Description

Drinking of lambanog, a locally produced and widely popular alcoholic beverage has been reported to cause a number of deaths recently due to methanol poisoning. To address this, a number of analytical methods for detecting methanol concentration have been developed; however a locally/commercially available low-cost field-deployable kit for screening of methanol contamination in alcoholic beverages is lacking. A project was proposed by DOST-CALABARZON in partnership with the Cavite State University to develop an inexpensive field-test kit (i.e., microfluidic paper-based colorimetric sensor) for detection of methanol contamination in alcoholic beverages, like lambanog, to help the producers to establish food quality and safety standards for their products. They can use this kit for internal quality control to ensure food quality and safety.