The purpose of this study was to investigate the microbiological contamination of water and drinking cups in springs and to estimate the toxin gene, enterotoxin production ability and antibiotic susceptibility of foodborne pathogens. Ten spring water and 34 drinking cups were tested. The average number of total aerobic bacteria and coliform bacteria in spring water were 1.8 log CFU/mL and 1.2 log CFU/mL, and in drinking cups were 4.7 log CFU/ 100 cm2 and 1.7 log CFU/100 cm2. Salmonella spp., Staphylococcus aureus, E. coli O157:H7, Listeria monocytogenes, Vibrio parahaemolyticus, Yersinia enterocolitica were not isolated from all of samples but Bacillus cereus was detected in 5 (14.7%) of 34 drinking cups. The nheA and entFM genes were major enterotoxin genes in B. cereus isolated from drinking cups. All of B. cereus tested in this study produce non-heamolytic enterotoxin but only 2 isolates possessed heamolysin BL enterotoxin producing ability. B. cereus was resistant to β-lactam antibiotics. These results revealed that the sanitary conditions of drinking cups in spring should be improved promptly. The substitution carrying a personal drinking cup for the public drinking cups equipped in springs is suggested to prevent food-borne illness.

Vegetable seed oils (VSOs) have been extracted and used not only as ingredients in food and as sources of dietary lipids, but also as sources of nutraceuticals used to overcome the various oxidative stresses that contribute to the development of diseases, including cancer and other chronic conditions. The chemical compositions and oxidative stabilities of various VSOs were therefore investigated; samples were stored for 35 d, with each oil having been tested under O2 exposure, sealed from O2 exposure and sealed from O2 exposure while containing O2 scavengers. Oxidative stability was evaluated by peroxide value (POV), p-anisidine value (p-AnV), iodine value (IV), and thiobarbituric acid (TBA) value. Perilla seed and flaxseed oil were mostly composed of linolenic acid (45.5% and 59.7%, respectively), whereas pine seed oil was mostly composed of linoleic acid (48.3%). Meanwhile, camellia seed and olive oils contained 80% oleic acid, which correlated strongly with oxidative stability. The POV, p-AnV, and TBA values were the highest under O2 exposure, and the lowest in the presence of O2 scavengers. These results indicate that VOS oxidative stability depends not only on storage conditions, but on unsaturated fatty acid profiles as well.

The aim of this study was to determine total mercury and methyl mercury level in fishes (Deepsea Fish, Tuna, Billfish) and fishery products. A total of 101 fishes and 44 fishery products samples collected from commercial market in Gyeonggi-do. Total mercury were analysed by mercury analyzer and methyl mercury were analyzed by gas chromatography with electron capture detector. In the fishes, total mercury was detected in all samples and methylmercury was detected in 92 samples of them. The detection rate of methylmercury was 91.1% in fishes. The mean concentration (mg/kg) of total mercury and methylmercury were 1.968 ± 0.505/0.496 ± 0.057 for Billfish, 0.665 ± 0.091/0.252 ± 0.033 for Deep-sea Fish and 0.577 ± 0.085/0.218 ± 0.025 for Tuna, respectively. The Swordfish contains the highest level of total mercury (1.968 mg/kg) and methylmercury (0.496 mg/kg). In Mabled rockfish, the ratio of methylmercury’s contents about total mercury’s contents was the highest as 66.5%. In case of fishery products, frozens made of 100% of raw material contained the highest level of total mercury and methyl mercury. The weekly intake of total mercury and methylmercury was calculated in 4.72% and 5.24% of Provisional Tolerable Weekly Intake (PTWI) respectively. This study showed that the weekly intake of methylmercury from Deep-sea Fish, Tuna and Billfish was less than the PTWI recommended by the Joint FAO/WHO expert committee on food additives.

The purpose of this study was to verify the drying characteristics of steamed sweet potato and to establish optimal drying conditions for far-infrared drying of steamed sweet potato. 4 kg of steamed sweet potato was sliced to thicknesses of 8 and 10 mm, and dried by a far-infrared dryer until a final moisture content of 25±0.5%. The far-infrared dryer conditions were an air velocity of 0.6, 0.8 m/s and drying temperature of 60, 70, and 80oC. The results can be summarized as follows. The drying time tended to be reduced as temperature and air velocity for drying increased. The Lewis and Modified Wang and Singh models were found to be suitable for drying of steamed sweet potato by a far-infrared dryer. The color difference was 35.09 on the following conditions: Thickness of 8 mm, temperature of 80oC, and air velocity of 0.8 m/s. The highest sugar content (59.11 oBrix) was observed on the conditions of a thickness of 8 mm, temperature of 80, and air velocity of 0.8 m/s. Energy consumption decreased on the conditions of higher temperature, slower air velocity, and thinner steamed sweet potato.

