The official analytical method for the analysis of harmful heavy metals in Meju, distributed in Korea, employs a strong acid to decompose the organic components. This analysis is time consuming and harmful to the users and/or the environment. This study aimed to develop a new pre-treatment technology using laser ablation, to rapidly analyze harmful heavy metals without using strong acids. The results obtained from this method were validated by the National Institute of Food and Drug Safety Evaluation guideline (NIFDS, 2016). Moreover, a comparison of the two methods showed that the analytical time for 55 Meju samples was shortened by 96% or more in the new method. The results showed no significant difference in the recovery ranging from 90–120%. The proposed method proved suitable for detecting harmful heavy metals in Meju.

메주와 누룩은 한국 전통 발효 식품에 사용되는 스타터로, Aspergillus속 곰팡이나 aflatoxin에 노출되기 쉽다. 본 연구에서는 우리나라에서 시판되는 57개의 메주 시료와 18개의 누룩 시료로부터 Aspergillus 속 곰팡이를 분리하고 동정하였다. 분리주의 aflatoxin 생성 가능성을 평가하기 위하여 multiplex PCR을 통해 aflatoxin 생합성 유전자 (aflO, aflP, aflR)를 확인하고, 이들 분리주에 의해 생성되는 aflatoxin 함량을 HPLC로 조사하였다. 뿐만 아니라 시판 메주와 누룩 시료 중 aflatoxin 함량을 분석하였다. 그 결과, 메주 시료로부터 130개, 누룩 시료로부터 47개 균주가 분리되어 총 177개의 분리주를 확인 및 동정하였다. 각 각 메주와 누룩으로부터 분리된 19.2% (25/130), 10.6% (5/ 47)의 분리주가 3 종류의 aflatoxin 생합성 유전자를 모두 보유하였으며, 그 중 메주로부터 분리된 5개의 분리주가 실제 로 aflatoxin을 생성하였다. 시판 메주와 누룩 시료 중 aflatoxin 함량을 분석한 결과, 88% (51/58)의 메주 시료의 aflatoxin 오염 수준은 모두 검출한계 미만으로 나타났고, 누룩 또한 시료의 39% (7/18)가 검출한계 미만으로 확인되었다. 메주와 누룩에서 분리된 분리주 중 aflatoxin 생합성 유전자를 모두 보유하거나 배지 상에서 aflatoxin 생성을 보여준 aflatoxigenic 균주는 존재하였으나 유통되고 있는 시료에서 aflatoxin 오염 빈도는 낮은 수준임을 확인할 수 있었다.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the quality properties of Meju prepared by inoculating two strains of Bacillus amyloliquefaciens HJ5-2, and Aspergillus oryzae PS03. The three soybean varieties that include Daewonkong, Daechan, and Saedanbaek were used in this experiment. The fermentation temperature during the Meju aging varied at 20℃, 30℃, and 40℃, respectively. The physicochemical analysis of the soybeans, showed that the cured protein and fat contents were 34.83~43.49% and 12.91~18.90%, respectively. The pH and total acidity were 6.47~6.93 and 0.11~1.22%, respectively. The change in appearance of the Meju was that the yellow-green mold was well formed on seven days at fermentation temperature of 20℃ and 30℃, but at 40℃, there was minimal mold formation and cracking of the surface. The amino nitrogen content was highest on the Daechan Meju at 621.83 mg% for seven days. The amylase increased as the fermentation period increased in all samples, and the protease increased rapidly until the first day of the fermentation, and then gradually increased thereafter. The total number of bacteria increased or decreased as the fermentation proceeded to 6.66~10.07 log CFU/g. The mold counts increased with increasing fermentation period in the range of 6.38~8.79 log CFU/g.

This study was conducted to investigate quality characteristics of red bean gochujang prepared with different ratios of meju for eight weeks. We determined quality characteristics such as pH, moisture content, total microbial flora counts, amino-type nitrogen content, total polypenol content, and antioxidant activity. The pH decreased by fermentation period, whereas total acidity was 0.36~0.39% in the early stage of fermentation, 0.63~1.16% at four weeks of fermentation, and decreased to 0.43~0.65% after the eighth week of fermentation. Moisture content of the control (no red bean, no rice) decreased 62.13% to 50.93%, but in case of the treatment, it slightly decreased. Total cell counts revealed similar tendency at the beginning of fermentation, and at eight weeks of fermentation. In case of lactic acid bacteria, all samples except RB-1.5 (gochujang added meju made of mixing ratio of rice:soybean:red bean (1:2:1.5) slightly increased. Amino nitrogen and total polyphenol of all samples increased in the fermentation period, especially RB-1.5 sample had the highest levels than other samples. By increasing the amount of red bean, DPPH radical scavenging activities increased. In taste sensing analysis, all treat samples except RB-1.5 revealed lower sourness than the control. Also, in case of bitterness, all samples revealed low content than the control. So, by adding red bean, it can enhance taste and function of gochujang.

