Danger may lurk in some foreign wines

Many red and white wines from Europe contain potentially toxic levels of heavy metals, according to researchers from Kingston University in London.

The study examined wines from 16 countries in Europe, South America and the Middle East for their Target Hazard Quotient, a measure designed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to determine safe levels of frequent, long-term exposure to various chemicals. A THQ over one indicates a health risk.

The study, published today in the open access Chemistry Central Journal, found that typical wines had a THQ ranging from 50 to 200 a glass and some wines had a THQ of 300 a glass. In comparison, THQs for heavy metal contamination in seafood have typically ranged from one to five.

A single glass of wine with a high THQ isn't harmful, noted a co-author of the study, Declan P. Naughton. But drinking a glass or two a day for many years could be hazardous. The minerals with the highest impact were vanadium, copper and manganese, but high levels of lead, zinc, chromium and nickel were also found. An excess intake of metal ions is thought to contribute to some neurological disorders, such as Parkinson's disease, and some inflammatory diseases, such as cancer.

The only countries with safe wines that were examined in the study were Argentina, Brazil and Italy.

Though mild or moderate intake of red wine has been linked to health benefits (due to the antioxidants in wine), this finding suggests those advantages may be outweighed by potential harm from wines with heavy metals, the authors said.

"Levels of metal ions should appear on wine labels, along with the introduction of further steps to remove key hazardous metal ions during wine production," they said.

-- Shari Roan

Photo credit: Spencer Weiner / Los Angeles Times

Comments

[tf]

So please be more precise. By "European" wines that are not among those found safe (Italy), is the study pointing at France?

[Austin Lee]

I’m not sure what to do with this information. On the one hand, I love drinking wine, and believe that there are beneficial health effects due to compounds in it such as resveratrol, etc. On the other hand, the research says that there are many wines out there that contain too many metal ions, and could give me Parkinson’s, or just be downright bad for me, from an EPA standpoint. What’s a person to do, if the bottle of wine doesn’t report the metal ion content?! For me, right now, I’ll keeping drinking wine. Austin
http://drughealth.blogspot.com/

[Anthony]

We can't keep putting warnings on the labels. Anything that is consumed in large enough quantities is potentially harmful. I can see it now...

This elegant Pinot Noir is reminiscient of WARNING! THIS PRODUCT CONTAINS ALCOHOL, SULFITES, HEAVY METALS, POLYPHENOLIC COMPOUNDS, AND OTHER CHEMICALS THAT MAY CAUSE CANCER, PARKINSON'S DISEASE, FIBROMYALGIA, EPILEPSY, PULMONARY THROMBOEMBOLISM, ASPERGER SYNDROM, NIGHT TERRORS, AND MAD COW DISEASE. MANY OTHER DISEASES ARE ALSO BELIEVED TO BE CONNECTED TO THE CONSUMPTION OF WINE BUT ARE NOT YET PROVEN. CONSUMPTION OF THIS PRODUCT SHOULD BE DONE ONLY WITH THE APPROVAL OF YOUR DOCTOR, DERMATOLOGIST, PSYCHIATRIST, PHYSICAL THERAPIST, DENTIST, AND RELIGIOUS CLERIC.

Anything that is consumed in mass quantities can be harmful. Drinking too much water can kill you. Why do people publish research like this that is insignificant to the vast majority but still scares the common sense out of people? Note that the artricle said said "Drinking A GLASS OR TWO A DAY for MANY YEARS could be hazardous." If French wine is so bad, why is it that the French are still considered much healthier people than Americans? They drink a heck of a lot more French wine than we do.

We simply can not throw every kind of warning possible on a bottle of wine. For instance, the FDA requires that wineries label their wines "contains sulfites", but nobody seems to care that canned foods and fresh greens from the grocery store contain many more sulfites than the average bottle of wine. Why aren't those labeled with warnings? There are many groups and agencies out there that have a personal agenda against the wine industry and do everything possible to make production and marketing difficult. People need to learn to see past the scare tactics and enjoy something that has been enjoyed by millions of people for thousands of years without ever causing an epidemic.

Cheers!