• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.1-11
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• 2023

Skin sanitizers are effective in killing or removing pathogenic microbial contaminants from the skin of food handlers, and the progressive growth of consumer interest in personal hygiene tends to drive product diversification. This review covers the advances in the application of efficacy tests for hand sanitizers to suggest future perspectives to establish an assessment system that is optimized to each product type (gel, liquid, and wipes). Previous research on the in vivo simulative test of actual consumer use has adopted diverse experimental conditions regardless of the product type. This highlights the importance of establishing optimal test protocols specialized for the compositional characteristics of sanitizers through the comparative analysis of test methods. Although the operational conditions of the mechanical actions associated with wiping can affect the efficacy of the removal and/or the inactivation of target microorganisms from the skin's surface, currently there is a lack of standardized use patterns for the exposure of hand sanitizing wipes to skin. Thus, major determinants affecting the results from each step of the overall assessment procedures [pre-treatment - exposure of sanitizers - microbial recovery] should be identified to modify current protocols and develop novel test methods. The ex vivo test, designed to overcome the limited reproducibility of in vivo human trials, is also expected to replicate the environment for the contact of sanitizers targeting skin microorganisms. Recent progress in the area of skin microbiome research revealed distinct microbial characteristics and distribution patterns after the application of sanitizers on hands to establish the test methods with the perspectives on the antimicrobial effects at the community level. The future perspectives presented in this study on the improvement of efficacy test methods for hand sanitizers can also contribute to public health and food safety through the commercialization of effective sanitizer products.

• Korea Journal of Hospital Management
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.72-91
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• 2003

The purpose of this study is to investigate the recognition of health information managers, and to analyze the level of job satisfaction and organizational commitment of medical record technicians. The data for this study were collected through a self-administered survey with a structured questionnaire to 172 subjects from medical record technicians working in hospitals in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province as well as the faculty of medical schools across South Korea. In this analysis frequency, t-test, ANOVA, factor analysis and structural equation model were used. The main findings of this study are as follows: 1. As for recognition of the seven dimensions in the role of health information managers, the role as clinical data specialist received the most positive feedback, followed by document & repository managers, patient information coordinators, health information managers, data quality managers, security officers and research & decision support analyst. 2. The level of job satisfaction among medical information handlers and managers averaged 3.14. In terms of the factors in the work environment concerned with job satisfaction, being able to work independently and as team players reached the top among 6 factors with the average of 3.39, followed by professional position, salary & rewards, expectations for job performance and administration. 3. The average rate of organizational commitment stood at 3.09. Respondents tend to be focused on present tasks rather than future-oriented tasks. 4. The result of the analysis based on the relationship between recognition as health information managers, job satisfaction and organizational commitment found that all analysis are statistically meaningful. The more the respondents were aware of their roles as health information managers, the more they tended to be committed to their work and satisfied with their work. The more the respondents were committed to their work, the more satisfaction was seen. The effects of recognition as health information managers on organizational commitment measured 0.27 and for job satisfaction it was 0.17. The effects of organizational commitment on job satisfaction stood at 0.71. The feasibility of the model meets the standard at Chi-square value of 66.755 and the P value of 0.057. The Normed Fit Index (NFI) of 0.930 was in compliance with the standard for model feasibility and the squared multiple correlation coefficient of this model was 8% in organizational commitment and 60% in job satisfaction.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.194-198
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• 2014

Methicillin-resistant staphylococci (MRS) are emerging as important pathogens in humans and animals worldwide. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of MRS in the racehorse population and in horse-related personnel in Korea. A total of 195 horses and 18 humans (eight veterinarians, three veterinary hospital staff, and seven horse-handlers) from racehorse farms in Korea were included in the study. The samples were collected from nasal cavities using bacterial transport medium and were cultivated on tryptic soy agar with 5% sheep blood for 3 days at $37^{\circ}C$ to confirm the presence of Staphylococcus spp. Presumptive Staphylococcus spp. isolates were identified by 16S ribosomal RNA gene analysis. The coagulase test and oxacillin susceptibility tests were performed using the tube dilution and disk diffusion methods, respectively. The presence of the mecA gene was determined using a polymerase chain reaction assay. Of the 195 horses, 29 (15.6%) yielded 29 MRS isolates. Twelve (66.7%) of the 18 horse-related personnel yielded 12 MRS isolates. All of the MRS isolates from horses or horse-related personnel were identified as methicillin-resistant coagulase-negative staphylococci (MRCNS). The result of this study suggest that the prevalence of MRS increased with the duration of antibiotic use (p = 0.002). This study also provides evidence for the zoonotic transmission of MRCNS between horses and humans, although further investigations are needed.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.41 no.6
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• pp.397-404
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• 2015

