Microbial Evaluation of High-grade Ethanol from Sake Breweries

Abstract

Of nine samples from high-grade ethanol products sold by sake breweries, seven (77.8%) were contaminated with 5-44 colony forming units (cfu) of bacteria per 100 mL. The most common bacteria detected were Bacillus species and Paenibacillus species. No microbial contamination was observed in two samples (22.2%) from high-grade ethanol products nor in all three (100%) hospital-grade disinfectants (76.9-81.4 vol% ethanol). We conclude that although high-grade ethanol produced by sake breweries poses no problem as a hand sanitizer, it is unadvisable to use it for other purposes such as for sanitizing vials and infusion apparatus.