This study aimed to establish a mixed starter culture to standardize the flavor of kimchi, a traditional Korean food. Leuconostoc mesenteroides and Lactobacillus sakei were selected for the culture based on their key roles in kimchi fermentation. The effects of various starter culture mixing ratios on the overall fermentation process were investigated.
Treatment with high-rate Leu. mesenteroides inoculation, exhibiting hetero-fermentative characteristics, led to the production of mannitol (1393.11 mg/100 g), acetic acid (57.70 mg/kg), and lactic acid (1141.90 mg/kg), in addition to the induction of a rapid increase in the number of viable cells, thereby reducing the pH (pH 3.9). Conversely, treatment with high-rate L. sakei inoculation, exhibiting homo-fermentative characteristics, led to the production of less mannitol and acetic acid, with more lactic acid.
Therefore, by using mixed lactic acid bacteria starter strains, this study demonstrated the value of various characteristics and standardized manufacturing of kimchi.

Archaea are one of the least-studied members of the gut-dwelling autochthonous microbiota. Few studies have reported the dominance of methanogens in the archaeal microbiome (archaeome) of the human gut, although limited information regarding the diversity and abundance of other archaeal phylotypes is available.
We surveyed the archaeome of faecal samples collected from 897 East Asian subjects living in South Korea. In total, 42.47% faecal samples were positive for archaeal colonisation; these were subsequently subjected to archaeal 16S rRNA gene deep sequencing and real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction-based abundance estimation. The mean archaeal relative abundance was 10.24 ± 4.58% of the total bacterial and archaeal abundance. We observed extensive colonisation of haloarchaea (95.54%) in the archaea-positive faecal samples, with 9.63% mean relative abundance in archaeal communities. Haloarchaea were relatively more abundant than methanogens in some samples. The presence of haloarchaea was also verified by fluorescence in situ hybridisation analysis. Owing to large inter-individual variations, we categorised the human gut archaeome into four archaeal enterotypes.
The study demonstrated that the human gut archaeome is indigenous, responsive, and functional, expanding our understanding of the archaeal signature in the gut of human individuals.

Kimchi is a traditional Korean fermented food prepared via spontaneous fermentation by various microorganisms originating from vegetables such as kimchi cabbage, radishes, and garlic.
Recent advances in meta-omics approaches that integrate metataxonomics, metagenomics, metatranscriptomics, and metabolomics have contributed to explaining and understanding food fermentation processes. Kimchi microbial communities are composed of majorly lactic acid bacteria such as Leuconostoc, Lactobacillus, and Weissella and fewer eukaryotic microorganisms and kimchi fermentation are accomplished by complex microbial metabolisms to produce diverse metabolites such as lactate, acetate, CO₂, ethanol, mannitol, amino acids, formate, malate, diacetyl, acetoin, and 2, 3-butanediol, which determine taste, quality, health benefit, and safety of fermented kimchi products.
Therefore, in the future, kimchi researches should be systematically performed using the meta-omics approaches to understand complex microbial metabolisms during kimchi fermentation.

Stearic acid, SA was used to functionalize the surface of CO₂-adsorbent powders to improve the physical and mechanical properties of active packaging LLDPE films.
SA acted as a surfactant to reduce the agglomeration of the adsorbents in the film. Fewer aggregates resulted in improved tensile strength, reduced water vapor transmission rate, and increased light transmittance, which in turn improved the physical and mechanical properties of the films.
When these films were used as packaging for kimchi, they did not affect the ripening of the kimchi, and showed excellent CO₂ adsorption performance.

Quinolizidine alkaloids (QAs) are toxic secondary metabolites of Lupinus plants. This study reports the simultaneous quantification of five alkaloids from Lupinus angustifolius L. and its processed foods by ultraperformance liquid chromatography with electrospray ionization mass spectrometric detection.
After optimizing the extraction conditions, the analytical method was validated for the QAs in lupin beans and in three major processed foods through detection and quantification limits, linearity, precision, and accuracy.
The detection and quantification limits of the QAs were 0.5−1.7 and 1.5−5.7 mg kg−¹, respectively. The linearity was greater than 0.9992 and the precision was less than 3.1%. The recoveries of three different concentrations of each QA were 89.5−106.2%. For both raw lupin beans and processed foods, lupanine was the major QA, and 13-hydroxylupanine and angustifoline were detected in lower amounts. This method could be widely used for accurate risk assessment of QAs.

