Abstract
Chinese Mala dishes, typical and traditional Chinese cuisines, have a high risk of exposure to contaminants due to its characteristic cuisine culture where customers can personally add ingredients into the dish. The main spices added to mala dishes commonly have antibacterial and antiseptic properties. This study was conducted to find spices and concentrations suitable for inhibiting bacterial infection and spoilage of Mala cooking ingredients. Ten types of ingredients bought from professional Mala restaurants were checked for the occurrence of bacteria in the Mala dishes. Six major spices sauce constituting the Mala dishes were added to food ingredients with severe bacterial contamination, and the progression of spoilage was observed for 47 days. E. coli and 9 species of bacteria were found in all ingredients, and 2 species of them were C. geocarposphaerae and E. americana, which known to be found in human wounds. Of the 6 types of spices, Star anise and Sichuan pepper best inhibited the bacteria growth and slowed the spoilage progression of ingredients. In conclusion, Mala cooking ingredients can be contaminated with various bacteria due to its unique storage method, but Star anise or Sichuan pepper could be safely protected the ingredients from bacteria and spoilage.
Highlights
Chinese mala cuisine is gaining popularity and spreading around the world (Hankyung Economy News, 2019), and in Korean mala cuisine franchise ‘La Hua Kungbu’, it is growing from 35 in 2018 to 80 in 2019, and 10 stores every month (MK Economy News, 2019)
1 g each of cinnamon, cloves, fennel, Star anise, cumin, and Sichuan pepper, which are main spices added to mala dishes, and 100 mL of distilled water were put in a beaker, mixed with a magnetic stirrer for 5 minutes and filtered through filter paper (Whatman, UK) to separate the solution
By purchasing ingredients stored in exposed environments from a Mala restaurant and performing a bacterial cultivation experiment with them, all ingredients were confirmed to be contaminated with a various bacteria including E. coli
Summary
Chinese mala cuisine is gaining popularity and spreading around the world (Hankyung Economy News, 2019), and in Korean mala cuisine franchise ‘La Hua Kungbu’, it is growing from 35 in 2018 to 80 in 2019, and 10 stores every month (MK Economy News, 2019). Malatang called Chinese spicy hot pot is a dish in which the diners select fresh vegetables, fish cakes, tofu, noodles, meat, etc., and boil them with various spices (CGTN News, 2019). Since the ingredients for malatang are stored in a container filled with water and picked with one tong, sources of contamination between ingredients can spread and the entire ingredient can be contaminated. According to the investigation conducted by the South Korean Ministry of Food and Drug Safety in July 2019 of 63 restaurants selling ‘Malatang’ and ‘Mala xiang guo’ (spicy stir-fry hot pot), of which 37 places were found in violation of the Food Sanitation Act (Korea, 2019). Restaurants selling Malatang/Mala xiang guo can be health-threatening for hygiene and sanitation, this problem must be solved
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