This study developed a vegetable preference increase program that can be applied at the Center for Children's Foodservice Management (CCFM) for children in child-care facilities and kindergarten and the training performance was evaluated by 192 5-year old children. Teachers considered ‘disliked food’ (3.23±0.85/out of 5) as the most serious nutritional problem and typical disliked food was ‘vegetables’ (54.2%). Based on this finding, to increase the preference for vegetables, a fivephase education program was developed. In this program, each phase was composed of activities to increase children's interest in vegetables by using each sense out of the five senses. Center dieticians had visited and conducted the program in 12 facilities. By using an illustration assessment tool, the training performance was evaluated by comparing the children's knowledge level and their preference changes in vegetables. Consequently, as examined by 10 questions on the knowledge of vegetables, trained children's (in total 192) knowledge of vegetables had considerably increased (p<0.01, p<0.001), and their preference for 15 out of the 16 vegetables, except for carrots, also showed a considerable preference increase after the training (p<0.01, p<0.001). Therefore, this program is considered to have contributed to reducing disliked vegetable eating behaviors.

The release profiles of nisin from nisin-incorporating gel foods and the antimicrobial activities of the gels on the growth of Brochothrix thermosphacta in an aqueous system containing the gels have been investigated. A linear regression model was applied to determine the diffusion coefficient (D) for the diffusion of nisin in the gel. The antimicrobial activities of nisin released from 1, 2 and 3% (w/v) agar gels on the growth of B. thermosphacta in a broth medium with and without nisin were investigated. The D decreased from 1.2×10 -2 to 8.2×10 -3 and 6.4×10 -3 cm 2 /s as the agar concentration in the gel increased from 1 to 2 and 3% (w/v), demonstrating the diffusion rate in the gels can be controlled by the agar concentration in gel. The agar gel incorporating nisin inhibited the B. thermosphacta growth in the broth medium by prolonging the lag phase. The growth inhibition was enhanced by the addition of nisin in the medium. The results of this study exhibited that the gel food is a feasible nisin delivery system with a controlled release achieved by the adjustment of agar concentration in the system, demonstrating the potential of nisin-incorporating gel for preserving particulate-containing drinks.

To determine the contents of sodium and potassium in side dishes, 92 samples from 22 different kinds of side dishes that can be classified into 3 groups were collected in Seoul area and analysed using ICP-OES. The highest sodium content was detected in pepper doenjang muchim, while potassium content was the highest in kong jorim. When comparing the content of sodium and potassium in 3 groups, namely namul, muchim, and jorim, the sodium content of namul group was significantly different from those of jorim and muchim (p-value < 0.05). Sodium intake per serving size was the highest in parae muchim among the samples as estimated to 20.2% of WHO recommendation that is 2,000 mg/day. The amount of sodium by simultaneously intake of soybean sprouts namul, anchovy jorim and parae muchim per one serving size was estimated to 1,000 mg. The potassim/sodium ratios of spinach namul and kong jorim were 1.70 and 0.81, respectively, while that of bracken namul was very low as about 0.1. Foodborne pathogens were not detected out of 92 side dishes.

This study was undertaken to evaluate the quality characteristics and antioxidant characteristics of commercially available mixed grains in Korea. The quality characteristics of mixed grain products studied were the mixing ratio, water binding capacity, water solubility, swelling power, and pasting characteristics. The antioxidant characteristics assessed the total polyphenol, flavonoid contents, DPPH and ABTS radical scavenging activities. The mixing ratio of commercially available mixed grain products consisted of 5~25 kinds of grains, with maximum products containing 15-grain products. The water binding capacity, water solubility, and swelling power in commercially available mixed grain products were 99.83~122.83%, 6.91~39.26% and 7.76~86.92%, respectively. The peak, trough, breakdown, final and setback viscosity were 31.53±20.17 RVU, 25.24±13.22 RVU, 6.29±7.43 RVU, 50.27±25.84 RVU and 18.74±8.68 RVU, respectively. Total polyphenol and flavonoid contents were 817.14~2,524.29 μg GAE/g and 06.36~1,099.09 μg CE/g, respectively. The DPPH and ABTS radical scavenging activities were 31.91~151.70 mg TE/100 g and 28.09~119.92 mg TE/100 g, respectively. Products with high phenol content and radical scavenging activity were found to contain greater proportion of brown rice, colored rice, barley and soybean.

