• Korean journal of food and cookery science
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.153-161
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• 2015

This study was conducted to investigate the consumption practices of ready-to-eat (RTE) foods and to analyze the microbiological hazard of kimbab, a Korean dish, and the most popular of the RTE foods eaten by participants in this study. A questionnaire was distributed to 230 university students who had previously purchased RTE foods, and 224 were collected (response rate: 97.4%). Statistical analyses were conducted on the questionnaires using the SPSS program, and a total of 135 kimbab products were sampled for aerobic plate counts, coliforms, E. coli, E. coli O157:H7, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella spp., and Listeria monocytogenes. The results of the analyses are as follows. Kimbab (87.0%), sandwich (86.4%), hamburger (89.8%), lunchbox (81.5%), and sushi (87.4%) were most often eaten immediately after purchasing. Additionally, the results of the microbiological hazards analysis of kimbab showed that the aerobic plate counts were significantly different according to the purchasing price (p<0.01). The coliform levels were significantly different according to the place of purchase (p<0.01) and the major ingredients of kimbab (p<0.05). In addition, Staphylococcus aureus and E. coli were detected in 5.9% and 5.2% of the tested samples, respectively. However, E. coli O157:H7, Salmonella spp., and Listeria monocytogenes were not detected in any of the samples. In conclusion, the manufacturers of RTE foods should apply the HACCP system for food safety.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.30 no.5
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• pp.730-738
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• 2010

We developed predictive growth models for Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus cereus on various food matrices consisting primarily of ready-to-eat (RTE) foods. A cocktail of three S. aureus strains, producing enterotoxins A, C, and D, or a B. cereus strain, were inoculated on sliced bread, cooked rice, boiled Chinese noodles, boiled bean sprouts, tofu, baked fish, smoked chicken, and baked hamburger patties at an initial concentration of 3 log CFU/g and stored at 8, 10, 13, 17, 24, and $30^{\circ}C$. Growth kinetic parameters were determined by the Gompertz equation. The square-root and Davey models were used to determine specific growth rate and lag time values, respectively, as a function of temperature. Model performance was evaluated based on bias and accuracy factors. S. aureus and B. cereus growth were most delayed on sliced bread. Overall, S. aureus growth was significantly (p<0.05) more rapid on animal protein foods than carbohydrate-based foods and vegetable protein foods. The fastest growth of S. aureus was observed on smoked chicken. B. cereus growth was not observed at 8 and $10^{\circ}C$. B. cereus growth was significantly (p<0.05) more rapid on vegetable protein foods than on carbohydrate-based foods. The secondary models developed in this study showed suitable performance for predicting the growth of S. aureus and B. cereus on various food matrices consisting of RTE foods.

• Korean journal of food and cookery science
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.165-170
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• 2010

Although the demand of ready-to-eat (RTE) foods such as Kimbab is growing, large quantities and wide distribution of these foods is difficult due to their short shelf-life, exposed packaging with hygienic risk, and decreased quality at refrigerator temperatures. This study was undertaken to develop preservation and storage methods to extend the shelf-life of RTE rice products using microwave and packaging methods such as vacuum and modified atmosphere packages. RTE rice ball samples inoculated with Escherichia coli, Salmonella Typhimurium, Listeria monocytogenes, Staphylococcus aureus or Bacillus cereus were microwave treated for 0, 30, 60, 90 and 120 seconds. Populations of pathogens on the rice balls were significantly reduced with an increase in treatment time. There were more than 5 log reductions of all pathogens when the samples were microwave treated for 60 seconds. RTE rice balls inoculated with two pathogens (S. aureus and B. cereus) were packaged via air, vacuum, $N_2$ gas, and $CO_2$ gas following microwave treatment for 90 seconds. The initial S. aureus and B. cereus concentration before treatment was 7.60 and 6.59 log CFU/g, and these levels were reduced by 3.37 and 2.18 log CFU/g after microwave treatment. The levels of pathogens were significantly increased during storage time at room temperature. $CO_2$ packaging was the most effective at inhibiting microbial growth among the tested packaging methods. The levels of total mesophilic count, S. aureus and B. cereus after 5 days of storage were 7.7, 8.8 and 9.3 log CFU/g in air packaged samples and 2.4, 3.2 and 8.3 log CFU/g in $CO_2$ gas packaged samples, respectively. However, after 3 days of storage higher levels of B. cereus were observed in all samples, indicating that the samples were not safe to be consumed. Base on these results, microwave treatment and MAP packaging methods using $CO_2$ gas could be used as a potential method for extending the shelf-life of RTE foods.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.47 no.1
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• pp.63-69
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• 2015

