• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.240-253
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• 1997

The main problems contributing to food poisoning outbreaks in institutional settings and a home were reviewed and analyzed through the epidemiological investigations of food poisoning. The major documented factors included improper holding temperatures, inadequate cooking, poor personal hygiene, cross-contamination and contaminated equipment, food from unsafe sources, failure to follow food hygiene policies, and lack of education, training, monitoring and superivision. Usually more than one factor contributed to the development of an outbreak. (1) Use of improper holding temperatures was the single most important factor contributing to food poisoning. They included improper cooling, allowing a laps of time (12 hours or more) between preparing food and eating it, improper hot holding, and inadequate or improper thawing. Food thermometers were not used in most of the instances. (2) In inadequate cooking, the core temperature of food during and after cooking had not been measured, and routine monitoring was limited to recording the temperature of plated meals. Compared with conventional methods of cooking, microwave ovens did not protect against food poisoning as effectively. Centralized food preparation potentially increased the risk of food poisoning outbreaks. (3) Poor personal hygiene both at the individual level (improper handwashing and lack of proper hygienic practices) and at the institutional level (poor general sanitization) increased the risk of transmission. Person to person transmission of enteric pathogens through direct contact and via fomites has been noted in several instances. (4) Obtaining food from unsafe sources was a risk factor in outbreaks of food poisoning. Food risks were high when food was grown or harvested from contaminated areas. Possibilities included contamination in the field, in transport, at the retail site, or at the time it was prepared for serving. (5) Cross-contamination and inadequate cleaning/handling of equipment became potential vehicles of food poisoning. Failure to separate cooked food from raw food was also a risk factor. (6) Failure to follow food hygiene policies also provided opportunities for outbreaks of food poisoning. It included improper hygienic practices during food preparation, neglect of personnel policies (involvement of symptomatic workers in food preparation), poor results on routine inspections, and disregarding the results and recommendations of an inspection. (7) Lack of formal and in-service education, training, monitoring, and supervision of food handlers or supervisors were critical and perhaps neglected elements in occurrences of food poisoning.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.19-26
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• 2009

This study was undertaken to analyze the hygienic problems of group food services and to predict the outbreak patterns of future food-borne diseases. A delphi survey with 20 experts identified the main causes of food-borne outbreaks in group food services as improper hygienic management of raw food materials, washing of worker's hands, dividing the spaces and unsanitary retail storage. Vibrio parahaemolyticus, Escherichia coli (EPEC), non-typhoid Salmonella serotypes, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli (ETEC), norovirus, and the hepatitis A virus all have potential to cause outbreaks of food-borne disease. We analyzed the daily food use and the possibility of food-borne outbreaks in school food services for fruits, milk, fish, pork, eggs, and meat as raw food materials, and bibimbab, soybean sprouts muchim, spinach namul, cucumber sengchae, jabchae, and pork bulgogi as prepared food items. Frozen (${\leq}\;-20^{\circ}C$) and refrigerated ($0{\sim}10^{\circ}C$) processed foods are popular items in group food services. Their storage, heating, and chemical sanitization methods are potential sources of food disease outbreaks. Our results can be applied to a well-organized hygiene control system and can be used to develop menus for preventing food-borne outbreaks.

• Food Science and Preservation
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• v.13 no.6
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• pp.708-713
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• 2006

In order to study the quarantine and sanitization methods for dried red pepper, comparative effects of commercial fumigation (methyl bromide/MeBr, phosphine gas/$PH_3$) and gamma irradiation (5, 10 kGy) were investigated in terms of soluble pigment capsanthin, and capsaicin content of pepper during storage at mom temperature for 8 months. In water-soluble pigment, the degree of browning was highest in the fumigated samples, particularly in pericarp part, as compared to the control and irradiated samples. In general, the changes in capsanthin content were not apparent by treatment groups, but some reduced content were found in 10 kGy-irradiated pericarp group, Eight months of storage resulted in the significant decrease in capsanthin contents of pericarp part by $26.76{\sim}38.08%$ depending on treatment groups. The contents of capsaicin and dihydrocapsaicin were not different between the control and 5 kGy groups, while their contents decreased in both fumigated and 10 kGy-irradiated groups(p<0.05). The reduction in pungent component was observed in all the sooted samples, which was mote apparent in teated groups than in the control.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.238-244
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• 2010

Currently, in vitro suspension tests using tubes are used as a authorized test method for sanitizers and disinfectants. However, the methods could not accurately assess the efficacy of sanitizers and disinfectant on the food-contacted surfaces in the field. This study evaluated the effectiveness of 5 kinds of representative sanitizers and disinfectants against E. coli and S. aureus to compare three quantitative surface testing methods that have been internationally standardized. As a result, the ASTM E2111-05 (ASTM(1)) test method obtained 5.18 $\pm$ 0.03 and 5.27 $\pm$ 0.04 log cfu/carrier reduction in dealing with E. coli and S. aureus, respectively, the ASTM E2197-02 (ASTM(2)) test method obtained 4.63 $\pm$ 0.04 and 3.97 $\pm$ 0.03 log cfu/carrier reduction and the CEN EN 13697 test method should 6.14 $\pm$ 0.05 and 5.31 $\pm$ 0.10 log cfu/carrier reduction in clean condition (CEN(1)) but 4.37 $\pm$ 0.02 and 4.06 $\pm$ 0.01 log cfu/carrier reduction in dirty condition (CEN(2)). Among them, CEN(1) showed the highest bactericidal effects, whereas ASTM(2) and CEN(2) revealed low performance (p < 0.05). In conclusion, the bactericidal effects of the ASTM(2) method and the CEN EN 13697 method adopting stainless steel were lower than the ASTM(1) method, which uses glass. The effectiveness assessment results among nationally accredited test methods were different each other. This implies that they could not fit for in the accurate evaluation of sanitization and disinfection on food-contact surfaces in practical food-processing fields. These results could be used as a basic data for establishment of an official surface test methods applicable in the field.