본 연구에서는 우리나라의 전통메주의 품질관리 및 표준화를 위한 기초자료로 제시하고자 전국적으로 수집한 전통메주 18종(TM1~TM18)의 이화학적 및 미생물 분포의 특성을 조사하였다. 메주의 외관은 시료에 따라 색, 곰팡이 생성 양상 등이 다르게 나타났으며, 형태는 사각형으로 무게는 약 0.84~2.04 kg 정도로 나타났다. 이화학적 특성으로 pH, 적정산도, 수분함량 및 조단백질 함량을 측정한 결과, pH는 5.31~ 8.21, 적정산도는 0.91~2.74% 수준으로 시료 간의 차이를 보였다. 수분함량은 4.79~42.16%로 시료에 따라 약 8.8배, 조단백질 함량은 41.37~23.48% 수준으로 1.7배의 차이를 나타내었다. 색도를 측정한 결과, L값의 경우 39.07~67.92, b값 및 a값은 각각 3.57~8.87, 7.48~20.67 수준으로 조사되었다. 메주의 발효정도를 알 수 있는 아미노태 질소 함량은 시료에 따라 257.29~839.58 mg%로 유의적으로 큰 차이를 보였고(p<0.05), TM13이 839.58 mg%로 가장 높았으며, TM3가 257.29 mg%로 가장 낮은 함량을 나타내었다. 미생물의 분포 특성으로 총균수, 효모 및 곰팡이수를 측정한 결과, 총균수는 8.43~ 5.91 log cfu/g 수준이었고, 효모는 2.48~5.19 log cfu/g, 곰팡이수는 3.42~7.48 log cfu/g 수준으로 시료에 따라 미생물의 분포가 다양하게 나타났다. 이와 같은 결과로 부터 메주를 생산하는 지역 및 산업체의 메주 제조방법, 메주의 발효기간 및 온도 등의 발효조건, 사용되는 원료 콩의 품종 등에 대한 품질기준 및 관리가 마련되어야 할 것이다.

In this study, we analyzed the utensils, covers and mats that were used for making meju, the shape of meju, and the heating method used for making meju from the 225 ways of preparing jang mentioned in the 32 volumes of the ancient cook books from 530 AD to 1950. The heating method of traditional meju bean and starch included 57 kinds of steaming, 59 of boiling, 21 of roasting + boiling, and 2 of cooking. The shape of meju included 41 kinds of egg, 27 of ball, 22 of lump, a kind of doughnut, 8 kinds of hilt, 6 of flat, 4 of chip, and a kind of square. Among the 72 gochoojang meju, the heating method of bean included 9 kinds of boiling, and 6 kinds of steaming; whereas the heating method of starch included 19 kinds of steaming of dough, 11 of rice cooking, and 5 of boiling of dough. The utensils for molding of bean meju were 49 kinds of straw sack, 14 of round straw container, 11 of heating bed, 7 of large straw bowl or Japanesesnailseed, 5 of jar, 4 of ditch, 3 of straw bowls, 2 of pottery steamer of dough, 2 of gourd, and a kind of long round bamboo bowl and sack of straw. The cover and the mat used for molding of meju included 36 kinds of straw, 17 kinds of paper mulberry leaf, 15 of wide straw seat, 14 of mugwort, 11 of pine tree leaf, 10 of soybean leaf, 6 of cocklebur leaf, 6 of sumac leaf, 6 of barley straw, 6 of mulberry leaf, 5 of fallen leaf, 5 of cogon grass, 4 of reed seat, 3 of scrap of cloth, 2 of Indian bean tree leaf, a kind of reed. There were only 5 kinds of hanging.