Objectives: The aim of this study is to investigate microbial contamination in the school food service environment for the assessment of microbial food safety. Methods: We collected both swab samples from tables and desks and airborne bacterial samples from an elementary school (School A) and a high school (School B). Heterotrophic plate count, total coliform, Staphylococcus aureus, and Bacillus cereus were measured with selective media to quantify microbial concentration. PCR assay targeting 16S rRNA genes was performed to identify the strains of S. aureus and B. cereus isolated. In addition, we made a food service checklist for the locations to evaluate the food service environment. A Wilcoxon test was employed to examine the differences in microbial concentration between before lunchtime and afterwards. Results: Heterotrophic plate counts showed higher levels after-lunch compared to before-lunch at School B. However, levels of S. aureus were higher in the after-lunch period (p<0.05) in both classrooms and in the cafeteria in School A. B. cereus was only sparsely detected in School B. Several samples from food dining carts were found to be contaminated with bacteria, and facilities associated with food delivery were found to be vulnerable to bacterial contamination. Although microbial concentrations in the air showed little difference between before- and after-lunchtime in the cafeteria in School A, those in classrooms were greater after-lunchtime at both schools. Conclusion: Our results suggested that the microbial safety in schools after lunchtime of concern. Necessary preventive measures such as hygiene education for students and food handlers should be required to minimize microbial contamination during food service processes in schools.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.35 no.7
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• pp.940-944
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• 2006

The propose of this study was to evaluate the microbiological hazards of the customers' hands in university foodservice operation. A total of 190 customers' hands were sampled to test about aerobie plate counts, coliforms, E. coli and Staphylococcus aureus. The average number of aerobic plate counts was 3.11 log CFU/hand Ifrom 0.70 to 6.47 log CFU/hand) and that of coliform counts was 1.06 log CFU/hand (from not detected to 5.04 log CFU/hand). The mean level of aerobic plate counts (t=9.87, p<0.001) and coliforms (t=7.91, p<0.05) was significantly different by gender. E. coli was not detected, but Staphylococcus aureus was detected in 39 (20.5%) of 190 samples. The average of hand-washing frequency was 6.46 time per day. By the hand-washing frequency, the mean level of aerobic plate counts was significantly different (F=527, p<0.001), but coliforms was not significantly different. This study shows that it is needs to be given attention to hygiene handlers but also for customers in foodservice operations.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.122-126
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• 2007

Expenditure on meat and meat products has been increased in Korea due to the increase of income and the change of diet. From raising farm animals to eating the meat, various hazardous elements can make their ways into the meat and meat products. Recently the issues on food safety and hygiene are drawing a lot of attention, and the current system for managing the safety of foods is still needed to be improved. This survey was aimed to monitor the current situation of country-of-origin labels and hygiene for the meat markets at 4 regions Korea. The survey was performed by collecting samples from whole- sale and retail stores in the nation, which were selling beef. The markets were divided into groups as to territory and the size of the market (Large size, Medium size, and Small size). In terms of size distribution, small butcher shops occupied the highest percentage. On the itemized suitability test of unpacked and packed beef, all the market of 4 regions showed good agreements. However, such labels indicating the methods of cooking and storage were not properly posted on the products. Especially for Ho-nam region, corrections are needed. The results of monitoring sanitation conditions for the butcher shops at 4 regions in Korea showed relatively low suitability. Especially, there were serious lack of knowledge about wearing the sanitation clothing, caps, and shoes. The problem with food safety is so complicated that producer, consumer, food manufacturer, the press, the government, and scholar should solve altogether. It is necessary to educate farmers, food handlers, consumers, etc. and provide them with an accurate information and knowledge.