• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.137-141
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• 2008

To evaluate safety of commercial skate product, Korean traditional ready-to-eat raw-fish, during from June to August in 2006, microbial and chemical properties such as levels of total plate count, coliform, food-borne pathogens, VBN-value, pH and ammonium concentration in ready-to-eat skate product were evaluated. Total plate counts of ready-to-eat skate product were ranges from 4.8 to 7.5 log CFU/g, and coliform was detected in 1 sample (2.48 log CFU/g) among 18 samples. Staphylococcus aureus, was detected in 2 samples among 18 samples, but Escherichia coli, Salmonella, spp., Vibrio parahaemolyticus, and Listeria monocytogenes were not detected. VBN-values and pH of skate were ranges from 12.6 to 593.9 mg% and from 6.7 to 9.4 depending on strength of fermentation, respectively. Ammonium concentrations of fermented skate were ranges from 4.4 to 14.1 mg/g and 2 samples, pre-fermented skate, were not detected.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.42 no.4
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• pp.265-270
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• 2006

This study was performed in order to measure the level of food-borne pathogenic bacteria and antibiotic resistance pattern of found ready to eat meals such as Him-bap, Cho-bap, Hamburger, Sandwich and packed lunch boxes. A total of 497 samples were collected from supermarket and department of Seoul, Kyung-ki, Inctleon, Kang-won, Chung-Cheong from November, 2005 to March, 2006. The contaminated microorganisms were in most cases tract relative strain like E. coli and S. aureus. Result have shown E. coli was detected 4 strains and S. aureus was detected 22 strains. 26 strains were also tested the antibiotic resistance pattern. 26 strains were shown to be relatively susceptible to synercid, vancomycin, teicoplanin, ciprofloxacin, gentamycin, lincomycn, cefotaxime, meropenem, cephalosporin, amoxicillin-clavulanic acid by the MIC dilution method, but E. coli 1 strain was resistant to amoxicillin-clavulanic acid.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.36 no.7
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• pp.938-943
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• 2007

This study investigated the hazard analysis of ready-to-eat sandwiches sold in various establishments. Sandwich samples were collected from convenience stores, discount stores, sandwich chain stores, bakery shops, fast-food chain stores, and food service operations located in Daegu and Gyeongbuk. Out of 174 samples, 18 (10.3%) contained coagulase positive staphylococci with counts ranging from 0.30 to 4.08 log CFU/g. There was significant seasonal difference in Staphylococcus aureus isolation; the average count in summer (3.24 log CFU/g) was 3 times higher than that of winter (1.10 log CFU/g) (P<0.001). According to the microbiological guidelines of PHLS for ready-to-eat foods, 95.4% of the samples were acceptable. As a result of enterotoxin producing experimental data ($35^{\circ}C$, pH 5.8, NaCl 0.5%), enterotoxin was not produced in a sandwich until Staphylococcus aureus increased to a level greater than 4.95 log CFU/g. This microbiological hazard analysis data could be applied to future studies on quantitative risk assessment of ready-to-eat foods.

• Food Science and Biotechnology
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.152-157
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• 2006

Enterobacter sakazakii, designated as an unique microbial species in 1980, may cause bacteremia, necrotizing enterocolitis and infant meningitis. The distribution and the thermostability of E. sakazakii in unprocessed ready-to-eat (RTE) agricultural products of 252 and in 25 powdered infant formulas (PIF) were analyzed. Eighty one, 50, 43, and 47% of brown rice, pumpkin, potato, and carrot samples, respectively, had aerobic plate counts (ARC) in the range of 5 log CFU/g or more. Almost all the other products sampled had APC of approximately 2 log CFU/g. Fifty three, 75, 67, and 68% of banana, pumpkin, soybean, and carrot had Enterobacteriaceae counts approximating 3 log CFU/g. Sixty six percent of the brown rice tested had Enterobacteriaceae counts approximating 5-6 log CFU/g. E. sakazakii was isolated from 3/25(12%), 4/23(17%), 1/24(4%), and 1/27(4%) of PIF, brown rice, laver, and tomato samples, respectively. D-values were 3.52-4.79 min at 60 and $D_{60}-values$ were similar as the isolates reported. Thermal inactivation of four thermovariant E. sakazakii strains during the rehydration of PIF with hot water were investigated. At $50^{\circ}C$, the levels of E. sakazakii decreased one log CFU/g for 4-6 min and thereafter the levels remained stable for 20 min. At $60^{\circ}C$, inactivation by about 2 log CFU/g occurred for 20 min. Therefore, the unprocessed agricultural products might be a source of contamination for PIF when used as an ingredient after drying and pulverization. Rehydration of PIF for infant feeding with a water temperature of $60^{\circ}C$ rather than $50^{\circ}C$, as recommended by the manufacturers, may be helpful in the reduction of potential E. sakazakii risk.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.664-669
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• 2004

