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Evaluation of microbiological quality and safety of fresh-cut fruit products at retail levels in Korea

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Abstract

The risk of foodborne illnesses caused by pathogens could be increased in fresh-cut fruit products owing to contamination during processing. Therefore, this study was conducted to investigate the microbiological quality and safety of commercial fresh-cut fruit products in Korea. Additionally, the growth of Listeria monocytogenes in selected fresh-cut fruits was evaluated, and their growth curves were analyzed using predictive growth modeling. The mean count of total aerobic bacteria, coliforms, and yeast/mold was 3.67±1.73 log10 CFU/g, 1.54±1.01 log10 CFU/g, and 3.81±1.51 log10 CFU/g, respectively. Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli O157:H7, L. monocytogenes, Salmonella spp., and Cyclospora spp. were not detected in any of the tested samples. Only Bacillus cereus was detected in a few samples at the mean level of 1.72±0.13 log10 CFU/g. The growth of L. monocytogenes varied depending on the type of fruit; they grew well in non-acidic fresh-cut fruit products during storage at 10 °C.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by grant (20162MFDS012) from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety in 2020.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Food and Nutrition, Chung-Ang University, 4726, Seodong-daero, Anseong-si, Gyeonggi-do, Republic of Korea

    A-Ra Jang, Areum Han, Soyul Lee, Suyoung Jo, Hana Song, Danbi Kim & Sun-Young Lee

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  1. A-Ra Jang
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  2. Areum Han
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Correspondence to Sun-Young Lee.

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Jang, AR., Han, A., Lee, S. et al. Evaluation of microbiological quality and safety of fresh-cut fruit products at retail levels in Korea. Food Sci Biotechnol 30, 1393–1401 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10068-021-00974-0

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