• Journal of the Korean Dietetic Association
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.262-277
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• 2009

Fresh-cut foods have been widely used in the school foodservice industry due to their convenience and saving effects of labor and working hours. This study evaluated the effectiveness of using fresh-cut foods in school foodservice with respect to cost efficiency, customer satisfaction, employee satisfaction, and productivity. First, in terms of cost efficiency, the cost of the fresh-cut food per meal price significantly increased by 2.6% via the new production plan. Meanwhile, the costs of labor and food wastes significantly decreased by 3.0% and 0.3%, respectively, after implementing the new plan. Second, customer satisfaction towards foodservice significantly increased, from 2.94 points prior to the new plan to 3.45 points. Third, foodservice productivity such as of the number of meals per full-time equivalent employee increased by 5.7 meals, from 143.0 meals to 148.7 meals after intervention. The productivity index of work hours for producing a meal also increased and was reflected by a work time reduction of 0.77 minutes, specifically from 4.25 minutes to 3.48 minutes. The labor cost per meal also decreased by 29.9 won, from 331.91 won to 301.97 won, but there was no significant difference. Through these results, we identified that using pre-process foods in school foodservice has positive effects on labor saving, customer satisfaction, and employee work satisfaction.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.39 no.4
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• pp.335-342
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• 2024

This study aimed to examine the delivery conditions and microbial contamination of fresh-cut and ready-to-eat foods purchased from online markets between February and November 2023. Upon arrival, the average surface temperature of the products was 11.3℃. In the fresh-cut foods, the average number of total aerobic bacteria and coliforms was 4.5 log colony-forming units (CFU)/g and 1.2 log CFU/g, respectively, whereas in the ready-to-eat foods, these values were 10.6 log CFU/g and 1.2 log CFU/g, respectively. Pathogens, such as Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella spp., Clostridium perfringens, Listeria monocytogenes, and pathogenic Escherichia coli were absent from all samples. Bacillus cereus was found in 2.7% of the fresh-cut foods and 0.9% of the ready-to-eat foods, with contamination levels averaging 0.05 log CFU/g and 0.01 log CFU/g, respectively. In the four samples in which B. cereus was detected, genetic testing of the six toxin genes produced by B. cereus revealed the presence of at least one enterotoxin gene, excluding the emetic toxin. L. monocytogenes was absent from ready-to-eat foods but was detected in 0.9% of fresh-cut foods. Analysis of the isolated L. monocytogenes confirmed the presence of six pathogenicity-related genes, including iap, indicating the potential risk of foodborne diseases.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.50-55
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• 2009

Ready-to-eats fresh cut-vegetables that may be consumed without further cooking or reheating can be grouped as potentially high risk foods. The foodborne disease outbreaks associated with consumption of the fresh cut-vegetables have been related with the contamination of Listeria monocytogenes. The food survey and consumption data sets for fresh cut-vegetables and also the published dose-response models for L. monocytogenes, was used to estimate the risk of L. monocytogenes for fresh cut-vegetables in Korea. Also, the simulation model and formulas with Microsoft@ Excel spreadsheet program using these data sets and chose dose-response model was developed. The mean case of listeriosis by consumption of the fresh cut-vegetables per 10 million per year was estimated as $3.23{\times}10^{-6}$. Results suggest that additional studies were needed to allow for a more realistic and accurate microbial risk assessment (MRA) in the future.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.829-834
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• 2018

