• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.350-358
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• 2015

This study was designed to evaluate the sanitary characteristics of sea water in a part of the south coast, Korea and to check the seawater which is in compliance with the recommended bacteriological criteria for shellfish cultivation. The samples of sea water were collected at 14 sampling stations established in the survey area between March 2014 and October 2014. Food poisoning caused by seafood consumption is often associated with pathogenic microorganisms originated from fecal contamination. Therefore, fecal coliform is very important criteria for evaluating the safety of fisheries in coastal areas. The range of geometric mean (GM) and the estimated 90th percentile values of total coliform were 4.1~83.1 MPN/100 mL, and 11.7~834.1 MPN/100 mL, respectively. The GM and the estimated 90th percentile values of fecal coliform were 2.5~22.7 MPN/100 mL and 2.5~170.0 MPN/100 mL, respectively. Therefore, the bacteriological safety of seawater at this shellfish-growing area met with the Korean Shellfish Sanitation Program (KSSP) criteria for a growing area. However, the values are seasonally exceed the KSSP criteria, suggesting that the monitoring and evaluation of seawater quality is very important in shellfish-growing area.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.165-169
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• 2014

Salmonella spp. and Brucella spp. are associated with considerable diseases of both humans and animals. In addition, these microorganisms cause the economic loss in animal farming and food industry. In this study, the disinfection efficacy of a commercial disinfectant, composed to povidone-iodine was evaluated against S. typhimurium and B. ovis. A bactericidal efficacy test by broth dilution method was used to determine the lowest effective dilution of the disinfectant following exposure to test bacteria for 30 min at $4^{\circ}C$. The disinfectant and test bacteria were diluted with hard water (HW) or organic matter suspension (OM) according to treatment condition. On HW condition, the bactericidal activity of the disinfectant against S. typhimurium and B. ovis was 400 and 150 fold dilutions, respectively. On OM condition, the bactericidal activity of the disinfectant was 5 and 20 fold dilutions against S. typhimurium and B. ovis, respectively. As the disinfectant composed to povidine-iodine possesses bactericidal efficacy against animal pathogenic bacteria such as S. typhimurium and B. ovis, the disinfectant solution can be used to control the spread of bacterial diseases.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.33 no.5
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• pp.610-616
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• 2013

Loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) is an emerging detection technology for the amplification of DNA under isothermal conditions. The aim of this study was to develop a rapid and reliable LAMP technique for the detection of Cronobacter sakazakii in milk powder. In order to enhance the sensitivity and specificity, LAMP primers targeting outer membrane protein A (ompA) gene of C. sakazakii were designed using Explorer V4 software. Thirty seven C. sakazakii strains and 13 pathogenic microorganisms were used for comparative detection of C. sakazakii using polymerase chain reaction (PCR), real-time PCR, and LAMP. LAMP developed in this study could specifically detect C. sakazakii strains without cross-reactivity with other foodborne pathogens. LAMP products amplified from ompA gene of C. sakazakii were digested with with HhaI and NruI enzyme. The specificity of LAMP was confirmed by restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis. LAMP could detect C. sakazakii within 1 h without bacterial culture and its detection limit was as low as 1 CFU/mL C. sakazakii in milk. In the comparison of the sensitivity, LAMP showed 10,000- and 100-times higher detection limit than PCR or real-time PCR, respectively. Therefore, this study can conclude that LAMP is a rapid and reliable detection technique for C. sakazakii contaminated in powdered milk.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.52 no.4
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• pp.306-315
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• 2019

The estuary of the Han River constantly suffers from pollutants and pathogenic microorganisms which could cause serious damage to aquatic organisms living there. Despite of this potential risk, it is hard to find any reliable scientific reports on the status of reportable disease infection to the organisms living in this area. In this study, cyprinid fish and crustaceans in Jeonryu-ri, a region of the Han River estuary, were investigated for the infection by representative reportable communicable diseases(SVC, spring viraemia of carp; KHVD, koi herpesvirus disease; EUS, epizootic ulcerative syndrome; WSD, white spot disease) and parasites. Peripheral fish and primary freshwater fish were observed in Jeonryu-ri with cyprinid caught most frequently. Crustaceans were mostly marine species. No positive bands to any of the reportable diseases were produced in any of the fish and crustacean examined in this study by PCR. No trace of Clonorchis sinensis, a liver fluke potential threat to human health, was detected in any of fish samples. However, many fish were infected by metacecaria of other flukes, and other various parasites such as nematode, cestode, copepod, monosite and acanthocephalan. These results suggest that important aquatic organisms in the Han River estuary is not seriously polluted yet. However, it is important to keep monitoring the diseases since the water quality in this region is constantly changing, and devastating influence of infectious diseases is unpredictable. Further, it is required to expand monitoring area toward upstream and increase the number of fish for examination.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.47 no.6
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• pp.510-517
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• 2014