Shrimps cause a significant part of crustacea-related allergies. It is used in processed foods, including fermented Korean foods, such as kimchi. Even low amounts of shrimp allergens can provoke reactions in consumers allergic to shrimp.
Accurate food labeling is the most effective means of preventing the consumption of allergenic ingredients. To validate labeling compliance and minimize the risk of cross-contaminations, the effectiveness of methodologies used for the detection of allergens in foods should be compared.
Here, seven commercial kits, based on quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) or enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), were assessed for their ability to detect the presence of shrimp allergens in food. Our results showed that SureFood real-time PCR kit and Ridascreen ELISA kit had the highest recovery, whereas five other kits underperformed in the determination of allergen content of kimchi and its ingredients.
The variation in recovery among the kits depended on the limit of detection and reactivity to the shrimp allergens, tropomyosin, and sarcoplasmic calcium-binding protein.

A novel, facultatively anaerobic actinobacterium, designated strain CBA3103^T, was isolated from sediment of the Geum River in South Korea. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that strain CBA3103^T is most closely related to Raineyella antarctica LZ-22^T (98.47% 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity). The genome of strainCBA3103^T was 3649865 bp with a DNA G+C content of 69.6 mol%.
The average nucleotide identity value between strain CBA3103^T and R. antarctica LZ-22^T was 79.22%. Cells of strain CBA3103^T were Gram-positive, rod-shaped, 0.6–0.9 μm wide and 1.4–2.4 μm long. Growth occurred at 15–40°C (optimum, 35°C), at pH 6.0–7.0 (optimum, pH 7.0) and with 0–2% NaCl (w/v) (optimum, 0–1%, w/v). The major cellular fatty acids in strain CBA3103^T were anteiso-C_15:0, anteiso-C_15:1 A and iso-C_14:0.
The major respiratory quinone was menaquinone-9(H₄). The polar lipids of strain CBA3103^T were diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine, five unidentified glycolipids and three unidentified phospholipids. Based on the genotypic, phenotypic and chemotaxonomic analyses, strain CBA3103^T represents a novel species of the genus Raineyella, for which the name Raineyella fluvialis sp. nov. (type strain CBA3103^T=KACC 21446^T=DSM 110288^T) is proposed.

Metal-doped TiO2 photocatalysis are recognized as effective materials for eliminating human norovirus (HuNoVs). In recent years, the airborne transmission of viral particles of HuNoVs has been a cause for concern.
In this study, we evaluated the virucidal effects of a Cu/TiO2 non-woven fabric (NWF) on viral particles of HuNoV genogroup II genotype 4 (HuNoV GII.4) under an ultraviolet A light-emitting diode (UVA-LED) source.
For the optimized parameters, a multivariate statistical analysis using the Box-Behnken design (BBD) technique combined with the response surface methodology (RSM) was applied. The experimental results showed that the Cu/TiO2-based NWF degraded HuNoV viral particles in the air samples. The BBD-based RSM indicated that the optimumtreatment conditions for inactivating the HuNoV GII.4 droplets with the Cu/TiO2 NWFwere a 1:7.7 ratio of Cu:TiO2 and the use of a 373-nm UVA-LED source for 48.08 min.
The optimal conditions for the photocatalytic efficacy in HuNoV GII.4 of Cu/TiO2 NWF were verified experimentally, giving a value of 2.89±0.11 log10 genomic copies, which was the same as the predicted value (2.91611) within experimental uncertainty. This result adequately validated the predicted model and confirmed that viral particles of HuNoVs could efficiently be disinfected using Cu/TiO2 NWF stimulated by UVA-LED light.

