• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.295-303
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• 2007

As a result of life-style changes, consumer's concerns of food have shifted from calories and nutrition to health and convenience. Fresh-cut products are one such new direction for fruit and vegetable consumption. In this study, the vitamin C, mineral, and pesticide contents of various fresh-cut products were analyzed. According to sensory evaluations, the key reason for a lower than expected overall acceptability of many fresh-cut products is that they are likely to have browning and can easily lose their freshness. Also, the sensory evaluation showed that shriveling, the degree of browning, softening around the cut edge, and off-flavors were the primary factors affecting the quality of fresh-cut products. As a nutritional factor of quality, vitamin C content was not practical with regard to fresh-cut lettuce because the level was very low. For product safety, residual pesticides were detected in the fresh-cut products, but the results showed that all items were under permitted levels and considered safe. In evaluation of the microbial levels of the fresh-cut market products, the levels of viable cells, mold, yeast, coliform bacteria, and enterobacteriaceae were not significantly different based on the summer and winter seasons. The levels of S. aureus and Listeria spp. in the products were higher during the summer season than the winter.

• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.28-34
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• 2008

This study was performed in an effort to standardize the quality of fresh-cut products. Here, consumers' perceptions of fresh-cut products were surveyed to determine the quality factors in preparing quality standards for fresh-cut products. According to the surveys, freshness was the most important factor for consumers when choosing fresh-cut products at the market. Secondary indicators of good quality, i.e., "sensory qualities," were determined to be vibrant color, clean taste, nice feel, neat presentation, etc., as well as knowledge of whether it was organically grown. Off-odors decreased a product's marketability. Likewise, the more wilted or brown it appeared, the less a product was desired. From the results, the quality control indices for fresh-cut products were derived as freshness, discoloration, off-flavor, uniformity, prohibition of adulteration by alien substances, packaging and labeling. The quality of fresh-cut lettuce samples was measured against three storage temperatures: $20^{\circ}C,\;10^{\circ}C$ and $5^{\circ}C$. Sensory quality evaluations revealed the following: produce stored at $20^{\circ}C$ lost its marketability in less than one day; produce stored at $10^{\circ}C$ lost its marketability in less than two days; on the other hand, produced stored at $5^{\circ}C$, maintained its marketability for six days. At these respective points, browning started to occur around cut areas, and increased gradually once it began. Vitamin C content decreased with storage time, but storage at $5^{\circ}C$ maintained vitamin content the longest duration. Finally, further examinations were performed on the sensory qualities of fresh-cut lettuce samples at four levels of increased browning. Up to the third level, the product score for marketability was 5.6.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.36 no.5
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• pp.622-628
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• 2007

Most fresh-cut agri-food products are less stable than unprocessed materials from which they are made. The objective of this study was the development of a quality control system for fresh-cut agri-food products. In this study, vitamin C, minerals, residual heavy metals, and pesticides of various fresh-cut agri-food products were analysed. Sensory evaluation revealed that overall acceptability scores were less than expected in most products since fresh-cut products are likely to cause browning and easily lose their freshness. Therefore, the postharvest technologies that can maintain the quality, freshness and appearance must be supplied. Although vitamin C and minerals are main nutrients that can be supplied from salads, the results showed that vitamin C and mineral contents were very small and extremely small compared with the values from the food composition tables. It is possible that vitamin C and most minerals that are easily destroyed were lost through minimal processes like peeling and cutting. In safety side, the remaining heavy metal contents of fresh-cut agri-food were investigated and the results showed that copper and lead existed in some products because only cadmium in agricultural produce is controlled by the minimum standard of heavy metal contents in Korea. No residual pesticides were detected in all products.

• 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 Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.87-96
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• 2022

Recently, the purchase of fresh-cut produce and meal kits has increased. Ready-to-eat (RTE) fresh-cut products have potentially hazard of cross-contamination of various microorganisms in the processes of peeling, slicing, dicing, and shredding. There are frequent cases of protozoa food poisoning, such as Cyclospora and Cryptosporidium, caused by fresh-cut products. The objective of the study is to investigate the microbiological qualities of various types of RTE fresh-cut products in the domestic on/offline markets. RTE fresh-cut fruits cup (n=100), fresh-cut vegetables (n=50), and vegetables in meal kits (Vietnamese spring rolls and white radish rolls kits, n=50) were seasonally analyzed. The contamination levels of hygienic indicator organisms, yeast and mold (YM), and foodborne pathogens (Bacillus cereus, Staphylococcus aureus, Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella spp., and Escherichia coli O157:H7) were monitored. Overall, the lowest microbiological qualities of meal kits vegetables were observed, followed by RTE fresh-cut fruits cup and fresh-cut vegetables. Contamination levels of total aerobic bacteria, coliforms, and YM in meal kits vegetables were 5.91, 3.90, and 4.71 logs CFU/g, respectively. From the qualitative analysis, 6 out of 200 RTE fresh-cut products (3%) returned positive result for S. aureus. From the quantitative analysis, the contamination levels of S. aureus in purple cabbage from a meal-kit and fresh-cut pineapple were below the acceptable limit (100 CFU/g). Staphylococcus enterotoxin seg and sei genes were detected in RTE fresh-cut celery and red cabbage from meal-kits, respectively. S. aureus contamination must be carefully controlled during the manufacturing processes of RTE fresh-cut products. Neither Cyclospora cayetanensis nor Cryptosporidium parvum was detected in the samples of RTE fresh-cut products and vegetables from meal-kits from the Korean retail markets.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.34 no.10
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• pp.1566-1571
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• 2005

