Purpose

This study investigated the conservation of palm wine using ultraviolet radiation.

Research Methodology

The palm wine was conserved by sterilization with ultraviolet rays sterilizer. The time of contact of the rays and the intensity of the rays with palm wine was varied. The microorganisms considered include mould, yeast and bacteria.

Results

Results obtained shows that the microbial load of sterilized palm wine decreased with time of contact with rays. The microbial loads of the wine before and after sterilization were determined. More so, the microbial load further decreased during storage of sterilized samples. In fact, sterilization time of 240 seconds (4 minutes) reduced the mould and yeast from to and then to zero after 10 days of preservation.

Limitation

This research did not consider the effect of stirring on the microbial load reduction.

Contribution

This research has established an ideal sterilization time of 240 seconds (4 minutes) for palm wine sterilization.