This study evaluated the quality characteristics of rice-doenjang prepared with Aspergillus oryzae MD05 and Bacillus subtilis HJ18-4. The physicochemical characteristics of rice-doenjang prepared with three types of meju, such as grain type(Rice 1), disc shape(Rice 2), and brick shape(Rice 3), were compared. We determined amino and ammonia nitrogen contents, protease and amylase activities, reducing sugar content, and total aerobic counts and lactic acid bacteria counts. The amino nitrogen and reducing sugar contents in all meju types gradually increased during fermentation. The amino nitrogen contents reached 151.5～200.0 ㎎%. Rice 3 were had the highest levels among the 4 types of rice-doenjang. After 42 days of fermentation, amylase and protease activity of Rice 3 were 366.57 and 94.26 unit/g, respectively, which were the highest levels among the 4 types of rice-doenjang. The total aerobic bacteria counts were not changed during 42-day fermentation. This results suggest that high quality characteristics of brick-shaped meju(Rice 3) were better than those of the other meju preparations.

Generally, non-aflatoxigenic fungi, such as Aspergillus oryzae, and Aspergillus niger are main microflora in Korean traditional fermented foods including Meju and soybean paste, but sometimes, Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus can be contaminated and accumulated aflatoxins during fermentation and storage. So the screening of aflatoxigenic strains in fermented traditional food is very important to improve the sanitary quality of those foods. In this work, we screened aflatoxin producing fungi from commercial Meju and soybean paste in Western Gyeongnam by immunoassay. Samples were randomly purchased from market of the commercial Meju(10 EA) and soybean paste(20 EA) in nine areas of Western Gyeongnam. Of the samples collected, 24 strains and 22 strains of Aspergillus sp. were isolated from Meju and soybean paste, respectively. The isolated strains were cultured on SLS media at 25℃ for 15 days. The cultured broth were extracted with ethyl acetate and were analysed to determine aflatoxin B₁(AFB₁) by direct competitive ELISA(DC-ELISA). Six strains(25%) isolated from Meju, and 2 strains(9%) isolated from saybean paste, were confirmed as aflatoxin producing strains. The average range of aflatoxin productivity of isolates from Meju was 54.6 ± 38.7 ng/ml and that from soybean paste was 11.1 ± 8.6 ng/ml, respectively. Among them, isolated strain No. M-5-4 produced a high level of AFB₁ and showed 98.26 ng/ml of AFB₁. Every isolates were also re-confirmed their AFB₁ productivity by thin layer chromatography(TLC). The TLC results also showed same trend as DC-ELISA results. As the above results, the screening of hazard mycotoxigenic fungi from traditional fermented foods should be necessary for the safety and the application of HACCP system in the food manufactory in Korea.

여름철에 제조한 재래식의 벽돌형 메주(A)구, 국균접종의 벽돌형 메주(B구)와 콩알형 메주(C구)로 하절기에 간장을 담금하고 숙성과정중의 유리아미노산을 분석한 결과는 다음과 같다. 숙성기간과 시험구에 따라 다소 차이는 있으나 담금직후에 lysine, histidine, serine, glycine, valine, methionine, phenylalanine이, 90일에는 aspartic acid, glutamic acid, alanine, threonine, arginine, leucine 등이, 180일에는 isoleucine, tyrosine이 각각 검출되었다. Lysine과 histidine은 숙성과정 중 또는 시험구에서 증가 현상이 컸고, 검출된 유리아미노산 중 가장 함량이 높았다. Glutamic acid, aspartic acid, methionine 등은 숙성기간 중 감소하였다. 유리아미노산 총량은 숙성기간의 경과에 따라 증가되어 180일에 3,559-4,119mg/100ml으로 가장 높은 함량을 나타내었다. 국균접종의 콩알형 메주로 담금한 C구가 유리아미노산 총량이 가장 높았고 벽돌형 메주의 A구와 B구는 비슷하였다. 총질소나 아미노태질소는 벽돌형 메주로 담금한 간장이 높았다.

