iarrheal diseases constitute one of the major causes of morbidity and mortality in infants and young children globally. One of the main microorganisms causing diarrheal diseases is Campylobacter jejuni. For treatment of these diseases, Portulaca oleracea has been widely used as a folk remedy for a long time. This study was performed to investigate the antimicrobial activity of P. oleracea against gastroenteritis pathogens including C. jejuni. P. oleracea was extracted with petroleum ether, chloroform, ethylacetate, methanol, and hot water. The antimicrobial activity of the P. oleracea extracts was determined using the paper disc method, minimum inhibitory concentration, and the liquid culture method. The 10 ㎎/㎖ ethylacetate extract showed the strongest antimicrobial activity against Salmonella typhimurium, Salmonella enteriditis, and Shigella spp.. The hot water extract from P. oleracea showed the highest anti-microbial activity against C. jejuni at 10～20 ㎎/㎖. The hot water extract of P. oleracea retarded the growth of C. jejuni for 36 hr at 42℃.

Microbial parameters of indoor air containing systematic, random, and accidental error were analyzed statistically by the water quality control guidelines to suggest a guideline of indoor air. Samples were collected from 20 subway stations of Seoul Metropolitan City. Systematic errors resulted from sampling devices were checked and removed by using same devices and flow rate check. Another source of systematic error resulted from different testing personals were assessed and qualified by proficiency test. Increase of replicate sample numbers could minimize random errors and use of geometric mean instead of arithmetic mean gave more statically reliable representative values for microbial parameters. Considerations for the culture media, colony counting results with incubation time, and statement of supplemented statistical data were also suggested.

This study was conducted to evaluate microbial contamination levels of Korea traditional rice cakes such as Sirutteok, Garaetteok and Gyeongdan in the manufacturing process and environment. The microbial contamination levels such as total aerobic bacteria, fungi, coliforms, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus and Clostridium perfringens of rice cake products were analyzed. The contamination levels of total aerobic bacteria, coliforms, fungi and B. cereus in raw materials were in the range of 2.4~4.5, ND~1.9, 1.2~2.1 and 1.0~2.1 log CFU/g, respectively. The microbial contamination levels of total aerobic bacteria, coliforms, fungi and B. cereus in manufacturing process of rice cakes were increased in the soaking and grinding steps and were decreased in steaming step. E. coli, S. aureus and C. perfringens were not detected in any manufacturing process and environment. The microbial contamination levels of raw materials and final products of rice cake were suitable for microbial safety standard in Korea. However, the manufacturing environment such as equipments and employee's sanitation were in trouble for microbial safety. The results of this study suggest that safety education for personal hygiene and safety management in processing environment are continuously required to assure safety in working environment and employee's individual hygiene.

This study was conducted to assess the levels of microbiological hazards of preprocessed Namuls, which were served at the school foodservice. 19 preprocessed ground or root vegetables were collected from 21 schools in May to June of 2011. Heavy contamination of aerobic plate counts (from 3.39 to 8.42 logCFU/g) and total coliform groups (from 3.16 to 7.84 logCFU/g), enterobacteriaceaes (from 2.53 to 7.55 logCFU/g) were detected in preprocessed Namuls. In addition, the detection rates of Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus cereus (emetic form) were 4.3%, 11.7% and 2.1%, respectively. In addition, sanitary indicative bacterium at preprocessing steps of root vegetables (lotus root, burdock root, bellflower root) and blanched Namuls (bracken, sweet potato vine, chinamul) were analyzed. Aerobic plate counts, coliform groups, and enterobacteriaceaes were not effectively removed during preprocessing including washing and soaking steps. In the case of blanched Namuls (bracken, sweet potato vine, chinamul), contamination levels increased more after drying process and no significant reduction effect on the levels of microbial contamination was observed during preprocessing steps. Thus, effect of preprocessing steps on the microbiological hazards in Namuls must be reevaluated to improve the microbiological quality of preprocessed Namuls at the school foodservice and retail markets.