Quality changes of dried sea cucumber (Stichopusjaponicus) after applying a cyclic rehydration and retorting process were investigated during 4 weeks of storage. The length, volume, and weight of dried sea cucumber increased significantly as the number of rehydration cycles increased. Sea cucumber (SC) was bottled in the glass jar and a retort thermal process (121.1oC, 0.15 MPa) was applied. The total thermal processing time (TTT) was 24 min based on the temperature at the cold point. The size and texture of retorted SC were significantly changed until the first week of storage. However, regardless of the number of rehydration cycles, the size and texture of samples at different rehydration cycles showed no significant difference during the whole storage. The length, volume, weight, rehydration ratio (RR), hardness, and chewiness at the maximum degree of swelling during rehydration of dried SC were estimated as 100.86 mm, 38.62 mL, 41.05 g, 6.39 of RR, 249.19 gf, and 4.05 mJ, respectively.

Effect of salt concentration (10, 20 and 30%, respectively) and fermentation temperature (10 and 20oC, respectively) on changes in quality index (VBN, Histamine, Amino nitrogen, Total viable cell counts, Coliform bacteria and E. coli counts) of culinary salted and fermented anchovy during fermentation were investigated to suggestion of fundamental documents for industrial objectives. Our results show that the effect of salt concentration on changes in quality index was not high compared with fermentation temperature in salted and fermented anchovy with below 20% of salt concentration however effect of salt concentration and fermentation temperature on quality index was not significant with 30% salt concentration. And all most whole changes of quality index were rapidly increased or decreased for 30 days of fermentation.

Ginger was steamed at 121 o C and 1.5 lb/in 2 for 30 min, dried at 60 o C for 12 h, and each step was repeated nine times. During processing, the lightness (L* value) and yellowness (b* value) decreased from 85.65±0.33 and 26.99±0.20 in the non-treated ginger to 56.91±0.25 and 16.69±0.06 in ginger treated for the ninth treatment. On the other hand, redness (a* value) increased from -1.51±0.03 to 7.34±0.08 on the eight treatment and then decreased to 7.21±0.04 on the ninth theatment. The contents of 6-gingerol decreased from 3.257±0.067 mg/g in the non-treated ginger to 0.567±0.036 mg/g on the theatment, whereas the contents of 6-shogaol increased from 1.299±0.050 mg/g to 2.999±0.089 mg/g on the sixth treatment and decreased to 2.099±0.039 on the ninth treatment. The contents of 10-gingerol decreased slightly from 1.106±0.125 mg/g to 0.806±0.026 mg/g. Unlike the 6- and 10-gingerol, the contents of 8-gingerol did not change greatly, with values between 0.916±0.005 mg/g and 1.106±0.005 mg/g being observed during processing. The tyrosinase inhibitory activities were increased from 43.42±11.45% in the non-treated ginger to 100% on the sixth treatment and then decreased to 51.98±7.36% on the theatment. The antioxidative activity was retained during processing.

Foodborne disease outbreaks associated with produces have been increasing in occurrence worldwide. This study investigated microbial contamination levels on thirteen kinds of agricultural products from farms stage to evaluate potential hazards associated with foodborne illness. A total of 1,820 samples were collected in major cultivating area from 2013 through 2015, and analyzed to enumerate aerobic bacterial counts, coliforms/E. coli, Bacillus cereus and Staphylococcus aureus. In addition, the prevalence study for four kinds of microorganisms (Escherichia coli, E. coli O157:H7, Salmonella spp. and Listeria monocytogenes) was performed on each sample. Aerobic bacterial counts ranged from 0.01 to 7.18 log CFU/g, with the highest bacterial cell counts recorded for watermelon. Coliforms were detected in 651 samples (35.8%) with a minimum of 0.01 log CFU/g and a maximum of more than 5 log CFU/g. B. cereus was detected in 169 samples (9.3%) ranging from < 0.01 to 2.48 log CFU/g among total samples analyzed. S. aureus was detected in 14 samples (0.7%) with a minimum of 0.01 log CFU/g and a maximum of 1.69 log CFU/g. E. coli was detected in 101 samples (5.5%) among 1,820 samples. E. coli O157:H7, Salmonella spp. and L. monocytogenes were not detected in any of the samples. The microbial contamination levels of several agricultural products determined in this study may be used as the fundamental data for microbiological risk assessment (MRA).