The purpose of this study was to analyze microbial hazards for cultivation environments and personal hygiene of strawberry and tomato farms at the growth and harvesting stage. Samples were collected from thirty strawberry farms and forty tomato farms located in Korea and tested for Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus cereus. To investigate the change in the distribution of the S. aureus and B. cereus, a total of 4,284 samples including air born, soil or medium, mulching film, harvest basket, groves and irrigation water etc. were collected from eight strawberry farms and nine tomato farms for one year. As a result, total S. aureus and B. cereus in all samples were detected. Among the total bacteria of strawberry farms, S. aureus (glove: $0{\sim}2.1Log\;CFU/100cm^2$, harvest basket: $0{\sim}3.0Log\;CFU/100cm^2$, soil or culture media: 0~4.1 Log CFU/g, mulching film: $0{\sim}3.8Log\;CFU/100cm^2$), B. cereus (glove: $0{\sim}2.8Log\;CFU/100cm^2$, harvest basket: $0{\sim}4.8Log\;CFU/100cm^2$, soil or culture media: 0~5.3 Log CFU/g, mulching film: $0{\sim}4.5Log\;CFU/100cm^2$) were detected in all samples. The total bacteria of tomato farms, S. aureus (glove: $0{\sim}4.0Log\;CFU/100cm^2$, harvest basket: $0{\sim}5.0Log\;CFU/100cm^2$, soil or culture media: 0~6.1 Log CFU/g, mulching film: $0{\sim}4.0Log\;CFU/100cm^2$), B. cereus (glove: $0{\sim}4.0Log\;CFU/100cm^2$, harvest basket: $0{\sim}4.3Log\;CFU/100cm^2$, soil or culture media: 0~5.9 Log CFU/g, mulching film: $0{\sim}4.7Log\;CFU/100cm^2$) were detected in all samples. The contamination of S. aureus and B. cereus were detected in soil, mulching film and harvest basket from planting until harvest to processing, with the highest count recorded from the soil. But S. aureus and B. cereus were not detected in irrigation water samples. The incidence of S. aureus and B. cereus in hydroponics culture farm were less than those in soil culture. The amount of S. aureus and B. cereus detected in strawberry and tomato farms were less than the minimum amount required to produce a toxin that induces food poisoning. In this way, the degree of contamination of food poisoning bacteria was lower in the production environment of the Korea strawberry and tomato, but problems can be caused by post-harvest management method. These results will be used as fundamental data to create a manual for sanitary agricultural environment management, and post-harvest management should be performed to reduce the contamination of hazardous microorganisms.

• Journal of the Korea Organic Resources Recycling Association
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.93-100
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• 2009

This research was performed to figure out the optimal mixing ratio of food- to livestock wastewater for the best degradation of organic matter in the anaerobic digestion. The presence of various microorganisms, such as Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus, was also investigated in both wastewater in this process. Enteric bacteria were only found in livestock wastewater, whereas pathogenic bacteria like S. aureus were detected in both wastewater. The optimal mixing ratio of food- to livestock wastewater for the best mineralization was found to fifty to fifty, with reduction ratios of $BOD_5$, CODcr SS as 23.2%, 24.7%, 19.7%, respectively. Hygiene of the digested sludge was also analyzed by counting the number of total colonies and various pathogens. Enterobacteriaceae including E. coli were barely detected in 10 days after reaction. Meanwhile, S. aureus was gradually reduced during reaction, even showing 1,000~5,000 CFU/mL in final days.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.64-69
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• 2017