본 연구는 음식점을 대상으로 QMRA의 개념을 적용한 HACCP 전산프로그램을 개발하고 이를 음식점내의 HACCP에 준한 위생관리 수단으로 이용, 최종 음식의 미생물 오염 수준을 예측하여 배식되는 음식의 미생물적 안전성을 확보하여 식중독 사고를 미연에 방지할 수 있는 방법을 모색하였다. QMRA-HACCP 전산프로그램의 개발을 위하여 메뉴를 그룹화하고, 위해분석, 중요관리점의 설정, 관리기준 설정, 모니터링 방법의 설정, 수정조치의 확립 및 기록유지시스템의 확립과 같은 HACCP의 기본적인 7원칙에 의거하여 HACCP 플랜을 개발하였다. 본 QMRA-HACCP 전산프로그램은 일일점검 작업 DB, 정기정검 DB, DAQ DB 및 Rule DB 등 데이터베이스 파일을 보유하여 최종 음식의 미생물 오염 수준을 예측할 수 있으며, 데이터베이스 파일은 수정·보완할 수 있다. 또한 MS Excel의 DB 관리 능력과 MS VBA(Visual Basic Application)을 이용한 프로그램으로 Window에서 사용자가 쉽고 편리하게 이용할 수 있도록 고안되었으며, 가시적인 관리가 수월하다. 모델 음식점을 통하여 선정된 9가지 메뉴에 대하여 개발된 QMRAHACCP 전산프로그램을 이용, 최종 제품의 미생물 오염 수준을 추정하였으며, 추정된 결과를 바탕으로 민감도 분석과 시나리오 분석을 통하여 중요관리점 및 CL을 선정하였다. 본 연구를 통하여 제시된 Generic HACCP 모델은 일반적인 음식점에서 사용할 수 있도록 비교적 간단하게 계획되어 있으므로 실제 음식점에서 일어날 수 있는 모든 위해를 통제할 수는 없다. 그러므로 각 음식점의 작업 현실에 맞도록 재구성하여 적용하는 것이 바람직하다고 사료된다. 또한 개발된 QMRA-HACCP 전산 프로그램을 다양한 음식에 적용하여 그 효과를 검증하는 후속 연구 및 표준레시피 데이터 화일의 지속적인 보완이 필요하겠으며, 다른 음식점에서 QMRA-HACCP 전산프로그램을 이용하여 위생관리를 수행하고, 동시에 미생물적 평가를 병행하여 각 결과간의 상관성을 규명하여 개발된 프로그램의 효율성과 정확성을 재확인하는 연구가 실행되어야 할 것이다.

고춧가루의 품질 변화를 낮추면서 살균하는 기술을 개발하고자 감압방전플라즈마(LPDP)를 이용한 비가열살균을 시도하였고 LPDP 처리에 의한 품질변화를 조사하였다. 시중 판매 고춧가루의 오염도는 세균 7.33×104-1.07×107 CFU/g, 진균류 3.47×104-3.16×106 CFU/g의 범위를 보여 상당한 수준으로 오염된 식품으로 확인되었다. 고춧가루의 LPDP 살균 패턴은 2단계 1차 반응으로 나타났으며, 출력에 따라 살균속도상수가 증가하였다. 또한 입자가 가늘수록 살균효과가 증가하였으며, 미생물 종류별로는 세균에 비하여 진균에 대한 살균효과가 크게 나타났다. 과도한 LPDP 처리는 고춧가루의 탈색과 capsaicinoids 함량의 감소를 유발하였다. LPDP 처리 고춧가루를 사용하여 조리한 무채의 관능검사 결과 색과 맛은 5분 처리까지는 무처리구와 차이가 없었으나 10분 처리 시에는 유의하게 낮은 점수를 보였다. 반면 향과 기호도에서는 처리구와 무처리구 간에 유의차를 보이지 않아 5분 이하로 LPDP 처리 시 관능특성을 유지하면서 약 1.5 log 정도의 미생물 저감화가 가능하였다.