The objective of this study was to determine the minimum enrichment time for different types of food matrix (pork, beef, and fresh-cut lettuce) in an effort to improve Escherichia coli detection efficiency. Fresh pork (20 g), beef (20 g), and fresh-cut lettuce (20 g) were inoculated at 1, 2, and 3 Log CFU/g of Escherichia coli. Samples were enriched in filter bags for 3 or 5 h at $44.5^{\circ}C$, depending on sample type. E. coli cell counts in the samples were enriched in E. coli (EC) broth at 3 or 5 h. One milliliter of the enriched culture medium was used for DNA extraction, and PCR assays were performed using primers specific for uidA gene. To detect E. coli (uidA) in the samples, a 3-4 Log CFU/mL cell concentration was required. However, E. coli was detected at 1 Log CFU/g in fresh pork, beef, and fresh-cut lettuce after 5, 5, and 3-h enrichment, respectively. In conclusion, 5-h enrichment for fresh meats and 3-h enrichment for fresh-cut lettuce in EC broth at $44.5^{\circ}C$, and PCR analysis using uidA gene-specific primers were appropriate to detect E. coli rapidly in food samples.

• The Korean Journal of Community Living Science
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.397-411
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• 2009

The use of local product foods and fresh-cut products, the dietitian's recognition, the required items and the quality for school foodservice was investigated to increase the consumption of high-quality agricultural products. Data from 578 elementary schools, 228 middle schools and 116 high schools were collected by school foodservice personnels in each regional Education Administration in Gyeong-gi province. The first criteria of buying food materials was reliability/safety for all school foodservice. The second criteria were the origin of the product and freshness/ripeness for elementary and middle schools and high school, respectively. The most important consideration for selecting a supplier was the quality of the material. The appearance/status of the food was the first factor for buying food materials. The origin and the seasonality were very important for buying farm products. Dietitians in Gyeong-gi province recognized the local products, and used them weekly. The advantages of using local products were the quick supply, freshness and safety. On the other hand, the disadvantages were the lack of information and the uncertainty of supply. Sixty eight percent of the subjects had experienced the high-quality agricultural products in school meals, but the frequency was low. The main reasons for not servicing high-quality agricultural products were the high cost and the lack of trust on the quality. Among fresh-cut products, seasonings and root vegetables were purchased most frequently, but leaf vegetables was 5.7% only. The purchase of fresh-cut products was not frequent, but usually satisfied. The advantages of fresh-cut products were the reduced workload and waste, but the reason for not using them were poor hygiene and the high price. The diverse supply system and the promotion of the local product foods would be necessary since the most food materials were purchased through suppliers. In addition, the problems related to the high cost and distrust should be resolved to expand the consumption of the high-quality agricultural products and the fresh-cut vegetables. The institutions for certifying the quality should be needed to increase the confidence of these products.

• Journal of the East Asian Society of Dietary Life
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.125-133
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• 2011

This study was carried out to strengthen productivity and employee management through the development of simple pre-processed foods based on Hansik (Korean foods) and to investigate the utilization of fresh vegetable menus, pretreatment, and cooking time in the preparation of vegetable side dishes. The reasons for not using pretreated foods were increased cost, required product size is not available, and not hygienic. The acceptable rate of increase in cost when purchasing simple pre-processed foods was under 10%. The expected developed products of simple pre-processed vegetable foods were balloon flower root salad, seasoned green vegetables, and sheredded white radish. The expected developed products of simple mixed vegetable pre-processed foods were deodeok+balloon flower root and white radish+pear. Based on these findings, to increase the utilization of simple preprocessed foods, development of various product sizes and sauces is needed, cost must be reduced, and hygiene improved.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF PACKAGING SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.109-117
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• 2017

Due to the rise of customer's alertness about fresh foods to health, in the past few years, the consumption of fresh food has increased sturdily. The use of gas scavengers is the most appropriate packaging technologies for fresh, fresh-cut produces and in ready to eat products. The gas absorber/scavenger has ability to protect or stabilize the wanted properties and shelf life of food. The success of gas absorbers in food depends on many parameters such as types of foods, storage temperature, relative humidity, initial gas concentration, and the characteristics of package materials. In this review article, we focus on the most recent research trends in gas scavenging systems used in food packaging, future trends. Intense research from industry and engineers remains important to the development of gas scavenging package that fulfill consumer requirements, enhance product quality, and offer environmentally friendly design and cost-effective application.

• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.253-263
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• 2023

The purpose of this study was to analyse factors related to Home Meal Replacement (HMR) use among university students and to determine the dietary quality according to its consumption. A survey on the consumption of HMR and Nutrition Quotient (NQ) was conducted from September to November 2021. The study included 232 university students (88 males, 144 females) from Chungcheong. The proportion of consumption at least once a week was 71.55% for ready-to-eat foods, 55.60% for ready-to-cook foods, 40.95% for fresh-cut products, and 21.12% for meal-kits. The preference ratings were as follows: ready-to-eat foods, 3.77 out of 5 points, meal-kits, 3.53 points, fresh-cut products, 3.52 points, and ready-to-cook foods, 3.45 points. In terms of satisfaction, convenience (4.06 out of 5 points), taste (3.71 points), variety (3.67 points), and food hygiene (3.62 points) were rated the highest. The scores in the moderation NQ were significantly lower in the groups that consumed ready-to-eat foods (p=0.0002), ready-to-cook foods (p=0.0002), and meal-kits (p=0.0068) at least once a week compared to the groups that consumed them less than once a week. In conclusion, the results will serve as basic data for nutrition education for proper consumption of HMR among university students.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.34 no.5
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• pp.665-673
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• 2014

We compared standard culture methods as well as conventional PCR and real-time PCR for the detection of Listeria monocytogenes (L. monocytogenes) in milk, cheese, fresh-cut vegetables, and raw beef that have different levels of background microflora. No statistical differences were observed in sensitivity between the two selective media in all foods. In total, real-time PCR assay exhibited statistically excellent detection sensitivity (p<0.05) and was less time consuming and laborious as compared with standard culture methods. Conventional culture methods showed poor performance in detecting L. monocytogenes in food with high levels of background microflora, generating numerous false negative results. While the detection of L. monocytogenes in fresh cut vegetable by culture methods was hindered only by L. innocua, various background microflora, such as L. innocua, L. welshimeri, L. grayi, and Enterococcus faecalis appeared on the two selective media as presumptive positive colonies in raw beef indicating the necessity of improvement of current selective media. It appears that real-time PCR is an effective and sensitive presumptive screening tool for L. monocytogenes in various types of foods, especially foods samples with high levels of background microflora, thus complementing standard culture methodologies.

• Journal of the Korean Dietetic Association
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.116-125
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• 2020

The purpose of this study was to assess the sugars contents of home meal replacement (HMR) products currently sold in Korea. This study surveyed and examined the sugars contents in 835 popular HMRs (294 ready-to-eat foods; RTE, 499 ready-to-cook foods; RTC, 42 fresh-cut vegetables; FCV) through the nutrition labels. The average price, weight and energy content of 835 HMR products were 3,917.5 Korean won, 336.0 g, and 522.7 kcal, respectively. The sugars content per product was significantly higher in the RTCs (13.4 g) and RTEs (10.3 g) than that in the FCVs (4.2 g) (P<0.001), and the percentage of energy from sugars was 9.7% for the RTEs, 10.2% for the RTCs, and 8.7% for the FCVs without any significant difference. The sugars contents of 9 RTE types were in the order of side dishes (34.3 g), sunsik (22.5 g) and hamburgers (12.1 g) per package. The percentage of energy from sugars was highest in side dishes (28.1%), followed by kimchi (24.9%), sunsik (17.2%), and hamburgers (10.6%). Among 14 RTC types, the sugars contents were in the order of hot dogs (52.9 g), tteokbokki (30.4 g) and noodles (21.2 g) per package. The percentage of energy from sugars was the highest at 22.9% for sauces, followed by side dishes (17.3%), porridges (14.4%), instant stews (14.3%), and hot dogs (13.1%). Strategies and practices are needed to reduce the sugars contents of HMR producers and the sugars intakes of HMR consumers.