• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.40 no.4
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• pp.248-259
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• 2021

BACKGROUND: Contaminated water was a major source of food-borne pathogens in various recent fresh produce-related outbreaks. This study was conducted to investigate the microbial contamination level and correlations between the level of sanitary indicator bacteria and the detection ratio of pathogens in agricultural water by logistic regression analysis. METHODS AND RESULTS: Agricultural water was collected from 457 sites including surface water (n=300 sites) and groundwater (n=157 sites) in South Korea from 2018 to 2020. Sanitary indicator bacteria (total coliform, fecal coliform, and Escherichia coli) and food-borne pathogens (pathogenic E. coli, E. coli O157:H7, Salmonella spp., and Listeria monocytogenes) were analyzed. In surface water, the coliform, fecal coliform, and E. coli were 3.27±0.89 log CFU/100 mL, 1.90±1.19 log CFU/100 mL, and 1.39±1.26 log CFU/100 mL, respectively. For groundwater, three kinds of sanitary indicators ranged in the level from 0.09 - 0.57 log CFU/100 mL. Pathogenic E. coli, Salmonella and Listeria monocytogenes were detected from 3%-site, 1.5%- site, and 0.6%-site water samples, respectively. According to the results of correlations between the level of sanitary indicator bacteria and the detection ratio of pathogens by logistic regression analysis, the probability of pathogen detection increased individually by 1.45 and 1.34 times as each total coliform and E. coli concentration increased by 1 log CFU/100mL. The accuracy of the model was 70.4%, and sensitivity and specificity were 81.5% and 51.7%, respectively. CONCLUSION(S): The results indicate the need to manage the microbial risk of agricultural water to enhance the safety of fresh produce. In addition, logistic regression analysis is useful to analyze the correlation between the level of sanitary indicator bacteria and the detection ratio of pathogens in agricultural water.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.52 no.3
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• pp.209-223
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• 2019

This study was conducted to investigate nutrition characteristics of the following major commercially available dried fish (MCDF) in South Korea: plain-dried fish [nogari (PD-N), Alaska pollock (PD-AP), red tongue sole (PD-RTS), and young tidepool gunnel (PD-YTG)], salt-dried fish [(yellow corvina (SD-YC) and red tilefish (SD-RT)], four types of boiled-dried anchovy of different sizes (BD-As), and freeze-dried fish [Pacific saury (FD-PS), Alaska pollock (FD-AP), and Katsuobushi]. The energy content of the MCDF ranged from 103.0 to 420.5 kcal per 100 g. The MCDF in nutritional and functional properties of minerals were SD-RT and Katsuobushi in calcium; none in phosphorus, sodium, or zinc; Katsuobushi in potassium and magnesium; PD-AP, SD-YC, and SD-RT in iron, PD-AP, PD-RTS, SD-YC, and SD-RT in copper; and PD-N, PD-AP, PD-RTS, SD-YC, SD-RT, FD-PS, FD-AP and Katsuobushi in manganese. The total amino acid content of the MCDF ranged from 15.85 to 71.96 g per 100 g; the major amino acids were glutamic acid, aspartic acid, lysine, and leucine. The fatty acid content of the MCDF ranged from 0.81 to 2.93 g per 100 g. The MCFSP expected in nutritional and functional properties of vitamins were PD-N, PD-RTS, FD-PS, FD-AP, and Katsuobushi in riboflavin; PD-N, PD-AP, PD-YTG, BD-As, FD-PS, FD-AP, and Katsuobushi in niacin; PD-N, PD-RTS, SD-YC, and BD-As in vitamin A; and PD-AP, PD-YTG, SD-YC, and FD-AP in vitamin E.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Culture
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.121-129
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• 2021

Sodium intake has been associated with the health-related quality of life (HRQoL). This study examined the demographic factors related to HRQoL and whether there is an association between sodium intake and HRQoL in adults residing in rural areas. A total of 1,980 adults (aged ≥20 years) were selected from a cross-sectional study conducted between December 2013 and February 2014 in Gyeongju, South Korea. The sodium intake and HRQoL were measured using a validated food frequency questionnaire and the EuroQol Five-Dimension (EQ-5D) (mobility, self-care, usual activities, pain/discomfort, and anxiety/depression), respectively. The education levels (<5 years) were inversely associated with all five dimensions of HRQoL. Men had better EQ-5D scores for each of the five components examined. Adults living with spouses had better scores related to usual activities and anxiety/depression, whereas widowers had decreased scores of mobility and self-care. Unlike older adults aged 70-79 years, adults aged <60 years were more likely to have greater scores related to mobility, usual activities, and pain/discomfort. The income levels were also inversely related to the scores for self-care, usual activities, pain/discomfort, and anxiety/depression. Sodium intake was positively associated with the HRQoL related to self-care, usual activities, and pain/discomfort, but it was negatively associated with anxiety/depression. In conclusion, these findings suggest that the demographic factors and sodium intake were independently associated with HRQoL. The results highlight the need to provide tailored, targeted policies and interventions that consider personal characteristics and dietary intake to improve the overall HRQoL in adults residing in rural areas.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.48-54
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• 2024