This study was investigated to determine the contamination levels of total aerobic bacteria, coliform group, E. coli and food-borne pathogens of side dishes from 2 traditional markets (100 samples) and 2 super markets (100 samples) located on Ulsan. The levels (range) of total aerobic bacteria was 4.75 log CFU/g (1.60~6.92 log CFU/g) in traditional market and 4.62 log CFU/g (2.00~6.46 log CFU/g) in super market, respectively. Coliform was detected in 64 and 66 samples sold at traditional markets and super markets, respectively. E, coli was detected in 4 and 6 samples sold at traditional markets and super markets, respectively. The food-borne pathogens, namely Bacillus cereus and Listeria monocytogenes were detected in 1 sample sold at traditional markets, respectively, and Bacillus cereus was detected in 4 samples sold at super markets. However, other pathogens such as Salmonella spp., Shigella spp., Vibrio parahaemolyticus, Yersinia enterocolitica, Clostridium perfringens, Camphylobacter jejuni and Pathogenic E. coli were not detected. The Saengchae and Seasoned Jeotgal were relatively vulnerable compared to the others in the food-borne pathogens.

This study was conducted to evaluate the microbiological hazard on nursery school children's hands and to investigate the reduction effect of hand washing education. A total of 59 nursery school children's hands were tested. The average number of total aerobic bacteria was 3.72 ± 0.38 log CFU/hand. Five children's hands(2 male and 3 female) were positive(14.3%) for the coliform bacteria. These results showed that hand washing education are required repetitively. Among the pathogenic bacteria tested in this study, Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus cereus were detected in 9(25.7%) and 16(45.7%) out of 35 their hands, respectively. Twelve out of sixteen B. cereus isolates(70.0%) produced enterotoxin. The results indicate that the hand hygiene of nursery school children needs to be improved. Comparing before and after hand washing in educated and non-educated group, the reduction effect of total aerobic bacteria on their hands was 0.42 and 0.60 log CFU/hand, respectively. The educated group showed 0.18 log CFU/hand higher reduction effect than non-educated group but microorganism did not eliminate perfectly. From the results, using a hand sanitizer after washing with soap and the continuous hand washing education are required to control the contaminated bacteria on nursery school children's hands.

A total of 187 samples of leafy vegetables and fruits were acquired at traditional markets and department stores in Seoul, Korea. Samples were tested for microorganism distributions and for the presence of pathogenic bacteria. The aerobic mesophilic counts ranged between 2.5 and 9.4 log CFU/g, with the highest count recorded from the dropwort. Counts of psychrotrophic microorganisms were as high as those of the mesophilic microorganisms. Total coliform populations between 1.0 and 7.8 log CFU/g were found in 90.9% of the samples. Microbiological counts for fruits were very low. Escherichia coli was isolated in 24 (12.8%) samples. Staphylococcus aureus and Clostridium perfringens contamination were found in 15 (8.0%) and 20 (10.7%) samples. Salmonella species and Listeria monocytogenes were detected in 2.7 and 0.5% of samples, respectively. Among the total 187 samples, 8 samples were contaminated by more than two pathogens. E. coli O157:H7 was not detected in any of the samples. The microbial contamination levels determined in the present study may be used as the primary data to execute microbial risk assessment of fresh vegetables and fruits.

 ,  , The entomopathogenic bacterium, Xenorhabdus sp., was isolated from an entomopathogenic nematode, Steinernema monticolum. When these bacteria were injected into the hemocoel of the diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella, they caused significant mortality. However, the bacterium was not pathogenic when it was administered orally. This study showed that Xenorhabdus sp. significantly enhanced oral pathogenicity of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) against the last instar larvae of P. xylostella. Different ratios of culture broth of Xenorhabdus sp. and Bt showed significantly different pathogenicities against P. xylostella. In field tests, the optimal bacterial mixture significantly enhanced control efficacy against P.xylostella compared to Bt treatment alone. These results demonstrated that Xenorhabdus sp. culture broth can be developed as a potent biopesticide by enhancing the insecticidal efficacy of Bt.