This study investigated the effect of whey protein concentrate (WPC):beeswax (BW): sucrose (Suc) coating on the moisture- and oil-barrier properties of paperboard. Six coating suspensions with different WPC:BW:Suc ratios (1:0:1, 1:0:2, 1:1:1, 1:1:2, 1:2:1, and 1:2:2) were prepared and coated on paperboards.
Scanning electron microscopy images indicated that the WPC:BW:Suc suspension-coating with higher BW concentration was thicker, more uniformly dispersed, and stable in the network structure formed. Further, Cobb test, water vapor permeability measurement, and oil penetration analysis indicated that WPC:BW:Suc coatings improved the water and oil-barrier properties of paperboards (p < 0.05).
Therefore, paperboards with coatings containing WPC, BW, and Suc have the potential to replace pure paperboard in applications that require a moisture/oil-barrier.

Kimchi seasoning is manufactured non-thermally without any additional decontamination step, resulting in possible microbiological growth and food safety issues.
This study examines the effects of gamma irradiation on the microbiological and physicochemical characteristics of kimchi seasoning mixture during storage.
Regardless of the microbial species, the number of microorganisms was adversely correlated with increasing gamma irradiation.
Changes in pH, acidity, reducing sugar content, and headspace gas concentrations were significantly delayed in irradiated kimchi seasoning mixtures.
These results imply that gamma irradiation can enhance the microbiological safety and shelf-life of kimchi seasoning mixture, and decrease the initial concentration of microorganisms without adverse effects on quality.

Moringa oleifera leaf (ML) is rich in vitamins and minerals, specially abundant calcium, therefore it is widely used as a calcium supplement for food. This study aimed to investigate the antioxidant activity and calcium bioaccessibility of M. oleifera leaf hydrolysate (MLH) as a calcium supplement for kimchi. MLH was prepared under three different proteases, two different protease contents, and three different incubation times. Total phenol content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC), and antioxidant activities were investigated. Cellular activity and calcium bioaccessibility were also investigated. The highest calcium level of MLH was observed in 3% Protamex treatment for 4 h. TPC, TFC, and antioxidant activities of MLH in Protamex and Alcalase treatments were higher than those in Flavourzyme treatment (p < 0.05). Moreover, high cell viability and alkaline phosphatase activity were also observed in C2C12 cells. Kimchi containing MLH showed high calcium accessibility compared to kimchi alone. Taken together, the application of MLH could have potential as a calcium supplement for kimchi production.

The identification of volatile compounds (VCs) related to flavors is important for confirming food quality, and instrumental techniques are required to effectively and accurately identify and determine the VCs responsible for such flavors.
The VCs related to kimchi flavor were analyzed by headspace hot injection and trapping (HS-HIT), which is a type of multiple headspace sample enrichment sampling technique. For the HS-HIT sampling technique, the cool injection system temperature was optimized to -40℃ and the multiple sampling frequency was optimized to nine injections. Moreover, HS-HIT was compared with static headspace (SHS) and headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) sampling techniques for the VC analysis of kimchi.
The overall peak intensities in the total ion chromatograms (TICs) with SHS and HS-SPME were lower than with HS-HIT. Although the HS-HIT sampling technique was complementary to the HS-SPME sampling technique for VC analysis, it allowed more sulfur compounds characteristic of kimchi to be identified than the SHS and HS-SPME sampling techniques.
Therefore, we recommend the use of the HS-HIT sampling technique with GC-MS for identifying the VCs associated with kimchi flavor. This study confirmed the usefulness of the HS-HIT sampling technique for the analysis of VCs.