This study conducted a survey from April 2021 to December 2022 to investigate habitat factors affecting bird diversity in the region between Cheonwangbong Peak and Aghwibong in Baekdudaegan protected area, South Korea. Since the region has a spatial scale of 736.4 km² and is an area where a wide variety of habitats are mixed, we selected 20 survey areas of 3 km x 3 km by analysis of habitat homogeneity. As a result of analyzing the relationship between habitat environment and bird diversity in the survey area, it was found that the diversity of bird communities was directly or indirectly related to the diversity of terrestrial insects, slope, average habitat area, mean size of patches, elevation, and forest type, and distance from agricultural land. The slope of habitat, forest type, and distance from agricultural land affect the occurrence of food sources directly and indirectly, and the average area of habitats and forest type is closely related to the structural diversity of habitats. Therefore, it is determined that the diversity of bird communities is affected by the amount of food generated within the habitat and the diversity of habitats. It is determined that the relationship between bird communities and habitat environments in this surveyed region can be basic ecological data for establishing forest management measures to promote the diversity of bird communities.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.410-416
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• 2011

Cereals are the main raw material for sunsik manufacture. As the fundamental processing step, it is very important to confirm the level of the microorganism contamination in the cereals. This study was carried out a micrbiological screening of cereal samples for sunsik from 19 companies located in South Korea. Ten kinds of cereals which were glutinous rice, barley, brownrice, blackbean, blackrice, blacksesame, sorghum, millet, perilla seed, and adlay were investigated. As the results, the contaminations of general bacterial were 3.1~8.6 log(CFU/g). The results of Escherichia coli were 1.0~3.4 log(CFU/g). There was no contamination of Salmonella. spp in any cereal samples except black sesame and mold was detected in barley. The experiment for microbiological contamination during sunsik processing was also investigated in this study. The results of general bacteria were detected as 5.1~8.5, 4.4~7.5, 1.0~2.3, 2.4~4.2, 1.0~4.0, 3.4~4.2, 4.3~5.2, and 3.3~5.5 log(CFU/g) during environment of warehousing, washing, steaming, 1st cooling, drying, 2nd cooling, grinding, and packaging process, respectively. The results of coliform were 1.0~2.0 log(CFU/g) during warehousing respectively. Mold was found in warehousing. In case of the instruments, the contaminations of general bacterial were 4.2~7.5, 0.1~2.0, 0.1~3.2, 3.7~4.0, 2.5~3.0, and 3.8~5.2 log(CFU/g) in cereals tanks, washing machines, grinding machines, packaging machines, and workrooms. The results of coliform were 2.4~4.0, 0.0~4.1 log(CFU/g) in cereals tanks and grinding machines, respectively. Mold were only found in cereals tanks, grinding machines, and workings. Therefore, the risk of hazard microorganisms contmination might be decrased as the exhaustive management is applied to the whole sunsik process.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.1-5
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• 1983

Large quantities of an ascidian, Styela plicata, are harvested annually as the by-product of oyster culture on the south coastal area in Korea. It has been traditionally favored and consumed because of its peculiar taste and flavor. But no study on its taste compounds has been reported. An investigation on the taste compounds of fresh meat and integument of an ascidian has been carried out by a series of analysis of taste compounds including nucleotides, free amino acids, betaine, TMAO, TMA and total creatinine. The most abundant nucleotides in fresh meat were AMP and IMP. Their contents were $1.2\;and\;0.8{\mu}mole/g$, respectively. The contents of nucleotides and their related compounds in integument show similar tendency as in fresh meat but their quantities were very low as compared with those in fresh meat. Seventy two percentage of the total free amino acids in fresh meat was consisted of proline, alanine, glutamic acid, glycine and serine. They occupied also 82% of the total free amino acids in integument, but the amount of free amino acids in integument was about 1/10 of that in fresh meat. The contents of betaine-N and creatinine-N were 6.1 and 2.1% of the extractive-N in fresh meat, respectively. The amounts of TMAO-N and TMA-N were very low contents in fresh meat and trace in integument.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.37-44
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• 2020

