Determination of Ethanol Levels in Alcoholic Beverages Produced in Nigeria as an Indication for Safety Standards

Ada Favour Banigo

doi:10.56201/ijasmt.vol.12.no7.2026pg106.119

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Determination of Ethanol Levels in Alcoholic Beverages Produced in Nigeria as an Indication for Safety Standards

Ada Favour Banigo

Abstract

The proliferation of counterfeit, adulterated, and unregulated alcoholic beverages in Nigeria represents a persistent and demonstrably lethal public health crisis, yet systematic analytical data on the actual ethanol content of beverages circulating in Nigerian markets — and on the extent of deviation from labelled and regulatory standards — remain fragmentary and insufficient to guide regulatory enforcement. This study determines and compares the ethanol content (% v/v) of fifteen commercially available alcoholic beverage samples collected from retail outlets in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, representing five beverage categories: Nigerian-brewed lager beers, locally produced spirits (ogogoro/local gin), commercially imported spirits, palm wine, and non- alcoholic beverages. Ethanol content was determined using the potassium dichromate oxidation- spectrophotometric method (AOAC 920.47) and validated by the pycnometric method. Simple linear regression was applied to examine the relationship between labelled alcohol by volume and measured ethanol content, and to assess the predictive validity of label declarations. Results revealed that measured ethanol contents ranged from 0.41% v/v (palm wine, freshly tapped) to 47.3% v/v (locally produced ogogoro), with the mean measured ABV of commercially brewed lager beers (5.74 ± 0.31% v/v) significantly exceeding their labelled ABV declarations. Locally produced spirits showed the most extreme deviation: measured ethanol content exceeded labelled limits in all samples, with ogogoro sample mean at 47.3% v/v against NAFDAC's maximum of 40% v/v. Regression analysis confirmed that labelled ABV significantly predicts measured ethanol content for commercial beverages (β = 0.924, R2 = 0.854, F(1,9) = 52.78, p < .001), but that this relationship breaks down entirely for locally produced spirits (R2 = 0.048, p = .624), confirming that local spirit labels carry no reliable information on actual ethanol content. The study recommends that NAFDAC mandate independent laboratory verification of ABV declarations before product registration approval, that accredited ethanol testing laboratories be established in all six geopolitical zones, and that future research quantify methanol, congener, and toxic additive co-contamination in locally produced spirits across all Nigerian states.

Keywords

ethanol determinationalcoholic beveragesNigeriaNAFDACsafety standardsABVdichromate oxidationpycnometrylabel accuracylocally produced spiritsogogorofood safety.

References

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Determination of Ethanol Levels in Alcoholic Beverages Produced in Nigeria as an Indication for Safety Standards

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