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

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.34 no.2
• /
• pp.349-357
• /
• 2024

Foodborne pathogens, like Listeria monocytogenes, continue to inflict substantial financial losses on the food industry. Various methods for detecting Listeria in food have been developed and numerous studies have been conducted to compare the different methods. But, in recent years, new Listeria species have been identified, and currently the genus comprises 26 species. Therefore, it would be a more accurate approach to re-evaluate existing detection methods by considering new species. The present investigation involved the analysis of 42 ready-to-eat (RTE) foods, encompassing a variety of food categories, such as mezes, salads, dairy products, and meat products, with the aim of ascertaining the presence of Listeria. Among the traditional culture-dependent reference methods, the ISO 11290 method was preferred. The process of strain identification was conducted with the API Identification System. Furthermore, to ascertain the existence of L. monocytogenes and Listeria spp., the samples underwent additional analysis employing the VIDAS Immunoassay System, ELISA, and RT-PCR methodologies. Thus, four alternative approaches were employed in this study to compare not only the different methods used to determine Listeria while taking into account the newly identified Listeria species, but also to assess the compliance of retail RTE food items with microbiological criteria pertaining to the genus Listeria. Based on the conducted analyses, L. monocytogenes was conclusively determined to be present in one sample. The presence of Listeria spp. was detected in 30.9% of the samples, specifically in Turkish cig kofte, sliced salami, and salads.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.32 no.7
• /
• pp.1027-1035
• /
• 2019

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of aged garlic powder (AGP) on physicochemical characteristics, texture profiles, and oxidative stability of ready-to-eat (RTE) pork patties. Methods: There were five treatment groups: a control; 1% fresh garlic powder (T1); 0.5%, 1%, and 2% AGP (T2, T3, and T4). Pork patties with vacuum packaging were roasted at $71^{\circ}C$ for core temperature, stored at $4^{\circ}C$ for 14 d, and then reheated for 1 min using a microwave. Results: The AGP groups showed a lower the level of lipid oxidation and higher thiol contents than the control and T1. The pH value of the control increased whereas that of aged garlic groups decreased after re-heating process. In addition, the redness significantly increased with increasing level of AGP whereas the redness of the control and T1 decreased after reheating process. T4 added patties improved textural and sensory properties compared to the control. Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that AGP addition to RTE pork patties can improve their sensory characteristics and oxidative stability.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Culture
• /
• v.38 no.3
• /
• pp.129-142
• /
• 2023

As the demand for ready-to-eat foods continues to grow, concerns about the sodium in processed foods are also growing. In this study, a survey was conducted on the perception of low-sodium products and diffusion plans according to the type of employee (manufacturer, retailer, distributor). Of the 191 responses collected, 189 valid responses (98.9%) were analyzed. The results showed that the employees were aware of the health contribution of a low-sodium diet, labeling for low-sodium, and the promotion of low-sodium food to increase its consumption. Furthermore, retailers recognized the positive contribution of low-sodium products in terms of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) management. The use of sodium substitutes was preferred as the best way to reduce sodium in ready-to-eat foods. With regard to sodium reduction in ready-to-eat foods, we found that the technical factors involved were clustered by the type of business. Specifically, distributors showed a similar performance but had a lower perception of importance than retailers. Manufacturers had a lower perception of both importance and performance. In this study, we collected perceptions from employees who were working at food companies, which differed from previous research. We sought to examine the differences in the perception of sodium reduction and consumption of ready-to-eat foods across various types of employment. Furthermore, we provided specific approaches to reduce perception gaps and enhance understanding among employees.

• Preventive Nutrition and Food Science
• /
• v.16 no.1
• /
• pp.83-88
• /
• 2011

The wholesomeness of 40 kGy irradiated ready-to-eat (RTE) bulgogi was evaluated by subacute toxicity studies (body weight, food consumption, organ weight, hematology, serum biochemistry, and histopathological examination) with groups of 40 male and female ICR mice fed the agent at dietary levels of 5% for 90 days. There were no treatment-related adverse effects with regard to body weight, food consumption, organ weight, hematology, serum biochemistry, and histopathology. The no-observed-adverse-effect-level (NOAEL) was also determined to be greater than dietary level of at least 5% (3900 mg/kg body weight/day for males, 3500 mg/kg body weight/ day for females) for samples under the present experimental conditions. These results suggest that, under these experimental conditions, RTE bulgogi irradiated at 40 kGy did not show any toxic effects.