This study investigated the probability of foodborne illness caused by raw oyster consumption contaminated with high risk Vibrio species such as V. vulnificus and V. cholerae. Eighty-eight raw oyster samples were collected from the south coast, west coast and Seoul areas, and examined for the prevalence of high risk Vibrio species. The growth patterns of V. vulnificus and V. cholerae in raw oysters were evaluated, and consumption frequency and amounts for raw oyster were investigated from a Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. With the collected data, a risk assessment simulation was conducted to estimate the probability of foodborne illness caused by intake of raw oysters, using @RISK. Of 88 raw oysters, there were no V. vulnificus- or V. cholerae-positive samples. Thus, initial contamination levels of Vibrio species in raw oysters were estimated by the statistical methods developed by Vose and Sanaa, and the estimated value for the both Vibrio spp. was -3.6 Log CFU/g. In raw oyster, cell counts of V. vulnificus and V. cholerae remained unchanged. The incidence of raw oyster consumers was 0.35%, and the appropriate probabilistic distribution for the consumption amounts was the exponential distribution. A risk assessment simulation model was developed with the collected data, and the probability of the foodborne illness caused by the consumption of raw oyster was 9.08×10^-15 for V. vulnificus and 8.16×10^-13 for V. cholerae. Consumption frequency was the first factor, influencing the probability of foodborne illness.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.50 no.4
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• pp.318-324
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• 2017

Lime bordeaux mixture (LBM) and lime sulfur mixture (LSM) are representative environmental friendly organic materials for prevention of insect pests in South Korea. Recently, those have been widely used as an alternative for chemical pesticides in eco-friendly farms. However, South Korea has not established even recommendation of LBM and LSM considering the stability of heavy metals in soil. The aim of this study was to evaluate the accumulation of hazardous heavy metals in soil and plant with long-term application of LBM and LSM. Firstly, we investigated the amount of LBM and LSM used per year in several eco-friendly farms to determine a standard application rate of both materials. The pepper plant was grown on the pot in greenhouse for 14 weeks. Both materials were applied at 0, 1, 3, and 9 times of standard application rates (2.56 and $1.28L\;ha^{-1}$ of LBM and LSM per year, respectively). Dry matter yield of pepper and heavy metals (As, Cd, Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb, and Zn) concentration in soil and pepper plant were measured after 14 weeks. Yield of pepper plant did not significantly chang with up to application rate of 1 times, thereafter it markedly decreased with more than 3 times. With increasing LBM and LSM application, the concentration of Cu and Zn in soil significantly increased. Especially, Zn concentration in pepper significantly increased with increasing application rates of both materials. This might resulted in significant decrease in dry matter yield of pepper. The concentrations of those heavy metals in soil did not exceed safety levels ($150mg\;kg^{-1}$ for Cu and $300mg\;kg^{-1}$ for Zn) established by the Korean Soil Environmental Conservation Act as well as concentration of heavy metals in pepper plant by Korean Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. However, particular attention should be paid for heavy metal safety and crop productivity when using LBM and LSM in the organic farm.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.44 no.2
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• pp.185-193
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• 2016

A novel proteolytic bacterium was isolated from soil at Yeungnam University, South Korea. The strain, named FBL-1, was rod-shaped with a smooth surface. Biolog and API 50CHB test results revealed that strain FBL-1 was a Bacillus species. Based on 16S rDNA sequencing and chemotaxonomic characterization, the strain was identified as Bacillus subtilis because it had the highest homology with Bacillus subtilis subsp. subtilis NCIB 3610 (99.5%). In liquid culture at 37℃ with shaking at 200 rpm, fructose and yeast extract were found to be the best carbon and nitrogen sources, respectively, for cell growth and protease production. The highest protease activity (451.640 U/ml) was obtained when the strain was cultured in medium containing 20 g/l of fructose and 5 g/l of yeast extract. Although further studies are needed to characterize the protease and enhance its activity, the newly isolated protein-degrading B. subtilis FBL-1 can be applicable for the production of peptides and for the degradation of proteins in various industries.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.287-292
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• 2000

The toxicity and toxin composition between blue mussel, Mytilus edulis and oyster, Crassostrea gigas collected at Woepori in Ko je island in South Coast of Korea in 1996 and 1997 were compared. The highest toxicity score was about 10 times higher in blue mussel than oyster (blue mussel, 8,670 $\mu\textrm{g}$; oyster, 860$\mu\textrm{g}$ in 1996, blue mussel, 5,657 $\mu\textrm{g}$/100g in 1997). The blue mussel also retained its toxicity for slightly longer period than oyster. In the both shellfish, PSP was composed almost exclusively of C toxicity (Cl and C2, 20~65%) and gonyautoxins (GTXl, 2, 3, and 4, 38~78%). In the early period of toxin accumulation, the ratio of 11$\beta$-epimer toxins (C2, GTX4) whose amount was 25~56 mole% (5th March to 12th April in 1996) and 25~80 mole% (18th March to 7th April in 1997), were higher than that of 11-epimer toxins (Cl, GTX2) whose amount was 41~57 mol%(27th May to 3rd June in 1996) and 25~56 mole% (29th April to 12th May in 1997), became higher than that of 11-epimer toxins. The toxin compositions in the both samples changed on a daily basis, presumably owing to metabolism of the toxin in the bivalves.