In this study, the quality characteristics of noodles containing different amounts of germinated black quinoa were investigated. The powder of black quinoa with the highest antioxidative activation was selected; and composite flour was prepared with 0%, 5%, 10%, 15%, and 20% of germinated black quinoa powder to produce the noodles. We evaluated the quality and sensory characteristics of the noodles, including pH, salinity, water absorption rate, volumetric expansion rate, turbidity, chromaticity, extensibility, and texture. With regards to the quality characteristics of noodles with added germinated black quinoa, the pH and salinity decreased with increasing percentage of added germinated black quinoa (p<0.001). Increasing the percentage of added germinated black quinoa resulted in decreased water absorption (p<0.01) and volumetric expansion rates and increased turbidity of the cooked noodles (p<0.001). In terms of the chromaticity, L and b values decreased and a value increased with the increasing percentage of added germinated black quinoa (p<0.001). For the texture, hardness (p<0.001), adhesiveness (p<0.01), springiness (p<0.01), chewiness (p<0.001), gumminess (p<0.001), and cohesiveness (p<0.05) decreased as the percentage of added germinated black quinoa increased; while extensibility (p<0.001) increased. Consumer testing results indicated that the noodles with 15% of added germinated black quinoa showed the best results. Collectively, the evaluation of quality characteristics and consumer acceptability indicated that adding 15% of germinated black quinoa to produce noodles is optimal.

The purpose of the study was to simplify standard HACCP manual for improving the on-site applicability and increasing the implementation rate of HACCP program for small- and medium-sized dairy farms (SMDF). A survey was carried out in 32 SMDFs using a structured questionnaire. The results indicated that the number of workers had a positive correlation with HACCP certifications (p < 0.05). Most of HACCP non-certified farms (66.7%) were run by two workers with 40-60 cows and milking yields of 1,000-1,500 L per day. Major drawbacks for dairy farmers to implement current HACCP system were the difficulties in daily recording and facility management (40%). On the basis of the survey results, it was suggested that the development of on-site standard HACCP manual and user-friendly record chart with O/X checklist were the most urgent factors to increase HACCP implementation rate. In addition, the alternative third party service for microbial and chemical tests could also be accompanied for small-sized dairy farms.

As an indicator of skin health, acidified skin surface pH ranging from 5 to 7 is crucial for maintaining skin barrier. In this study, we evaluated the relationship between skin pH and dietary pattern (DP) as well as nutrient or food intake in 48 healthy middle aged adults. Skin pH was measured in the skin surface of the inner arm, and blood lipid profile was analyzed. Dietary intake data were obtained using 1 day 24 hour recall method, and DP was extracted using factor analysis. Results revealed that skin pH ranged from 5.15 to 6.88 in all subjects. There was no significant difference in skin pH between males and females. When subjects were grouped by tertile of skin pH, the food intake of fruit, and the nutrient intake of omega 6 fatty acid, potassium, vitamin A, vitamin C, β-carotene, and riboflavin in the first tertile group with skin pH ranging from 5.15 to 5.68 were significantly higher than in the third tertile group with skin pH ranging from 6.26 to 6.88. There was no difference in blood lipid profile between the first and the third tertile group. Among 5 DP extracted by factor analysis, DP5 characterized by a high intake of nuts and fruits as well as a low intake of beverages and alcohol was inversely correlated with skin pH after adjusting for gender and age. DP5 was positively correlated with nutrient intake of carbohydrate, fiber, potassium, iron, vitamin A, vitamin C, β-carotene, thiamine, and riboflavin but negatively correlated with sodium after adjusting for gender, age, smoking, and energy intake. Therefore, acidified skin pH could be maintained by these DP and nutrients.

This study was conducted to develop an agent-based computing platform enabling simulation of on-farm produce contamination by enteric foodborne pathogens, which is herein called PPMCS (Preharvest Produce Microbial Contamination Simulator). Also, fecal contamination of preharvest produce was simulated using PPMCS. Although Agent-based Modeling and Simulation, the tool applied in this study, is rather popular in where socio-economical human behaviors or ecological fate of animals in their niche are to be predicted, the incidence of on-farm produce contamination which are thought to be sporadic has never been simulated using this tool. The agents in PPMCS including crop, animal as a source of fecal contamination, and fly as a vector spreading the fecal contamination are given their intrinsic behaviors that are set to be executed at certain probability. Once all these agents are on-set following the intrinsic behavioral rules, consequences as the sum of all the behaviors in the system can be monitored real-time. When fecal contamination of preharvest produce was simulated in PPMCS as numbers of animals, flies, and initially contaminated plants change, the number of animals intruding cropping area affected most on the number of contaminated plants at harvest. For further application, the behaviors and variables of the agents are adjustable depending on user’s own scenario of interest. This feature allows PPMCS to be utilized in where different simulating conditions are tested.