In Korea, the mixed kimchi ingredients are usually left at room temperature (20℃) for one or two days for the growth of microorganisms and then stored at refrigerated conditions (2-6℃) for fermentation.
The initial storage duration at room temperature before storing kimchi at low temperatures are key variables affecting kimchi quality, but no research has been conducted on this issue. Therefore, we sought to investigate the extent of the effects of initial room temperature (20℃) storage on kimchi quality by studying the changes in microbial community and metabolite profiles during kimchi fermentation.
According to the results of multivariate statistical analysis score plots, the microbial community and metabolite profiles of kimchi stored at room temperature for one and two days mimicked those of kimchi stored at 4℃ for 80.8 and 90.1 days and 31.3 and 50.3 days, respectively. The levels of succinic acid, propylene glycol, and alanine on 100 days of fermentation were much higher in kimchi stored at room temperature than in control. These results could be used in kimchi industry to control the fermentation speed or to make customized kimchi by controlling the formation of early microbial communities.

Extremely halophilic archaea (haloarchaea) belonging to the phylum Euryarchaeota have been found in high-salinity environments. In this study, Halarchaeum sp. CBA1220, Halorubrum sp. CBA1229,and Halolamina sp. CBA1230 , which are facultatively oligotrophic haloarchaea, were isolated from solar salt by culture under oligotrophic culture conditions. The complete genomes of strains CBA1220, CBA1229, and CBA1230 were sequenced and were found to contain 3,175,875, 3,582,278, and 3,465,332 bp, with a G+C content of 68.25, 67.66, and 66.75 mol %, respectively. In total, 60, 36, and 33 carbohydrate-active enzyme genes were determined in the respective strains. The strains harbored various genes encoding stress-tolerance proteins, including universal stress proteins, cold-shock proteins, and rubrerythrin and rubrerythrin-related proteins. The genome data produced in this study will facilitate further research to improve our understanding of other halophilic strains and promote their industrial application.

Kimchi is a traditional Korean fermented vegetable, which is also widely consumed in Japan and China. However, little is known about the kimchi proteome.
In this study, Korean and Chinese kimchi proteomes were evaluated by shotgun proteomics. A total of 250 proteins were annotated, and 29 of these were expressed at > 1% of the average relative abundance.
Discrimination of the geographical origins of Korean and Chinese kimchi samples was possible using multivariate analysis of the proteomic data, and 23 proteins were expressed differently between the two types (p < 0.001), and represent possible markers to discriminate between Chinese and Korean kimchi. This study provides important insights into the kimchi proteome and illustrates the proteomic differences caused by geographical origin.

Food contamination-especially by rodents-may cause microbial infections when consumed. Various spices contaminated with rodent fecal matter or hair, and several pathogenic microorganisms are often detected in the same spice sample.
We tested the samples for Escherichia coli O157, Staphylococcus aureus, Listeria monocytogenes, and Salmonella spp. Using quantitative polymerase chain reaction.
Our findings suggested that red pepper powder contaminated with murine substances likely contains S. aureus, which may potentially influence the health of consumers. Hence, these results may serve as a reference for members of the food industry aiming to improve food safety and quality.

The present work describes the feasibility of coffee residue extracts as cryoprotective agents in the storage stability of freeze-dried lactic acid bacteria. Coffee residue extracts were extracted from coffee residue, produced after coffee extraction for coffee powder and instant coffee preparation, using an autoclave.
Leuconostoc mesenteroides WiKim32 was selected to evaluate the ability of coffee residue extracts to protect bacteria during freeze-dried storage. The storage stability of freeze-dried Leu. mesenteroides WiKim32 with coffee residue extracts was comparable to those with commercial cryoprotective agents.
Coffee residue extracts contributed to storage stability immediately after freeze-drying (61.2%) and subsequent storage (48.7%). Our data indicate that the protective effect of the coffee residue extracts is associated with ions, carbohydrates, and phenolic compounds. Coffee residue extracts are feasible materials, which can reduce the storage and distribution costs compared to commercial agents currently available.