This study was conducted to investigate the effect of cold plasma combined with UV-C irradiation against Escherichia coli O157:H7, Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium, and Listeria monocytogenes on lettuce. E. coli O157:H7, S. Typhimurium, and L. monocytogenes, corresponding to approximately 5.82, 5.09, 5.65 log CFU/g, were inoculated on lettuce, respectively. Then, the lettuce was treated with cold plasma, UV-C and combination (cold plasma + UV-C), respectively. The treated lettuce was stored for 9 days at $4^{\circ}C$ for microbiological analysis and sensory evaluation. Cold plasma reduced the populations of E. coli O157:H7, S. Typhimurium, and L. monocytogenes by 0.26, 0.65, and 0.93 log CFU/g, respectively. Each microorganism were reduced by 0.87, 0.88, and 1.14 log CFU/g after UV-C treatment. And, the combined treatment that was treated by cold plasma after UV-C treatment reduced the populations of inoculated microorganisms by 1.44, 2.70, 1.62 log CFU/g, respectively. The all treatment significantly (p < 0.05) reduced the populations of all inoculated bacteria compared to untreated lettuce. UV-C combined with cold plasma was the most effective for reducing the pathogenic bacteria on lettuce, by showing log-reductions of ${\geq}2.0\;log\;CFU/g$. All treatment was not significantly different until 6 day storage compared to control group in terms of appearance, texture and overall acceptability. Therefore, the combined treatment will be an effective intervention method to control the bacteria on lettuce.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.168-173
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• 2004

Radio-sensitivity of pathogens in commercial marinated beef ribs, Galbi, and effect of irradiation on microbiological safety and sensory properties of marinated beef rib were investigated. Commercial raw marinated beef ribs were highly contaminated by pathogenic microorganisms including Bacillus cereus, Salmonella typhimurium, Escherichia coli, and Staphylococcus aureus, ranged from $10^{3}\;to\;10^{4}\;CFU/g$. Gamma irradiation reduced pathogen count during storage. No viable cells of pathogens were observed in sample irradiated at 7.5 kGy except for Bacillus cereus. Radio-sensitivity of inoculated pathogens in marinated beef ribs and commercial one showed $D_{10}$ value of 0.54-0.60 and 2.15-2.98, respectively, In sensory evaluation irradiated sample showed highest color and overall acceptance among treatments (p<0.05). Results indicate low dose (2.5-5.0 kGy) irradiation is effective for ensuring safety of marinated beef ribs without decreasing sensory quality.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.45 no.4
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• pp.299-304
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• 2017

Biogenic amines such as histamine, tyramine, cadaverine, and putrescine may have detrimental effects on consumers' health; therefore, they must be considered hazardous substances in foods. In recent years, the application of microorganisms that can degrade biogenic amines has become an emerging method for reducing the amount of these amines in foods. Primarily, Bacillus sp. BCNU 9171 was isolated from Doenjang, a Korean traditional fermented soybean paste. The inhibitory effects of the cell-free supernatant (CFS) of Bacillus sp. BCNU 9171 on biogenic amine production by 4 amine-positive food pathogenic bacteria were investigated using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Our results showed that 4 different CFS concentrations-10% [1 ml CFS + 9 ml histidine decarboxylase broth (HDB)], 25% (2.5 ml CFS + 7.5 ml HDB), 50% (5 ml CFS + 5 ml HDB), and 75% (7.5 ml CFS + 2.5 ml HDB)-reduced the biogenic amine production up to 87% compared with that of the control without CFS. These results suggested that it is advisable to use Bacillus sp. strain BCNU 9171 as a starter organism for the manufacture of fermented foods and to ensure food safety since it prevents the accumulation of high amounts of biogenic amines in fermented foods by amine-positive bacteria.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.85-93
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• 2017

The urinary tract infection (UTI) is one of the most important infections in hospital. The overuse and misuse of antimicrobial agents and the resulting emergence of resistant microorganisms have made choices regarding antimicrobial therapy more difficult. This study examined the changes in the antibiotic susceptibility to the causative organisms of urinary tract infections to provide useful information on the choice of adequate drugs in the treatment of urinary tract infections. The medical records of 2,707 patients with more than $10^5/ml$ microorganism in urine culture between January 2010 and December 2015 were reviewed retrospectively. The most common pathogenic organism was E. coli (28.1%). In the case of E.coli, there were no differences in frequency from 2010 to 2015 in men, but since 2014, the frequency decreased gradually since 2014 in women. For E. coli, the resistance rates to antibiotics were 72.2% in ampicillin, 44.9% in trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole (TMP/SMX), and 41.3% in ciprofloxacin, but the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th cephalosporin (5%) had low antibiotic resistance rates. The pathogens of urinary tract infection are becoming diverse and their frequencies are also changing over time. These results suggest that the recommended drugs for UTI should be selected more carefully for in-patients and out-patients.