Assessment of chemical quality of Brazilian sugar cane spirits and cachaças

- Half of cachaças analyzed do not comply with Brazilian identity and quality standards.
- Cachaça producers need to adopt best practices of production.
- The low quality of cachaça affects its export.

This study aimed to determine the chemical composition of Brazilian sugar cane spirits and cachaças and compare it to the identity and quality standards established by national legislation. Despite the great volume of production of these beverages and their national importance, the volume exported is small and the domestic consumption by higher-income people is still incipient due to lack of quality and standardization. Volatile compounds and contaminants established by Brazilian current law were assessed in 268 samples of sugar cane spirit and cachaça collected in the main producing regions. Among the samples, 50.7% did not comply with the Brazilian identity and quality standards. Contaminants (ethyl carbamate, copper, n-butanol, and 2-butanol), higher alcohols, and volatile acidity were the components that presented more irregularities. Ethyl carbamate, congener coefficient, higher alcohols, and volatile acidity had the highest standard deviation. These results indicate that producers still face challenges in adopting best practices to produce these beverages in order to guarantee their quality and standardization. The high number of samples that did not comply with the Brazilian current law is one of the factors that restrains the growth of domestic consumption of sugar cane spirits and cachaças and may explain the low level of export.