The presence of white colony-forming yeast (WCFY) on kimchi surfaces indicates a reduction in kimchi quality. This study aimed to investigate the effect of different fermentation temperatures (4, 10, and 20°C) and packaging conditions (open or closed) on WCFY diversity, and the changes of metabolite by the difference of WCFY diversity.
Community analysis using high-throughput DNA sequencing revealed that Kazachstania servazzii and K. barnettii were most prevalent in kimchi fermented under closed packaging condition at 4, 10, and 20°C.
In open packaging condition, four species of Candida sake, K. servazzii, K. barnettii, and Tausonia pullulans were the predominant yeast species at 4°C, and four species of C. sake, K. servazzii, K. barnettii, and Debaryomyces hancenii were predominantly detected at 10°C. The diversity of the WCFY community was higher under the open rather than the closed packaging condition. However, at all fermentation temperatures, non-volatile metabolite production by the different WCFY communities did not significantly differ between open and closed packaging conditions, whereas glycerol levels in kimchi samples harboring WCFY increased relative to the control (0 day).
These results indicate that fermentation temperature and air exposure can alter WCFY diversity on kimchi surface, however, non-volatile metabolite profiles in kimchi soup are not significantly affected by the difference of WCFY diversity caused by packaging conditions. This study furthers the current understanding of the growth of undesirable WCFY in kimchi.

Pine wilt disease, caused by Bursaphelenchus xylophilus (pine wood nematode), leads to severe environmental and economic damage.
Here, we report the results of experiments on the biological control of pine wilt disease through termination of the insect vector of the nematode and the mechanism of the insecticidal action of Metarhizium anisopliae JEF-279 against Monochamus alternatus (Japanese pine sawyer). A combined treatment with a fungal conidia suspension and a fungal protease-containing culture filtrate caused 75.8% mortality of the insect vector.
Additionally, the presence of destruxins was confirmed in the dead Japanese pine sawyer adults, and half of the 10 protein spots in proteomic analysis were identified as an actin related to muscle contraction. Based on proteomic and microscopic analyses, the infection cycle of the Japanese pine sawyer by M. anisopliae JEF-279 was inferred to proceed in the following sequence: (1) host adhesion and germination, (2) epicuticle degradation, (3) growth as blastospore, (4) killing by various fungal toxins (insecticidal metabolites), (5) immune response as defense mechanism, and (6) hyphal extrusion and conidiation.
Consequently, the combined fungal conidia suspension and protease containing culture filtrate treatment may be applied as an insecticidal agent, and flaccid paralysis is likely a major mechanism underlying the insecticidal action of M. anisopliae JEF-279 on host insects.

Although classical metabolic engineering strategies have succeeded in developing microbial strains capable of producing desired bioproducts, metabolic imbalance resulting from extensive genetic manipulation often leads to decreased productivity. Thus, abiotic strategies for improving microbial production performance can be an alternative to overcome drawbacks arising from intensive metabolic engineering.
Herein, we report a promising abiotic method for enhancing lycopene production by UV-C irradiation using a radiation-resistant ΔcrtLm/crtB⁺dxs⁺Deinococcus radiodurans R1 strain. First, the onset of UV irradiation was determined through analysis of the expression of 11 genes mainly involved in the carotenoid biosynthetic pathway in the ΔcrtLm/crtB⁺dxs⁺ D. radiodurans R1 strain.
Second, the effects of different UV wavelengths (UV-A, UV-B, and UV-C) on lycopene production were investigated. UV-C irradiation induced the highest production, resulting in a 69.9% increase in lycopene content [64.2 ± 3.2 mg/g dry cell weight (DCW)]. Extended UV-C irradiation further enhanced lycopene content up to 73.9 ± 2.3 mg/g DCW, a 95.5% increase compared to production without UV-C irradiation (37.8 ± 0.7 mg/g DCW).

Red pepper powder (rpp), an important ingredient in kimchi, is responsible for its red color and spicy flavor. Previous reports showed that rpp influences the emergence of Weissells sp. bacteria in the kimchi fermentation.
Herein, we tested watery kimchi (nabak) fermented with different concentrations of rpp. Analysis of bacterial counts and community composition showed that the addition of rpp did not affect these characteristics at the initial stage (week 0), but increased the number of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) during fermentation, especially in week 1.
The number of LAB was significantly higher in the nabak kimchi with 1% rpp, wherein the Lactobacillus count was 2.6 times higher and the Weissella count was 10 times higher than that in the control nabak kimchi.
The elevated Weissella count correlated with a significant increase (p < 0.05) in ornithine content at week 1 and 2 due to the strong arginine deiminase (ADI) activity. A comparison of Weissella koreensis ADI pathway gene expression (arcA and arcB) and ornithine abundance suggested that ADI pathway gene expression in W. koreensis under acidic conditions between pH 5.5 and 5.0 is a crucial factor for ornithine production in nabak kimchi.

