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Recent (2011–2017) foodborne outbreak cases in the Republic of Korea compared to the United States: a review

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Abstract

This study analyzes and compares foodborne disease outbreaks reported in the Republic of Korea (KR) and the United States (US) during 2011-2017. The foodborne outbreaks data in the KR and the US were collected from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety and from the Surveillance for Foodborne Disease Outbreaks United States, respectively. The average number of outbreaks and illness population were higher in the US than in the KR, but the KR’s illness ratio considering population size was 2.4 times higher than that of the US. When the sites of outbreaks compared, the number of illness was the highest at schools in the KR whereas outbreaks at restaurants were more frequent in the US. In the KR, bacterial infections were the primary cause of outbreaks while bacterial and viral infections accounted for the largest share of outbreaks in the US. Specifically, pathogenic E. coli presented a significant risk in the KR whereas Salmonella was the most prevalent in the US. These results indicate that the main microbiological targets for detection and control in the KR should differ from the US, which should be considered for developing food safety related policies.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Plant and Food Sciences, Sangmyung University, Cheonan, Chungnam, 31066, Republic of Korea

    Sang-Oh Kim

  2. Department of Food Engineering, Dankook University, Cheonan, Chungnam, 31116, Republic of Korea

    Sang-Soon Kim

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  1. Sang-Oh Kim
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Correspondence to Sang-Soon Kim.

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Kim, SO., Kim, SS. Recent (2011–2017) foodborne outbreak cases in the Republic of Korea compared to the United States: a review. Food Sci Biotechnol 30, 185–194 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10068-020-00864-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10068-020-00864-x

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