The contamination of Bacillus cereus was investigated in 240 RTE (ready-to-eat) food samples including 118 seafoods, 82 Korean packaged meals and 40 other RTE foods. Many B. cereus presumptive strains were isolated from the enrichment culture in Tryptic Soy Broth (TSB) added polymyxin, followed by selective culture in Mannitol Egg Yolk Polymyxin (MYP) agar and Gram staining. A total of 36 strains (16 in seafoods, 17 in Korean pack-aged meals and 3 in other RTE foods) were identified as B. cereus by the analysis of 61 biochemical tests of the API 50CHB/20E system test and supplementary tests of $\beta$-hemolysis, rhizoid growth, motility and oxidase activity. The 28 strains out of 36 B. cereus isolates produced diarrhoeal enter-otoxin in Brain Heart Infusion (BHI) broth. All isolates were resistant to ampicillin and penicillin antibiotics, and most of them were susceptible to gentamicin, vancomycin, bacitracin, chloram-phenicol, kanamycin and streptomycin. The growth of B. cereus was affected by environmental temperature and incubation time. Culture with temperature under 1$0^{\circ}C$ effectively restricted the growth of B. cereus.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.44 no.5
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• pp.559-567
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• 2012

The storage quality of ready-to-eat Campbell table grapes which were packaged under modified atmospheres was investigated in order to examine the effect of high $O_2$ and $CO_2$ on the fruit. Fresh table grapes with 10-15 berries were packed into polypropylene (PP) trays and were top-sealed with polythylene terephthalate/PP film. The initial gas compositions inside the packages were air, 20% $O_2$/10% $CO_2$/70% $N_2$, and 40% $O_2$/60% $N_2$. Sealed packages with low density polyethylene film bags and perforated PP trays were also used as a further treatment and control, respectively. The quality attributes were assessed during storage at $5^{\circ}C$ for 28 days. Fruit packaged in high $CO_2$ concentration showed the lowest viable cell counts of inherent microorganisms among all samples, although they suffered from severe off-flavors. High levels of $O_2$ significantly lowered flesh weight loss and maintained the flavor of grape. In an overall sensory aspect, the high $O_2$ and $CO_2$ packages exhibited greater scores than the air and control at the end of the storage period. Other quality attributes showed no significant differences among treatments. Results suggest that packaging with an appropriate combination of high $O_2$ and $CO_2$ can be used as an effective processing treatment for improvement of the storability of ready-to-eat table grapes.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.687-693
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• 2004

The objective of this study was to evaluate the combined treatment effect of gamma irradiation and rosemary extract powder on ready-to-eat hamburger steaks. After irradiation at 5, 10 and 20 k㏉, hamburger steaks manufactured with rosemary extract powder (200 and 500 ppm) were stored at 5$^{\circ}C$ for 4 months and at 3$0^{\circ}C$ for 3 weeks. Total aerobic bacteria count of the ready-to-eat hamburger steak was approximately 5 log CFU/g level. All doses of gamma irradiation were effective in reducing the population of total aerobic bacteria and coliform bacteria in hamburger steaks. In hamburger steaks irradiated at 20 k㏉, tile microbial growth was not observed during storage. The shelf-life of hamburger steaks were determined by microbiological counts of 10$^{6}$ ∼10$^{7}$ CFU/g and those of the steaks irradiated at 0, 5 and 10 k㏉ were ranged among 14, 28∼42 and 98∼112 days, respectively. The shelf-life of both irradiated hamburger steaks added with 500 ppm rosemary extract powder at 5 and 10 k㏉ was extended more 14 days than non-added sample. Results suggested that both gamma irradiation and rosemary extract powder may improve the shelf-stability of ready-to-eat ham-burger steak. However, when the storage temperature was abused (3$0^{\circ}C$), the rosemary extract powder had not sufficient effect on the shelf- stability of hamburger steaks.

