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Arsenic in wine is ‘not an important public health issue’: experts

Arsenic in wine is ‘not an important public health issue’: experts

There is arsenic in your wine, but there’s no need to pour all your vino down the sink, say several Canadian experts.

News of a recent lawsuit filed in California claiming several cheap wines have ‘very, very high levels of arsenic’ was a bit of a buzz-kill. But it turns out many are questioning the veracity of that lawsuit.The person who filed the lawsuit just happens to also be promoting his business that analyzes wine. And on top of that, he applied the standard fordrinking water (10 parts arsenic per billion) in the U.S. to wine.

Canadians would have to drink vast amounts of wine every single day for this to be a legitimate concern,Warren Kindzierski, an associate professor with the School of Public Health at the University of Alberta told Yahoo Canada News.

And he’s not alone in his belief.

“I personally question the reasoning that less expensive wines have potentially higher levels of arsenic,” Jonathan Rodwell, director of vineyards and wine-making at Devonian Coast Wineries in Nova Scotia, said in an email interview. “There is no reasoning in this and I suspect this is more a strategic statement than truth.”

While the U.S. does not have limits for the amount of arsenic in wine, Canada does. The current limit is 100 ppb. That is well below the limit set by The International Organization for Vine and Wine (OIV), which has a maximum limit for arsenic in wine of 200 ppb. The OIV covers 46 countries including France, Germany and Australia.

The limits in Canada were set back in 1989 for ‘ready to serve’ beverages such as apple juice, wine and cider. There have been reports over the past few years regarding concerns about the levels of arsenic in products like apple juice. Health Canada has proposed updates to the allowable amount of arsenic and lead in a variety of beverages. But any proposed change would not include wine, government spokesperson Eric Morrissette told Yahoo Canada News.

Health Canada’s 2014 proposal notes: “Today, arsenic and lead are present in the environment at low levels as a result of their natural occurrence and release from anthropogenic sources. The levels of arsenic and lead in foods available in Canada have been stable at very low levels for many years; these trace amounts typically reflect the expected accumulation from the environment.”

Health Canada is also currently in the process of reviewing arsenic intakes from all dietary sources, including alcoholic beverages. The outcome of this updated assessment will be used to determine what, if any, risk management measures are required for arsenic and in which food(s), said Morrisette.

VQA Wine, a regulatory agency responsible for maintaining the integrity of local wine appellations and enforcing wine-making and labelling standards in Ontario, says it tests wine for arsenic, among other things.

“We have never had a recall over this,” Laurie Macdonald, executive director of VQA Wine, said in a phone interview. “It doesn’t seem like it’s an issue.”

A quick search of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency website lists one recall in late 2014 of one wine brand made in New York, due to arsenic levels greater than 100 ppb.

Some of the wine brands mentioned in the lawsuit are sold in Ontario, via The Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO), and throughout Canada. The LCBO tested more than 11,900 wines for arsenic levels, including 1,543 wines from California and all were below the maximum allowable limit for arsenic set by Health Canada, according to a spokesperson.

“Health Canada does not consider the typical concentrations of arsenic in wine to represent a health concern,” said Morrissette.

Kindzierski agrees, saying this “is really not an important public health issue with respect to arsenic exposure.”

Bottoms up.