• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.54 no.1
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• pp.75-79
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• 2022

Fresh, washed ginseng can be contaminated with microorganism loads as high as 6.5 log CFU/g for total bacteria and 4.3 log CFU/g for mold. The goal of this study was to test eight antibacterial agents on ginseng. Immersing fresh ginseng washed in 1% (w/w) sodium citrate, sodium diacetate, sodium acetate, citric acid, and sodium lactate solution for 1 h resulted in a bactericidal effect of 31.0-97.5% for total bacteria. Among the organic acids, sodium citrate had the best antibacterial effect, with total bacteria reduced from 6.5 log to 4.9 log CFU/g. A 1% (w/w) vitamin B₁ lauryl sulfate solution with surfactant function by hydrophilic and hydrophobic sites can reduce 2.7 log CFU/g (99.8% inactivation) on total bacteria. In the 1% (w/w) calcium oxide solution, total bacteria were reduced by 3 log, showing an excellent inactivation effect of 99.9%. Calcium oxide is a highly useful material for inactivation of microorganisms in fresh ginseng.