the consumption of cooked eggs was evaluated to be 6.8×10^-10. Additionally, the probability of foodborne illness not applied cooking methods was 1.9×10^-7, indicating that Salmonella can be reduced by cooking. Therefore, the risk of Salmonella infection through consumption of eggs after cooking might be low in S. Korea.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.340-345
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• 1997

This study was undertaken to evaluate microbial risk degree of some processed foods in Korea. In this study the data on the outbreak of foodborne diseases during recent 18 years (1976-1989, 1993-1996. 8) were analyzed. The most frequently isolated pathogens were Salmonella (36.9%); followed vibrio (22.0%), Staphylococcus (15.7%) and Escherichia coli (13.3%). Outbreak rate of Staphylococcus, Vibrio, E. coli and Salmonella, was 33.0%, 23.5%, 17.5% and 17.1%, respectively. Overall risk degree of pathogens by fatality rate, outbreak rate and pathogen amount for foodborne outbreak was Clostridium, 5, Staphylococcus and Vibrio, 4, Salmonella and E. coli, 3. Based on foodborne pathogens, the risk degree of raw seafoods, raw eggs and processed seafoods were 4, and those of raw meats, Doshiraks and milk products were 3. Also, based on processing characteristics of foods, the risk degree of surimi-based imitation crab was 3. Foods of the highest actual risk degree were raw seafoods and raw eggs (16); followed raw meats (15), surimi-based imitation crab (12), Doshirak (9) and milk products (6).