The aim of this study was to investigate the deformation of packaging materials used for ready-to-eat (RTE) foods after the retort process and microwave heating. From the multilayer films consisting of polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyamide (PA), and cast polypropylene (CPP) in a stand-up pouch form used for RTE foods, some deformation of the CPP layer, which was in direct contact with the food, was observed after the retort process and microwave heating. The damage was more severely caused by microwave heating than by the retort process. This may be attributed to diverse factors including the non-uniform heating in a microwave oven, the sorption of oil into the packaging film, and the different characteristics of food components such as viscosity, salt and water content. The development of heat-resistant packaging materials and systems suitable for microwave heating of RTE foods is required for the safety of consumers.

• Food Science and Preservation
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.262-271
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• 2023

The objective of this study is to compare and assess the effectiveness of real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP), and the selective agar plate method for the detection of Salmonella spp. and Listeria monocytogenes in ready-to-eat (RTE) foods. In RTE foods, the detection performance of the three methods (RT-PCR [SureTect^TM kit and PowerChek^TM kit], LAMP [3M MDS], selective agar) were similar at 0-10, 10-50, 50-100, and 100- CFU/mL of Salmonella spp. and L. monocytogenes. We found that with RT-PCR, the Ct value of salad was significantly higher (p<0.05) than other RTE foods, indicating that fiber plays a critical role as an obstacle to the rapid detection of Salmonella spp. However, the Ct value displayed a mixed pattern according to the inoculation level of L. monocytogenes. The use of rapid detection kits and machines mostly depends on the user's choice, with accuracy, ease of use, and economy being the primary considerations. As an RT-PCR kit, SureTect^TM and PowerChek^TM showed high accuracy in detecting Salmonella spp. and L. monocytogenes in RTE foods, showing that they can replace the existing RT-PCR kits available. Additionally, LAMP also showed excellent detection performance, suggesting that it has the potential to be used as a food safety management tool.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.82-87
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• 2007

This research was performed to investigate chemical and microbiological hazards of Ready-to-eat(RTE) compound foods which uses the by-product of meat. For this experiment, 51 samples of RTE compound foods in by-product of meat distributed in Incheon from January to December 2006 were tested. The contents of heavy metals in the main ingredient of RTE compound foods were in the range of $0.073{\sim}0.112ppm$ for lead (Pb), $0.006{\sim}0.013ppm$ for cadmium (Cd) and $0.746{\sim}0.978ppb$ for mercury (Hg). The concentrations of residual ABS(alkyl benzene sulfate) in the small intestine which is a main ingredient of Gopchang-casserole were $$0.8ppm{\sim}57.6ppm$ (Ave. 10.3ppm). Staphylococcus aureus was isolated from 11 samples (21.6%) among 51 main ingredients of RTE compound foods. The isolation rates of Salmonella spp. and Clostridium perfringens were 2.0% (1/51) and 5.9% (2/51), respectively. By types of main ingredient, the small intestine was showed the highest isolation rate as 35.3% (12/34), ham and the sausage which are main ingredients of the Budae-pot stew were 25% (2/8) and other meat products were 20% (1/5). Food poisoning bacteria was not found in the blood of pig which is a main ingredient of the Sunji-pot stew. 28.4% (27/95) of sauce included in each RTE compound foods were coliform bacteria positive. Pesticide residues were found in four of 45 vegetables which are the additional ingredient of RTE compound foods. The concentrations of pesticide were chlorothalonil 2.8 ppm, EPN 10.3 ppm, chlorpyrifos 0.4ppm and indoxacarb 0.7ppm. In 33 bean sprout samples, captan and carbendazim were not detected.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF PACKAGING SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.97-106
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• 2015