• The Korean Journal of Community Living Science
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.49-62
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• 2003

Breakfast consumption is important for nutritional balance in all population groups. The objective of this study is to seek healthy Korean with continuous traditional breakfast consumption of rice. One thousand participants who go to work or school every morning were selected by stratified method and interviewed by regional home extension workers in 24 cities, Kyeonggi province, Korea. The questions included breakfast eating habits, perceived health status,and food preferences for breakfast. The students (70.5%) were composed with elementary (17.2%), middle school(15.7%), high school(16.5%), and university(21.l%)students. The rest 29.5% were workers. The recognized importance of eating breakfast was negatively correlated with the perceived health status. It means that lowering health status made them recognize the importance of breakfast. Workers had more boiled rice with side dishes for breakfast(58.6%) than students (40.2%). The reasons of selected items for breakfast were habit (28.5%), and health (14.6%). The propensity of convenience and preference was more frequent in male workers than male students. For breakfast, ready-to-eat food (rice-roll or rice ball, retort rice, and fast-food) preferred more in middle & high school students, but boiled rice with side dishes was preferred more in workers. Boiled rice with divers cereals was selected for main dish in workers, however boiled rice only in students if obliged. We suppose the problem in next decade would be skipped breakfast in regular attendance position. For breakfast with ready-to-eat rice or something to eat in short time, students and workers should be educated to those who are too busy to eat breakfast for the enhancement of human resources.

• Food Quality and Culture
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.1-5
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• 2009

The objective of this study was to develop a reliable and reproducible descriptive analysis procedure for Korean style sweet pumpkin gruel (Hobakjuk). The sensory attributes of the sweet pumpkin gruel were developed and defined, the sample preparation method was standardized, and the sensory evaluation procedure for a sample was established. Seven types of sweet pumpkin gruel (five ready-to-eat type vs. two ready-to-heat type) were selected to be analyzed. Panel training and descriptive analysis were carried out with these 7 samples. A total of 12 sensory attributes (2 aroma/odor, 5 taste/flavor, 4 texture/mouthfeel, and 1 aftertaste attributes) were developed to describe the sensory characteristics of the sweet pumpkin gruel. The definition and reference standards for each sensory attribute were determined to clearly understand each attribute. In the main experiment, trained panelists evaluated the sensory characteristics of the 7 gruel samples based on a fifteen-point intensity scale using the developed attributes. The results were statistically analyzed by analysis of variance, principal component analysis, and cluster analysis. The results showed that the 7 sweet pumpkin gruel samples significantly differed in their intensities of all attributes except for sweet pumpkin aroma and viscosity. The ready-to-eat style samples were distinctly characterized by their sweet pumpkin aroma and flavor, whereas the ready-to-heat style samples were markedly characterized by their low intensity of gelatinized starch and pumpkin flavor retention.

• Journal of the Korean Dietetic Association
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.116-125
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• 2020

The purpose of this study was to assess the sugars contents of home meal replacement (HMR) products currently sold in Korea. This study surveyed and examined the sugars contents in 835 popular HMRs (294 ready-to-eat foods; RTE, 499 ready-to-cook foods; RTC, 42 fresh-cut vegetables; FCV) through the nutrition labels. The average price, weight and energy content of 835 HMR products were 3,917.5 Korean won, 336.0 g, and 522.7 kcal, respectively. The sugars content per product was significantly higher in the RTCs (13.4 g) and RTEs (10.3 g) than that in the FCVs (4.2 g) (P<0.001), and the percentage of energy from sugars was 9.7% for the RTEs, 10.2% for the RTCs, and 8.7% for the FCVs without any significant difference. The sugars contents of 9 RTE types were in the order of side dishes (34.3 g), sunsik (22.5 g) and hamburgers (12.1 g) per package. The percentage of energy from sugars was highest in side dishes (28.1%), followed by kimchi (24.9%), sunsik (17.2%), and hamburgers (10.6%). Among 14 RTC types, the sugars contents were in the order of hot dogs (52.9 g), tteokbokki (30.4 g) and noodles (21.2 g) per package. The percentage of energy from sugars was the highest at 22.9% for sauces, followed by side dishes (17.3%), porridges (14.4%), instant stews (14.3%), and hot dogs (13.1%). Strategies and practices are needed to reduce the sugars contents of HMR producers and the sugars intakes of HMR consumers.