Detection of wine‐spoiling yeasts by electronic methods

Abstract

Electronic techniques for the estimation of micro‐organisms have been used widely in the food industry because they entail minimal sample preparation, provide continuous automatic monitoring, produce relatively rapid results and incur low running costs. Electrical measurements have been evaluated for use in the alcoholic beverage industry to differentiate between wine‐spoiling and non‐wine‐spoiling yeast contaminants. Suitable media, supplemented with ethanol to inhibit the growth of non‐wine‐spoilage yeasts, are described for use with the Bactometers models 32 and M123. A procedure for detecting spoilage yeasts in opaque alcohol‐based drinks is also described.