Thermal deformation of packaging materials was observed in some ready-to-eat food products for microwave use. Therefore, the deformation patterns depending on packaging types and shapes of 9 domestic and 11 foreign products after microwave heating were investigated. Among the domestic and foreign products, thermal deformations of packaging material were observed in 5 and 8 samples, respectively. Besides, thermal deformation occurred on the lid and cup body of tray filled with a spicy chicken sauce after having microwaved where previously no deformation had been observed with other food types. No consistent results of thermal deformation were obtained by the analysis of salinity, brix, pH and viscosity of RTE products for microwave heating. However, thermal deformations of packages were less found in the packages used for the RTE foods contained very high or low viscosity than those with medium viscosity. Furthermore, the degree of thermal deformations was dependent on the food composition and shape as well as package type. In order to prevent the thermal deformation of packaging materials, therefore, technological advances and further studies are required to develop the heat-resistant packaging system and to improve the non-uniformity during microwave heating of RTE foods.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.664-669
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• 2004

The contamination of Bacillus cereus was investigated in 240 RTE (ready-to-eat) food samples including 118 seafoods, 82 Korean packaged meals and 40 other RTE foods. Many B. cereus presumptive strains were isolated from the enrichment culture in Tryptic Soy Broth (TSB) added polymyxin, followed by selective culture in Mannitol Egg Yolk Polymyxin (MYP) agar and Gram staining. A total of 36 strains (16 in seafoods, 17 in Korean pack-aged meals and 3 in other RTE foods) were identified as B. cereus by the analysis of 61 biochemical tests of the API 50CHB/20E system test and supplementary tests of $\beta$-hemolysis, rhizoid growth, motility and oxidase activity. The 28 strains out of 36 B. cereus isolates produced diarrhoeal enter-otoxin in Brain Heart Infusion (BHI) broth. All isolates were resistant to ampicillin and penicillin antibiotics, and most of them were susceptible to gentamicin, vancomycin, bacitracin, chloram-phenicol, kanamycin and streptomycin. The growth of B. cereus was affected by environmental temperature and incubation time. Culture with temperature under 1$0^{\circ}C$ effectively restricted the growth of B. cereus.

• Journal of the East Asian Society of Dietary Life
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.124-136
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• 2017

This study was performed to investigate the perception and preferences regarding commercial universal design foods (UDF) made with different ingredients. A one-to-one interview was used for data collection and the survey was conducted on 41 elderly people (over age 65; males: 11, females: 30) attending senior welfare centers in Seoul. Twelve UDF samples were collected, which were widely sold in Japan. Majority of respondents prepared meals (53.7%) and ate alone (43.9%), respectively. The preferred cooking level of elderly food was "ready to eat (RTE)" (43.9%) or "ready to heat (RTH)" (43.9%) rather than fresh cut product. In most, the elderly had no problem with chewing-action (90.2%). Generally, food ingredients such as grain, meat, seafood and fruits showed higher preference than vegetable and nuts. Among 12 UDF samples, pumpkin gratin (4.17) and peach flavored jelly (4.27) showed higher preferences among tested samples on a 5-point facial hedonic scale. There were no significant differences in overall preferences of all samples by difficulty in terms of chewing and swallowing of respondents. Demi-glace sauce hamburger and pot sukiyaki were more preferred as age increased (p<0.05).

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.395-402
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• 2013

Sodium chloride is used to improve various properties of processed meat products, e.g., taste, preservation, water binding capacity, texture, meat batter viscosity, safety, and flavor; however, many studies have shown that sodium chloride increases the resistance of many foodborne pathogens to heat and acid. Listeria monocytogenes has been isolated from various readyto- eat (RTE) meat and dairy products formulated with sodium chloride; therefore, the objective of this paper was to review the effects of sodium chloride on the physiological characteristics of L. monocytogenes. The exposure of L. monocytogenes to sodium chloride may increase biofilm formation on foods or food contact surfaces, virulence gene transcription, invasion of Caco-2 cells, and bacteriocin production, depending on L. monocytogenes strain and serotype as well as sodium chloride concentration. When L. monocytogenes cells were exposed to sodium chloride, their resistance to UV-C irradiation and freezing temperatures increased, but sodium chloride had no effect on their resistance to gamma irradiation. The morphological properties of L. monocytogenes, especially cell elongation and filament formation, also change in response to sodium chloride. These findings indicate that sodium chloride affects various physiological responses of L. monocytogenes and thus, the effect of sodium chloride on L. monocytogenes in RTE meat and dairy products needs to be considered with respect to food safety. Moreover, further studies of microbial risk assessment should be conducted to suggest an appropriate sodium chloride concentration in animal origin foods.