A novel approach for the discrimination of different glucosinolates (sinigrin, progoitrin, gluconapin, 4-methoxyglucobrassicin, glucoraphanin, glucobrassicin, glucoiberin, glucobrassicanapin, glucoraphenin, and glucoerucin) using a colorimetric sensor array (CSA) is reported herein.
The developed CSA technique exhibited an acceptable linearity (r2 ≥ 0.97) over a concentration range of 0-150 μM for the 10 glucosinolates. The CSA coupled with principal component analysis and hierarchical cluster analysis correctly distinguished the majority of glucosinolate samples according to their type.
In addition, the CSA coupled with linear discriminant analysis correctly classified the majority of 8 kinds of cruciferous vegetable samples with an overall accuracy of 94%. Furthermore, the partial least squares regression results showed that the CSA responses were correlated with the concentration in a correlation coefficient (Rp) range of 0.813-0.964.
These results demonstrate that the described procedure based on the CSA technique could be useful for the rapid discrimination of different glucosinolates.

Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) play an important role in kimchi fermentation by metabolizing raw materials into diverse metabolites. Bacterial adaptation is therefore a crucial element of fermentation.
In this study, we investigated the transcriptional changes of Lactobacillus plantarum under acidic conditions to evaluate the elements of bacterial adaptation critical for fermentation. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) have shown that transport function is primarily affected by acidic conditions. Five of the 13 significantly down-regulated genes and 7 of the 25 significantly up-regulated genes were found to have transport-related functions.
We quantified the intracellular leucine content of bacteria grown at different pH ranges, determining that optimal bacterial leucine transport could be controlled by acidity during fermentation. Inhibition of L. plantarum growth was investigated and compared with other LAB at a pH range of 6.2-5.0. Interestingly, valinomycin inhibited L. plantarum growth from pH 6.2 to 5.0. This showed that L. plantarum had a wider range of transport functions than other LAB.
These results suggested that L. plantarum had robust transport functions, and that this was the crucial factor for bacterial adaptation during fermentation.

Identifying the extracellular metabolites of microorganisms in fresh vegetables is industrially useful for assessing the quality of processed foods. Pectobacterium carotovorum subsp. carotovorum (PCC) is a plant pathogenic bacterium that causes soft rot disease in cabbages. This microbial species in plant tissues can emit specific volatile molecules with odors that are characteristic of the host cell tissues and PCC species.
In this study, we used headspace solid-phase microextraction followed by gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (HS-SPME-GC-MS) to identify volatile compounds (VCs) in PCC-inoculated cabbage at different storage temperatures.
HS-SPME-GC-MS allowed for recognition of extracellular metabolites in PCC-infected cabbages by identifying specific volatile metabolic markers. 4-Ethyl-5-methylthiazole and 3-butenyl isothiocyanate were identified as markers of fresh cabbages, whereas 2,3-butanediol and ethyl acetate were identified as markers of soft rot in PCC-infected cabbages.
These analytical results demonstrate a suitable approach for establishing non-destructive plant pathogen-diagnosis techniques as alternatives to standard methods, within the framework of the development of rapid and efficient analytical techniques for monitoring plant-borne bacterial pathogens. These techniques also demonstrate promising applications for the freshness management and quality control of cabbages.

