Escherichia coli O157:H7 infection has been implicated in a number of outbreaks of illness linked to the consumption of foods. Handling raw meat contaminated with E. coli O157:H7 in the kitchen could easily contaminate the surface of cutting boards. Thus, levels of cross-contamination of E. coli O157:H7 from ground beef to cutting boards made of different materials and effects of cleaning methods on reducing E. coli O157:H7 were evaluated. Four types of cutting boards (wood, polyethylene, polypropylene, and acrylic) were selected and contaminated with ground beef inoculated with E. coli O157:H7. Levels of cross-contaminated E. coli O157:H7 on boards were then evaluated. For evaluation of cleaning methods, wiping with dry paper towel , wet paper towel, alcohol paper towel,chlorine paper towel were used to clean the contaminated cutting boards. Initial population of pathogens was 6.09 log CFU/g in ground beef. After 1 h contamination of the inoculated ground beef on the cutting boards, no significant difference were observed in levels of cross-contaminated E. coli O157:H7 depending on the cleaning materials except for the normal polyethylene surface. Order of efficacy in removing E. coli O157: H7 was as follows: alcohol > chlorine > wet > dry paper towel. Cleaning with alcohol sanitizer appeared as the most effective cleaning method for reducing E. coli O157: H7 population on kitchen cutting boards. These results could be used to develop kitchen safety guidelines for preventing foodborne outbreaks.

There has been an increasing interest in the use of natural plant materials as alternative food preservatives. We examined the antimicrobial effects of natural plant materials used as additives against foodborne pathogens in laboratory media and Sulgidduk, oriental-style rice cakes. Cinnamon, mugwort, and garlic powder solutions (3%) were tested for their antimicrobial activities against pathogens in laboratory media. Sulgidduk prepared with different amounts of cinnamon powder (1, 3, and 6%) was inoculated with a Staphylococcus aureus or Bacillus cereus cocktail. The samples were air or vacuum packaged and stored at 22 ± 1°C for 72 h, and microbial growth was determined. Cinnamon powder showed more inhibitory properties against pathogens such as Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium, Escherichia coli O157:H7, Listeria monocytogenes, S. aureus, and B. cereus than did mugwort or garlic powder. The populations of S. aureus and B. cereus in Sulgidduk containing cinnamon powder were significantly lower than in the control during storage time. Different packaging methods did not result in a significant difference in pathogen growth. In a sensory evaluation, Sulgidduk containing 1 and 3% cinnamon powder did not significantly differ from the control sample in any of the attributes tested other than flavor. These results indicate that natural plant materials such as cinnamon powder could be used as food additives to improve the microbiological stability of rice cakes.