title: Microbiological diversity and prevalence of spoilage and pathogenic bacteria in commercial fermented alcoholic beverages (beer, fruit wine, refined rice wine, and yakju).
abstract: The present study examined 469 commercially available fermented alcoholic beverages (FABs), including beer (draft, microbrewed, and pasteurized), fruit wine (grape and others), refined rice wine, and yakju (raw and pasteurized). Samples were screened for Escherichia coli and eight foodborne pathogens (Bacillus cereus, Campylobacter jejuni, Clostridium perfringens, Escherichia coli O157:H7, Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella spp., Staphylococcus aureus, and Yersinia enterocolitica), and the aerobic plate count, lactic acid bacteria, acetic acid bacteria, fungi, and total coliforms were also enumerated. Microbrewed beer contained the highest number of microorganisms (average aerobic plate count, 3.5; lactic acid bacteria, 2.1; acetic acid bacteria, 2.0; and fungi, 3.6 log CFU/ml), followed by draft beer and yakju (P < 0.05), whereas the other FABs contained , 25 CFU/25 ml microorganisms. Unexpectedly, neither microbial diversity nor microbial count correlated with the alcohol content (4.7 to 14.1%) or pH (3.4 to 4.2) of the product. Despite the harsh conditions, coliforms (detected in 23.8% of microbrewed beer samples) and B. cereus (detected in all FABs) were present in some products. B. cereus was detected most frequently in microbrewed beer (54.8% of samples) and nonpasteurized yakju (50.0%), followed by pasteurized yakju (28.8%), refined rice wine (25.0%), other fruit wines (12.3%), grape wine (8.6%), draft beer (5.6%), and pasteurized beer (2.2%) (P < 0.05). The finding that spore-forming B. cereus and coliform bacteria can survive the harsh conditions present in alcoholic beverages should be taken into account (alongside traditional quality indicators such as the presence of lactic acid-producing bacteria, acetic acid-producing bacteria, or both) when developing manufacturing systems and methods to prolong the shelf life of high-quality FAB products. New strategic quality management plans for various FABs are needed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Food Bioscience and Technology, College of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Korea University, Seoul, 136-713, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Se Hui
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Jeon
authors.affiliation: Department of Food Bioscience and Technology, College of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Korea University, Seoul, 136-713, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Nam Hee
authors.initials: NH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: R&D Center, Hitejinro Co., Ltd., North Chungcheong Province, 363-823, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Moon Bo
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Shim
authors.affiliation: R&D Center, Hitejinro Co., Ltd., North Chungcheong Province, 363-823, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Young Wook
authors.initials: YW
authors.lastname: Jeon
authors.affiliation: R&D Center, Hitejinro Co., Ltd., North Chungcheong Province, 363-823, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Ji Hye
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Ahn
authors.affiliation: Foodborne Diseases Prevention and Surveillance Division, Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, North Chungcheong Province, 363-700, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Soon Ho
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Food Standard Division, Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, North Chungcheong Province, 363-700, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: In Gyun
authors.initials: IG
authors.lastname: Hwang
authors.affiliation: Department of Food Bioscience and Technology, College of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Korea University, Seoul, 136-713, Republic of Korea. rheems@korea.ac.kr.
authors.forename: Min Suk
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Rhee
mesh_terms: D000434:Alcoholic Beverages / Q000382:microbiology*; D001409:Bacillus cereus / Q000302:isolation & purification; D001419:Bacteria / Q000302:isolation & purification; D001515:Beer / Q000382:microbiology*; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial; D004755:Enterobacteriaceae / Q000302:isolation & purification; D005285:Fermentation; D005638:Fruit; D005658:Fungi; D012275:Oryza; D027843:Vitis; D014920:Wine / Q000382:microbiology*