Kimchi is praised for its flavor, taste, and texture when suitably fermented at 0.7% to 0.9% total acidity, or a pH of approximately 4.1. Beyond this acidity level, the quality of the product decreases, negatively impacting consumers’ purchase preferences.
Therefore, the current study seeks to develop an optimally fermented (OptF) kimchi indicator that can be inserted into product packaging to evaluate its utility at 4 and 10°C. A gradual change in the total color difference (ΔE) was observed during the kimchi fermentation stage, and the highest ΔE> values were observed at 4 (34.87) and 10°C (37.99), after 9 weeks.
Moreover, the color-change response function value F(Xc) was more linear at 4 and 10°C (0.981 and 0.984, respectively) compared to the ΔE over time, during kimchi fermentation.
Coefficients of determination for F(Xc)-carbon dioxide (0.983), F(Xc)-pH (0.979), and F(Xc)-titratable acidity (0.974) were sufficient to meet the optimal polynomial regression model, while that for F(Xc)-lactic acid bacteria (0.881) was not. Standardized residuals of predicted data indicated that 95% of the residuals were in the range of -2.0 to 2.0.
The regression analysis further suggested that the OptF kimchi indicator could be used as a kimchi fermentation indicator.

Long-term storage of chili pepper powder results in physicochemical and microbiological changes that decrease its commercial value; these changes occur owing to fungal growth and production of off-flavor compounds.
Herein, long-term-stored chili pepper powder (LSCPP) and fresh chili pepper powder (FCPP) were analyzed using internal transcribed spacer sequencing and volatile organic compound fingerprinting by headspace capillary-gas chromatography-ion mobility spectrometry.
Fungal analysis detected only Xeromyces bisporus with high accuracy in all the analyzed LSCPP samples. However, the proliferation of X. bisporus on nonspecific spots complicated the distinguishing process between the two groups based solely on fungal analysis.
Therefore, nine compounds (three ketones, one alcohol, two aldehydes, one ester, one furan, and one sulfur compound) obtained by autoxidation and fungal metabolism were selected as potential markers for distinguishing LSCPP and FCPP.
These above mentioned substances, which were confirmed as off-flavor species owing to “stale” odor, emitted lipid fragrance and were used to successfully distinguish LSCPP from FCPP using principal component analysis and linear discriminant analysis.

This study aimed at comparing the antioxidant activity of premature mandarin (PM) vinegars by varying harvest periods (July, August, and September) and raw material conditions (PM fruit, PMF; PM fruit with 10% dried Citri Unshius Pericarpium Immaturus (CUPI), PMF-D, and PM fruit with 10% roasted CUPI, PMF-R).
As a result, it could be expected that PM vinegar prepared by adding roasted CUPI and harvested in July would exhibit high antioxidant activity with hight organic acid and phenol content, and excellent acetic acid fermentation. It could be used as functional vinegar.

This study was conducted to investigate the quality of kimchi cabbages stored under a pallet unit-controlled atmosphere (PUCA), containing 2% O2 and 5% CO2, and to develop quality prediction models for cabbages stored under such conditions.
Summer and winter cabbage samples were divided into PUCA-exposed groups and atmospheric airexposed control groups (in a cold storage). The control summer cabbages lost up to 8.31% of their weight, whereas the PUCA-exposed summer cabbages lost only 1.23% of their weight.
Additionally, PUCA storage effectively delayed the reduction in cabbage moisture content compared with the control storage. After storage for 60 and 120 days of the summer and winter samples, respectively, the reducing sugar contents were higher in the PUCA groups than in the control groups.
Therefore, this PUCA system would be useful for improving the shelf life of the postharvest summer and winter cabbages used in the commercial kimchi industry

The effects of high-hydrostatic-pressure (HHP) conditions on the physicochemical quality and histological changes in kimchi cabbage (Brassica rapa L. ssp. pekinensis) during salting were investigated.
The solid gain and water loss of kimchi cabbage samples during HHP salting increased with the NaCl concentration in the brine and the pressure levels, irrespective of the type of kimchi cabbage.
During HHP salting, brine containing neutral red rapidly penetrated and stained the structurally deformed or damaged cells in the cabbage. These results indicate that the time required to prepare salted kimchi cabbage can be shortened using HHP salting.