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

• Food Science of Animal Resources
• /
• v.29 no.6
• /
• pp.673-679
• /
• 2009

To develop ready-to-eat (RTE) style Korean traditional Galbi-jjim, the optimal conditions for sous-vide cooking and cookchill preparation and the sensory properties of the cooked products were investigated. During heating, the meat core temperatures reached $85^{\circ}C$ within 30 min and 45 min when a water bath and combination oven were used, respectively. Chilling to $3^{\circ}C$ within 45 min was conducted to meet the standards for microbiological safety set by the UK Department of Health and Social Security (DHSS) Guideline. Galbi-jjim that was vacuum-cooked in a water bath was much more tender than that of Galbi-jjim prepared using the cook-chill method, but had no difference in any reheating methods. The average sensory scores of juiciness and the overall acceptance of Galbi-jjim were significantly higher when water bath cooking was used, and there were no differences in reheating methods. In conclusion, the serial methods of sous-vide processing and rapid chilling can be applied to produce RTE traditional Galbi-jjim, and this can be conducted while meeting the standards specified in safety guidelines.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
• /
• v.42 no.4
• /
• pp.557-565
• /
• 2022

The purpose of this research was to examine the effectiveness of pre-cooking treatments on the quality characteristics of ready-to-eat (RTE) empal gentong. Raw beef meat was pre-cooked in water bath at 90℃ for 0 min (C), 10 min (T1), 20 min (T2), and 30 min (T3) prior to retorting process at 121℃ and pressure at 70,000 Pa. Results showed that pre-cooking treatments in all treated samples could reduce fat contents in empal gentong's meat by 0.02% (T1), 0.28% (T2), and 1.13% (T3) respectively. Highest precooking time tends to increase the pH and CIE a^* values. However, CIE b^* values, water holding capacity, and sensory analysis were not affected by pre-cooking duration which must have been affected by sterilization process after pre-cooking. In conclusion, pre-cooking treatment before sterilization in producing empal gentong is a probable technique to reduce its fat content and improve its physical quality. A specific treatment at 90℃ for 10 min is recommended to achieve optimum quality of RTE empal gentong's meat.

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

• Korean journal of food and cookery science
• /
• v.30 no.5
• /
• pp.603-612
• /
• 2014

According to the microbiological standard, Staphylococcus aureus, Clostridium perfringens and Listeria monocytogenes should not be detected in milk and egg products in Korea. Refrigerated food such as milk must be kept under $10^{\circ}C$ at retail markets. However, temperature abuse of refrigerated foods at such markets is often observed. We compared the growth and survival kinetics of S. aureus and C. perfringens at 10 and $15^{\circ}C$, and the growth kinetics of L. monocytogenes at 4 and $10^{\circ}C$ in whole and skim milk and ready-to-eat (RTE) quail eggs to evaluate their growth possibilities at retail markets. Regardless of storage temperature, the level of S. aureus reached the maximum level ($10^8-10^9CFU/ml$) in whole milk, non-fat milk and RTE quail eggs within the expiration date. Even low contamination levels of S. aureus (10 CFU/mL) grew rapidly in milk and quail eggs to reach the maximum level within the shelf life. Survival of C. perfringens in whole milk was greater than that in non-fat milk, indicating that the fat content in milk influences the survival of C. perfringens. For L. monocytogenes, the population in milk increased by 0.5-1 log CFU/mL at $4^{\circ}C$, while the populations reached the maximum level at $10^{\circ}C$ within the expiration date, regardless of initial contamination levels. In quail eggs, L. monocytogenes grew to the maximum level within the expiration date (60 days) at both temperatures. S. aureus and L. monocytogenes must be controlled to be negative, and proper temperature management should be emphasized at retail markets to protect the consumer. Since C. perfringens did not grow in milk and RTE quail eggs, there is no risk due to the growth of C. perfringens in these products at retail markets.