When used as a starter in the manufacture of Meju, it is expected that the quality of the soup products can be improved. In this study, we isolated Lactobacillus strain having possible safety and food-industrial benefits as a starter. Four hundred and seven isolates were screened from Meju, and chemically characterized for their antibacterial activity against Bacillus cereus, non-productivity of biogenic amine, and hemolysis. Eight of the isolates were selected upon chemical characterization, and their antioxidant and β-glucosidase activity was measured. Finally, we selected, and measured its enzyme activity and antibiotic resistance. Next, we investigated its cell growth, showed maximum biomass of 3.5 g/L after 28 h of culture. The ingredients of the medium to improve biomass were selected using the Plackett-Burman design (PBD) and central composite design (CCD). The results obtained using PBD revealed molasses, yeast extract, and maltose to be significant factors determining the biomass of the L. brevis SCML 432 strain. The CCD was then applied with three variables found from PBD and the optimum values were predicted to be 5.5% molasses, 1.5% yeast extract, and 2.0% maltose, and the maximum biomass was predicted to be 11.2 g/L. Through model verification, we confirmed that the predicted and actual results were similar, with about 3.2-fold improvement in the biomass from 3.5 g/L to 11.3 g/L when compared to that obtained in basal medium. These results suggest that SCML 432 has high potential in the food industry as a starter.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the physiochemical properties of Doenjang was fermented by added with fungi and protease. The moisture content and pH of Doenjang added with protease (WP) were lower than those of control w/o protease while the contents of titratable acidity, reducing sugar, and amino-type nitrogen in WP were higher than control. The α-amylase activities of Doenjang added with single and mixed Protease B were the highest at 4 weeks of fermentation period and protease activity of WP was about 4 times higher than that of control. The 4-9 kinds of free amino acids (proline, isoleucine, leucine, and phenylalanine etc.) in WP was increased in comparison with control. The DPPH radical scavenging activity and total polyphenol content were higher in WP than control. Total aerobic bacterial and fungal numbers were decreased depending on fermentation time regardless of addition of protease. In conclusion, the protease can be used as additives improving the quality and taste of fermented Doenjang.

In this study, wheat doenjang was manufactured using Korean wheat meju and soybean meju, and its quality were investigated according to mixing ratio of meju. The general characteristics such as moisture contents, pH and salinity of wheat doenjang, which is fermented and aged at 25℃ for 70 days, were slightly decreased time dependently as similar pattern. The pH of wheat doenjang ranged from 4.95 to 5.11% and generally ecreased with aging. The moisture contents was 54.5~57.5%, and there was no significant differences in the aging period. Also, there was no significant changes in the salt contents. The amino-type nitrogen contents were 376.27~600.91 mg% at day 70 of the aging period, and showed 3 fold change compared to the initial contents. The reducing sugar contents showed significant difference between the samples, and repeated fluctuation in the aging period. Wheat meju sample A, which contains 50% of soybean meju, showed the highest antioxidation ability. In addition, wheat meju sample A showed the highest score in the sensory evaluation of the colour, taste, flavor, and overall acceptability. Therefore, wheat doenjang manufacturing at a 1:1 of mixing ratio will lead to desirable quality of wheat doenjang.

In this research, the soaking and steaming conditions of Korean wheat meju according to the degree of milling were investigated, and the quality characteristic was analyzed, for the manufacture of the standardized Korean wheat meju. As a result of the changes in weight, volume, moisture content, and moisture absorption amount, which indicate the physical properties of Korean wheat meju using 20% polished wheat, 50% polished wheat, whole wheat, and whole wheat flour, most of the wheat materials reached the equilibrium state after 4 hours of soaking. Also, the appropriate steaming time to complete the cooking of the wheat materials was found to be 10 min at 100℃, except for whole wheat. The 20 and 50% polished wheat materials were selected for Korean wheat meju based on the soaking and steaming results. The selected wheat materials were fermented using Aspergillus oryzae and Bacillus subtilis M1, respectively, and the quality properties and enzyme activities showed that A. oryzae would be effective for the manufacture of Korean wheat meju. Also, the 50% polished wheat showed higher total sugar content, reducing sugar content, and α-amylase activity than the 20% polished wheat. Therefore, it is supposed that the fermentation of 50% polished wheat by A. oryzae would be appropriate for manufacturing superior Korean wheat meju.

메주의 산업화를 위해, 종균으로서는 A. oryze와 A. sojae 그리고 B. subtilis를 병용하고, 습도조절과 함께 에서 12일간 발효하면서 메주의 품질특성 변화를 조사하였다. 그리고 이들 종균 접종 메주와 순창 고추장 민속마을에서 입수한 된장용 전통메주의 효소 활성도를 비교하였다. 즉, A. oryzae를 접종한 메주(=AO메주), A. oryze와 B. subtilis를 접종한 메주(AOBS메주), A. sojae를 접종한 메주(=

재래식 메주의 산업화의 공정관리를 위한 기초자료를 제시하기 위해 강원도 원주를 비롯한 전국 17개 지역에서 구입한 재래식 메주의 수분 등의 이화학적 성분, -amylase 등의 효소분석 및 생균수 등의 미생물 분석을 하였다. 전국에서 구입한 메주의 형태는 사각형의 벽돌 모양이 8개 지역, 9개지역은 둥근 모양을 띄고 있었다. 재래식 메주의 수분은 강원도 정선 메주가 최저 9.83%(w/w)인 반면 전북 정읍메주가 약 3.7배 많은 36.24%(w