CONTROLLING MICROBIAL SPOILAGE IN BEER AND WINE BY NATURAL REMOVAL OF IRON

Microbial food spoilage causes 48 million illnesses and costs $77.7 billion dollars per year in the U.S. Microbial spoilage in beer and wine can sometimes have negative health impacts, but impacts are more often reflected as economic losses (entire batches of beer or wine are ruined due to exploding bottles or unpleasant aroma and flavors). One approach to control microbial spoilage is to limit an essential nutrient, such as iron, thus preventing microbial spoilage organisms from growing. This proposal describes a research project aimed at using a natural product (yeast) to remove iron from wine and beer, making the products more microbially stable and less likely to have spoilage issues. This research could not only provide a method for controlling microbial spoilage, but do so in a way that aligns well with the current public interest in "natural" approaches in food/beverage production.The wine and brewing industries in New York, and generally in the United States, are growing along with increased public consumption of wine and beer. The work outlined in this proposal has potential value to winemakers and brewers within the state of New York and throughout the country. By publishing the results of this work in scientific journals, and presenting it at conferences/symposia, the knowledge will be a shared resource available to anybody, and these results will be easily translatable into a commercial product by the large yeast supply companies that would only need to make a small change to their workflow.The major goals of this project are as follows:Identify and optimize growth conditions required to starve yeast cells for ironExamine and optimize the use of iron-starved yeast to remove iron from multiple types of solutions: prepared solutions of iron, wine, and beerExamine the ability of iron-depleted wine and beer to support growth of common spoilage organismsExamine the ability of encapsulated, iron-starved yeast to reduce iron in wine and beer