Consumer's perception and consumption pattern of fresh-cut agri-food Products were surveyed to Provide basic information for quality enhancement. The results are summarized as follows: The respondents had a preference for a discount store (60.5$\%$) to purchase fruits and vegetables and the frequency of purchase was one time Per week (46.1$\%$). Fruits and vegetables were purchased frequently by full-time housewives compared with workers. The reasons for purchasing fresh-cut agri-food generally resulted from a consideration of the saving in cooking time, the ease of handling and the desire to serve appropriate portions. On the other hand, the reasons for not purchasing fresh-cut agri-food Products were the comparatively high price, a perception of unsanitary handling. Freshness was considered to be the most important factor when purchasing these products. The preferred price for the fresh-cut agri-food products were approximately 110 $\∼$ 140$\%$ of that for the unprocessed products. 87.7$\%$ of respondents answered that they will purchase fresh-cut agri-food products continuously if some problems that they considered, would be improved.

• Journal of Mushroom
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.287-292
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• 2014

This study investigated the packaging status and sensory quality of fresh-cut mushroom products from retail markets. Fifty one fresh-cut mushroom products were surveyed / purchased from discount stores in four cities in January (winter), March (spring), August (summer), and October (autumn) 2009. Collected fresh-cut mushrooms include single variety products like whole oyster mushroom and winter mushroom, diced or sliced oak mushroom, sliced king oyster mushroom, and ready-to-cook mixed mushroom products. Most fresh-cut mushrooms were packed in trays made of aluminum, polystyrene (PS), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), nylon materials covered with PVC (polyvinyl chloride) wrap or solid PP (polypropylene) and PS. Eighty nine percent of the covers were labeled with manufacture and expiration date. Collected samples showed severe browning (10%) and off-flavor (4%). The percentage of products with a rating of 'good' or better in overall quality was 90%. Moreover, Survey showed seasonal differences in sensory qualities. All of the collected fresh-cut mushrooms in autumn and winter had high marketability. However, Mushroom products collected in spring and summer had lower quality, hence requires treatment to prevent browning and off-flavor.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF PACKAGING SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.23-29
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• 2008

The market sales of fresh-cut fruit and vegetables have grown rapidly in recent decades as a result of changes in consumer trend. Choosing the proper pretreatment of fruit and vegetables before minimally processing is very important because appearance is the most fundamental factors affecting the quality of fresh-cut products. This review describes the biochemical bases for color changes of fruit and vegetables including browning, discoloration, and color changes of carrots and alliums. Understanding pathway of pigments in minimally processed fruit and vegetable and preventing the way of color change should be emphasized for successive packaging system. This review also describes pretreatment of fresh-cut fruit and vegetables to improve the prolonging the shelf-life and maintenance of its qualities.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF PACKAGING SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.119-125
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• 2016

Fresh-cut agricultural products provide convenience to consumers. However, quality changes or microbial growth can easily occur due to physical changes such as cutting and peeling etc. during processing. Therefore, efforts have been made to develop a functional packaging for extension of shelf life of fresh-cut agricultural products, food etc., and researches on prolongation of storage period have been actively developed. The shelf life is extended by antimicrobial, far infrared rays, air permeability, anti-fogging, weak current, ethylene gas adsorption or decomposition, gas composition changes such as MA (Modified Atmosphere) or CA (Controlled Atmosphere). The method of extending the shelf life by various complex factors. This paper based on the published literature to extend the shelf life of fresh-cut agricultural products, food etc., The paper has summarized the storage period extension packing method, packaging material for shelf life extension and comprehensive evaluation method.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Postharvest Science and Technology of Agricultural Products Conference
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• 2003.10a
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• pp.165.1-165
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• 2003

복숭아는 절단 후 표면의 갈변현상이나 당도 저하 등이 발생하여 신선편이 식품화시 품질열화의 원인이 된다. 이에 본 실험에서는 일차적으로 유명 품종에 한해 fresh-cut peach의 anti-browning chemicals를 탐색하고, 그 결과를 통해 이차적으로 효과가 우수한 chemicals를 선정하여 백향 품종에 농도별 실험을 행하였다. 유명 품종을 반으로 절단한 후 제핵하고 8등분하여 1% ascorbic acid, 1% sodium chloride, 1% sodium ascorbate monohydrate, 0.005% 4-hexylresorcinol 용액에 3분간 침지시켜 draining한 후, PP tray에 담고 PP film으로 밀봉하여 4$^{\circ}C$에서 저장하였다. 가용성고형분은 to sodium chloride 용액으로 처리한 구에서 가장 높게 유지되었고 pH 또한 비교적 일정하였으며, 1% sodium chloride과 1% sodium ascorbate monohydrate 용액으로 처리한 구의 L값이 높게 유지되었다. 따라서 fresh-cut peach에 효과가 있는 것으로 판단되는 이 두 chemicals의 농도별 용액을 조제하여 같은 방법으로 백향 품종의 갈변저해제로서 처리하였다. 그 결과 2% sodium chloride의 가용성고형분이 가장 높게 유지되었으며 2% sodium ascorbate monohydrate 다음으로 2% sodium chloride 용액 처리구의 L값의 변화 양상이 가장 양호한 것으로 나타났다. 따라서 종합적으로 살펴볼 때, 2% sodium chloride 용액의 처리가 fresh-cut peach의 품질 변화 억제에 적합하다고 판단되었다.