In recent days, there is much interest in the biocidal activity of silver since silver is known to be safe and effective as disinfectant and biocidal material against bacteria and viruses. There is also increased interest in the nano-sized silver particles which can be used as effective bactericidal material. The purposes of this study were to investigate the effect of silverized elastomers on growth of oral pathogenic microorganisms, including Streptococcus mutans, Fusobacterium nucleatum, Porphyromonas gingivalis by comparing with conventional non-silverized elastomers. The antibacterial efficacy of silverized elastomer against oral pathogenic microbes was investigated by modified disk diffusion test and growth inhibition test. In modified disk diffusion test, silverized elastomer showed no antibacterial activity against S. mutans, F. nucleatum and P. gingivalis, In culture medium, the growth of S. mutans, F. nucleatum, P. gingivalis was not inhibited by silverized elastomer. Silverized elastomer exhibited no bacteriostatic and/or bacteriocidal effects against some experimental strain.nd clinical indications and diseases.

본 연구는 충남 청양의 폐광산 지역과 인근 대조구에 분포하는 Artenmisia princeps var. orientalis(쑥), Equisetum arvense(쇠뜨기)를 이용하여 식물체 내 중금속 함량이 미생물의 활성에 미치는 영향에 대해 알아보았다. 낙엽 회수시 측정한 호흡량은 처음 회수시 가장 높은 값을 나타내었으며, 시간이 지날수록 발생량은 감소하는 경향을 나타내었으며, 중금속의 함량이 높은 낙엽에서 미생물의 호흡량이 낮았으며 대조구에서 채집하여 대조구에서 분해시킨 쑥과 쇠뜨기에서 가장 빠른 분해를 보인 것으로 나타났다. 쑥과 쇠뜨기 모두 중금속 함량이 적은 낙엽에서 높은 미생물량을 나타내었다. 낙엽의 분해율과 누적호흡량, 낙엽의 분해율과 미생물량사이에는 각각 뚜렷한 양의 상관관계를 나타내었다. 따라서 본 연구결과 식물체 내의 중금속이 분해과정에 관여하는 미생물의 생장과 활성에 부정적인 영향을 미친 결과라 할 수 있다.