Dyslipidemia, defined as elevated triglyceride (TG), total- and LDL-C, and/or decreased HDL-C levels, is considered a principal risk factor for cardiovascular disease. The low-density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR) family has been considered a key player in the prevention of dyslipidemia. The LDLR family consists of cytoplasmic membrane proteins and plays an important role not only in ligand–receptor binding and uptake, but also in various cell signaling pathways. Emerging reports state that various functional ingredients dynamically modulate the function of the LDLR family. For instance, oats stimulated the LDLR function in vivo, resulting in decreased body weight and improved serum lipid profiles. The stimulation of LRP6 by functional ingredients in vitro activated the Wnt/β-catenin pathway, subsequently suppressing the intracellular TG via inhibition of SREBP1, PPARγ, and C/EBPα. Furthermore, the extract of Cistanchetubulosa enhanced the expression of the mRNA of VLDLR, followed by a reduction in the serum cholesterol level. In addition, fermented soy milk diminished TG and total cholesterol levels while increasing HDL-C levels via activation of LRP1. To summarize, modulating the function of the LDLR family by diverse functional ingredients may be a potent therapeutic remedy for the treatment of dyslipidemia and cardiovascular diseases.

This study was performed to investigate the quality characteristics of Yanggaeng, including color, pH, total polyphenol contents, and antioxidant activities, with the addition of aged garlic extract (0, 3, 6, 9 or 12%), aged at low temperatures. Among the color characteristics, the lightness value decreased, and the redness and yellowness values increased, proportional to the amount of garlic extract concentrate added to Yanggaeng. The pH of Yanggaeng significantly (p<0.05) decreased according to the amount of aged garlic extract added. Total phenol contents of control (0% aged garlic extract added Yanggaeng) was the lowest, followed by 3, 6, 9, 12% aged garlic extract added to Yanggaeng (88.15, 118.39, 156.91, 208.79 mg/g, respectively). Antioxidant activities, such as DPPH and ABTS radical scavenging activity, significantly increased with increase in the aged garlic extract concentration. In the sensory evaluation for Yanggaeng, 6% aged garlic extract added to Yanggaeng had the highest score in taste, flavor, and overall acceptance. Based on these results, it is suggest that the addition of 6% aged garlic extract to Yanggaeng can be developed as a product for the elderly.

This study was conducted to investigate the microbial loads in mulberry fruits depending on cultivation environment and fruit ripeness. The population levels of total aerobic bacteria in mulberry fruits collected from open field orchards were higher than those from three plots protected within plastic green houses. In regards to fruit ripeness, the levels of total aerobic bacteria in ripe black fruits were higher than those in unripe green and red mulberry. From the farms into where livestock animals were allowed to enter, Escherichia coli was detected in soil at a level of 4.26~4.94 log CFU/g and in mulberry fruits at 5.03~6.07 log CFU/g, while no coliform and E. coli were detected from where the intrusion of livestock was prevented. We also examined the density change of inoculated E. coli in mulberry fruits as they were becoming mature. While E. coli did not increase in green fruits, two and four log CFU/g increases at 20oC and 37oC, respectively, were observed with red and fully mature black mulberries during 48 hours incubation. To ensure the food safety of mulberry, it is suggested that the introduction of E. coli into a farm through livestock should be prevented and more hygienic caution should be taken especially when the fruits are ripe.

Development of elderly foods that improve health among the older population is needed. The purpose of this study was to investigate the preference of specific foods for development as elderly foods. A one-to-one survey method was used for data collection from 150 elderly people attending senior welfare centers. The results of the study showed that the preferred cooking materials were vegetables, meats and fishes; and preferred cooking method was soup and stew rather than deep-frying. The elderly preferred meats and seafood but they did not eat them frequently. The results of investigating the preference of specific foods including meats, Kimchi, nuts and rice cakes indicated that old people liked broiled meats, Chinese cabbage Kimchi, walnuts and nonglutinous rice cakes the most, and they did not feel comfortable with chewing the foods. Most respondents were not familiar with the elderly foods. Moreover, the most important factors affecting their choice of elderly foods were hygiene, nutrition and flavor