Fungal diversity in brewery filling hall surfaces and quality controls

Breweries are producing an ever increasing variety of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. Yeasts and molds may compromise quality and safety of these products in a number of ways. Recent studies about fungal diversity in breweries are scarce and mainly derive from culture-dependent methods. This study explored fungal diversity in association with the production of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages in four breweries. Samples were taken for next generation sequencing (NGS) at the key contamination sites of brewery filling lines. Furthermore, yeasts and molds were isolated and identified from 64 quality control samples taken from raw materials, filling lines, air and end products. NGS gave a good overall view of fungal diversity on filling line surfaces.