Salted Cabbage products purchased from different companies at 4 different districts in South Korea were detected in this study. Cabbage and salt are the main materials for kimchi manufacture. The results of general bacteria contaminated in the samples were 1.4 × 10^5, 6.4 × 10^5, 1.7 × 10^7, 3.6 × 10^7 CFU/g in cabbage and 2.7 × 10³ CFU/g in salt,respectively. The results of coliforms were detected as 2.4 × 10⁴ CFU/g, and there was no Escherichia coli in any sample. Staphylococcus aureus was detected in cabbage as 9.9 × 10², 8.0 × 10¹, and 3.0 × 10³ CFU/g, Bacillus cereus was also found in cabbage as 4.1 × 10³ and 1.0 × 10¹ CFU/g. The results of Campylobacter jejuni and Vibrio paraheamolyticus were 2.4 × 10^6 and 1.0 × 10⁴ CFU/g in cabbage, respectively. 1.0 × 10³ CFU/g for Yersinia enterocolitica was determined in salt. In case of Listeria monocytogenes, the results were 1.5 × 10¹, 1.1 × 10², and 4.5 × 10¹ CFU/g in cabbage. Total batcteria ranged from 1.4 × 10¹ to 4.4 × 10^5 CFU/g were detected in salting solution, from 1.5 × 10⁴ to 1.2 × 10^8 CFU/g in dehydrated salted-cabbage, from 9.4 × 10⁴ ~1.3 × 10^8 CFU/g in minced salted-cabbage. The results of E. coli in samples from different companies were different from one to anther. The results of the contamination of S. aureus and B. cereus showed positive in salting solution and dehydrated salted-cabbage at a portion of companies. V. paraheamolyticus was detected in salting solution. The contamination of Y. enterocolitica ranged from 9.5 × 10² to 1.8 × 10³ CFU/g in salting solution, from 1.7 × 10¹ to 2.7 × 10² CFU/g in dehydrated salted-cabbage, from 1.2 × 10² to 1.3 × 10^8 CFU/g in minced salted-cabbage. The contamination of L. monocytogenes ranged from 8.0 × 10² to 1.7 × 104 CFU/g in salting solution, from 2.8 × 10² to 1.2 × 10⁴CFU/g in dehydrated salted-cabbage. During the manufacture processing of Kimchi, microorganisms were detected in cabbages salted in different concentrations of salt solution at 8%, 10%, 12% and 15% for 5-20 hours. As the results, 3.5 × 10^5 -1.7 × 10^6 , 3.4 × 10^5 - 2.5 × 10^6 , 5.4 × 10^5 - 2.3 × 10^6 , 4.0 × 10^5 - 2.3 × 10^6 CFU/g were detected for E. coli in samples at different treatment conditions. 1.9 × 10⁴- 4.1 × 10⁴, 4.1 × 10³ - 2.8 × 10⁴, 1.5 × 10³ - 7.8 × 10³ , 2.2 × 10⁴- 6.6 × 10⁴CFU/g were detected for S. aureus in samples at different treatment conditions. Salmonella typhimurium was detected in salted cabbage with various salt concentration after salting for 5 hrs, the result ranged from 2.5 × 10^5 to 3.8 × 10^6 CFU/g, and change of microorganism was the smallest in salted cabbage under the concentration of salting solution at 10% for 15 hours. The cabbage salted in 10% salting solution for 15 hours were washed with water for 2 and 3 times, with chlorine for 3 times, and with acetic acid for 3 times. E. coli was detected in the samples washed with water for 2 and 3 times, washed with chlorine for 3 times. The contamination of S. aureus was 3.0 × 10^5 CFU/g in the samples washed with water for 2 times,5.6 × 10³ CFU/g in the samples washed with acetic acid for 3 times, 3.6 × 10^5 CFU/g in the samples washed with water for 3 times and same amount in the samples washed with chlorine for 3 times. According to the results, the contamination of S. aureus was 5.6 × 10³ CFU/g lower in samples washed with chlorine and acetic acid than that in samples washed with water. In case of S. typhimurium, it has been detected in samples washed with water and chlorine, 3.0 × 10¹ CFU/g as the lowest concentration among all the samples was measured in the samples washed with acetic acid for 3 times.

Cereals are the main raw material for sunsik manufacture. As the fundamental processing step, it is very important to confirm the level of the microorganism contamination in the cereals. This study was carried out a micrbiological screening of cereal samples for sunsik from 19 companies located in South Korea. Ten kinds of cereals which were glutinous rice, barley, brownrice, blackbean, blackrice, blacksesame, sorghum, millet, perilla seed, and adlay were investigated. As the results, the contaminations of general bacterial were 3.1~8.6 log(CFU/g). The results of Escherichia coli were 1.0~3.4 log(CFU/g). There was no contamination of Salmonella. spp in any cereal samples except black sesame and mold was detected in barley. The experiment for microbiological contamination during sunsik processing was also investigated in this study. The results of general bacteria were detected as 5.1~8.5, 4.4~7.5,1.0~2.3, 2.4~4.2, 1.0~4.0, 3.4~4.2, 4.3~5.2, and 3.3~5.5 log(CFU/g) during environment of warehousing, washing,steaming, 1st cooling, drying, 2nd cooling, grinding, and packaging process, respectively. The results of coliform were 1.0~2.0 log(CFU/g) during warehousing respectively. Mold was found in warehousing. In case of the instruments, the contaminations of general bacterial were 4.2~7.5, 0.1~2.0, 0.1~3.2, 3.7~4.0, 2.5~3.0, and 3.8~5.2 log(CFU/g) in cereals tanks, washing machines, grinding machines, packaging machines, and workrooms. The results of coliform were 2.4~4.0, 0.0~4.1 log(CFU/g) in cereals tanks and grinding machines, respectively. Mold were only found in cereals tanks, grinding machines, and workings. Therefore, the risk of hazard microorganisms contmination might be decrased as the exhaustive management is applied to the whole sunsik process.

