Abstract
This study was conducted to determine the effect of hygienic processing (HP) on the reduction of microorganisms during manufacturing of saengshik with two vegetables (carrots and cabbage) and two grains (barely and glutinous rice) compared to general processing (GP). For GP, distilled water was used for washing raw materials and equipment. For HP, aqueous ozone (3 ppm) in combination with 1% citric acid and 70% alcohol were used for washing raw materials and the equipment, respectively. In carrots, after cutting, total aerobic bacteria (TAB), yeast and mold (YM) and coliforms were significantly increased to 5.19, 8.04 and 2.08 ($log_{10}$ CFU/g), respectively (p<0.05). Washing effectively reduced the increased microorganisms from cross contamination during cutting, but cross contamination increased with subsequent GP drying and milling procedures to 8.56, 8.27 and 3.71 ($log_{10}$ CFU/g) for TAB, YM and coliforms, respectively (p<0.05). On the other hand, HP washing of carrots with 3 ppm ozone in combination with 1% citric acid showed higher antimicrobial effect than GP washing, significantly decreasing the number of microorganisms (p<0.05). Further cross contamination did not occur through drying and milling due to cleaning the equipments with 70% alcohol prior to processing. After milling, the number of TAB, YM and coliforms were significantly decreased to 3.89, 4.47 and not detectable level ($log_{10}$ CFU/g), respectively (p<0.05). Similar results were observed in cabbage and grains. During storage for two months at different temperatures (22 or $4^{\circ}C$), there were no changes in numbers of spoilage microorganisms in the packaged saengsik after either processing. This suggests the importance of HP for the reduction of microorganisms during saengsik production, and demonstrates the effectiveness of disinfection at each processing stage in minimizing contamination levels to enhance microbial safety of saengshik products.
