ABSTRACTAlcohol‐flaming to sterilize meat cutting knives is a common practice when microbiologically sampling meat surfaces. Often knives will be wiped with paper towels and repeatedly dipped for a short period in alcohol followed immediately by flaming. This investigation addressed the effectiveness of alcohol and alcohol‐flaming for sterilization of cutting knives. Additionally, the effect of high levels of residual meat particles in alcohol used for repeated dipping on sterilization was determined. Stainless steel knives were used to slice ground beef, wiped with a towel, submerged in alcohol for 2 s to 1 h, and flamed (wiping only and alcohol dipping only serving as control samples). Knives were microbiologically evaluated by placing into tubes of standard plate count (SPC) agar or Brain Heart Infusion (BHI) broth. Slight microbial growth was observed for agar and broth tubes from knives dipped into alcohol fór 2 s receiving no flaming. Agar tubes from knives dipped for 2 s to 1 h receiving flaming indicated no growth. The more sensitive broth assay indicated microbial growth in virtually all tubes, however, viable cell counts from these tubes demonstrated very low levels of contamination (1–4 CFU/cm2). Thus, the use of alcohol dipping with or without flaming provided effective microbial destruction on the knives. Knives repeatedly dipped into alcohol containing high levels of residual meat particles and flamed indicated that the alcohol remains an effective means of decontaminating knife surfaces even during prolonged