To evaluate the indoor air quality of food manufacturing plants, the presence of viable bacteria and fungi was assessed in the indoor air of the facilities at which 9 food items were manufactured. Air samples were collected from the general zone, low clean zone and clean zone of each factory with an air sampler, in combination with plate counts agar using for bacteria, and dichloran-glycerol agar for fungi. The samples were incubated at 25℃for 4 to 7 days. After culture, the colony forming units (CFU) on each plate were counted and corrected with a positive hole conversion table. The average concentration of bacteria was 2.2 × 10³ CFU/㎥ in the general zone, 1.2 ×10³ CFU/㎥ in the low clean zone and 7.3 × 10² CFU/㎥ in the clean zone. The average concentration of fungal microbes was 2.5 × 10³ CFU/㎥ in the general zone, 2.6 × 10³ CFU/㎥ in the low clean zone, and 2.0 × 10² CFU/㎥in the clean zone. No meaningful differences were detected between the general zone and the low clean zone, but the clean zone had significantly lower concentrations than the other zones. Additionally, the identification of the fungi was performed according to morphological method using a giant culture and slide culture. The fungi were identified as belonging to 18 genera, and the genera Cladosporium(33%), Penicillium(29%) and Aspergillus(26%), predominated. Aspergillus isolates were identified to species level, and A. ochraceus, a mycotoxigenic species, was identified. As part of the effort to control the quality of the indoor air of food manufacturing plants, our results show that continued studies are clearly warranted.

This study was carried out to investigate efficacy of aerosol sanitizer with natural antimicrobial and organic acids against Escherichia coli O157:H7, Salmonella Typhimurium and Listeria monocytogenes. The artificially inoculated pathogens on stainless steel coupon were treated with grapefruit seed extract (GFE), acetic acid,citric acid and lactic acid in model cabinet for 5 min. The number of three foodborne pathogens with individual treatment was reduced by 0.34-3.77 log units, treatment with GEF + organic acid was reduced by 1.72-3.89 log units and treatment with GEF + organic acid + alcohol was reduced by 1.46-5.05 log units. By treatment with GEF + lactic acid + alcohol in scale-up model system for 10 min. Populations of E. coli O157:H7, S. Typhimurium and L. monocytogenes were reduced by 3.42, 2.72 and 2.30 log units from the untreated control respectively. From the above result,aerosol sanitizer with natural antimicrobial agents and organic acid can be used as an environmental sanitation method with satisfying the consumer demand on safe food.

Produce, including leafy vegetables, has been implicated in several outbreaks of food illness. To evaluate microbiological safety of lettuce and it’s cultivation area, a total of 147 samples were collected from lettuce farms and post harvest facility at Icheon, Gyeonggi province. The collected samples were assessed for presence of sanitary indicator microorganisms (Aerobic plate count, coliform count, Escherichia coli) and foodborne pathogens (Escherichia coli O157:H7, Salmonella spp., Staphylococcus aureus, Listeria monocytogenes, Bacillus cereus). The population of APC was over 4.0 log CFU from most of the samples. While the numbers of APC, and coliform of lettuce at 62 days after transplanting were 4.18 log CFU/g, and 1.00 log CFU/g, respectively, those of 10 days after transplanting were 5.37 log CFU/g, and 2.87 log CFU/g, respectively. B. cereus was highly detected from soil and balance which were contaminated with 3.5 log CFU/g, and 2.6 log CFU/100 cm2, respectively. The number of E. coli recovered from gloves was 3.5 log CFU/hand. However, E. coli O157:H7, Salmonella spp., and L. monocytogenes were not detected. These data suggested that risk management system should be introduced to lettuce farms to enhance safety of lettuce.