On March 19th of this year a class action lawsuit was filed by 4 California residents against 28 low priced wines that are also some of the most popular Supermarket labels / California wineries for selling wines that they say contain high amounts of inorganic arsenic. Here
https://irp-cdn.multiscreensite.com/f0533877/files/uploaded/Wine_Complaint.pdf) is the link to the actual summons. The tests were conducted by a company named BeverageGrades which is owned by Kevin Hicks who also owns a company named HealthGrades. BeverageGrades claims on their website to be an "Independent Third Party Lab Testing Facility Of Wine, Beer And Spirits". Lets first take a look at exactly who BeverageGrades is before we get into the body of this article. BeverageGrades is, according to their website an independent Laboratory that ....." operates a commercial laboratory which tests wines, beers and spirits
for such chemical compounds as heavy metals (e.g. lead, arsenic,
cadmium, etc.), pesticides and sulfates to name a few". There, that is basically in a nut shell what the company is. The only issues I see with the company is from websites that I have never heard of before or seem to have no credibility backing them them that I suspect might very well be wine industry related and websites that are from wine P.A.C'S (Political Action Committees). These websites seem to cast doubt on BeverageGrades honesty and reliability. From what I have seen during my research AND in my opinion there is no credible research, proof or for that matter reasonable argument made that the company is anything but unbiased or independent.
Before I go any further into this blog / article I think we owe it to ourselves to do a little education on exactly what arsenic is. To begin with arsenic, which has been given the term "the king of poisons" is a natural element that is also released from the earths crust. Arsenic is NATURALLY in our water (including saltwater), rivers, lakes, our food, air, soil, (gee where are grapevines grown) rocks as well as pesticides and other things that we are around every day but in mostly very low amounts. Arsenic is odorless & colorless as well. Arsenic in high doses has been known to cause Cancer, skin lesions and has been associated with cardiovascular disease, diabetes and issues with our other organs. Arsenic levels tend to build up in our body over time and if that happens at a rate higher than the body can eliminate it you will die. There is Organic Compounds (arsenic combined with carbon and other elements). These compounds
are much less toxic than the inorganic arsenic compounds and are not
thought to be linked to cancer. These compounds are found in some foods,
such as fish and shellfish. These compounds are much less toxic than the inorganic
arsenic compounds and are not thought to be linked to cancer. These
compounds are found in some foods, such as fish and shellfish.(http://www.cancer.org/cancer/cancercauses/othercarcinogens/intheworkplace/arsenic). There is also Inorganic compounds (arsenic combined with elements other than carbon): These
compounds are found in industry, in building products (such as some
“pressure-treated” woods), and in arsenic-contaminated water. This is
the form of arsenic that tends to be more toxic and has been linked to
cancer). The EPA limit for arsenic is 10 ppb IN BOTTLED WATER. In most cases the lethality of arsenic poisoning depends on the amounts of it in our body. As a fun bit of information did you know that in 1851 the House Of Lords tried to pass a law prohibiting Women from buying arsenic because it was being used by Women to slowly kill their Husbands?
Since we are concerned about poisons did you know that there are actually many things that we come into contact with everyday that are poison. Did you know that uncooked Lima Beans contain a compound called Linamarin which when eaten decomposes into Hydrogen Cyanide which by the way is deadly. How about Elderberries, did you know that uncooked they contain Glycosides that are metabolized into Cyanide? I'll give you one more example. Do you like Almonds? Did you know that Bitter Raw Almonds contain substances that break down into (once again) Cyanide? O.K, O.K one really last one. Did you know that Green Potatoes are packed with Solanine and will make you vomit, BUT should you keep eating them they will cause Cardiac Arrest? O.K, O.K this is the really last one. Did you know that Fluoride is also considered poison. Remember that if you swallow more than a pea size amount you must call poison control, if you doubt me read the tube itself.
Now in relation to the whole wine and arsenic thing the news media has jumped onto the story (of course) with fear mongering headlines such as the following:
1) CBS News: "Very high levels of arsenic" in top-selling wines
2) San Francisco Gate: "Of those wines, 83 showed presumably toxic levels of arsenic, above the 10 parts per billion that’s considered safe for drinking water."
3) NY Daily News: "Dangerous arsenic levels found in California wine from 28 producers, suit claims"
4) USA Today: "A class action lawsuit claims dozens of California wineries produced wine with dangerously high levels of arsenic..."
So what is the real story and should we worry? Well for starters the EPA does not set a standard for arsenic in wine. The report that started all this was of 65 wines and the results showed that the average wine sample had a level of arsenic of 10-76 ppb (parts per billion) with the average being 25 ppb. The lawsuit uses the EPA standard for safe water WATER as the standard that they believe should be the arsenic levels in wine. Denise Wilson, who is a Professor at the University of Washington's electrical engineering department did a study on Arsenic in wine found that said that casual drinkers have nothing to worry about. Professor Wilson isn't alone in her opinion either. Gavin Sacks, an Associate Professor in the life department of food science at Cornell University's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences put the risk at very low to non-existent. The arsenic levels in American wine also meet the standards for export to other countries. For instance in Canada the standard for arsenic is 100 ppb and in France it is 200 ppb. The big problem that I see here is that the data for the tests done by BeverageGrades have not been released. For instance the methodology that the testing company used has not been released. The consistency between same bottles was not released. CBS also did their own testing and found much lower amounts of arsenic in the same wines that were supposedly showing higher levels for the lawsuit. As for other tests of American wines, in the first peer reviewed study it was determined that Washington state scored the highest as far as ppb for arsenic at 28ppb. Oregon had the lowest at 13ppb. The BeverageGrade results did show the level of Inorganic (the most dangerous) Arsenic.
So what do I think? Here is my take on this. Being that I don't sell anything and that I have a real job and do this wine thing for fun, I have no skin in this game. I have to say that until everything is done I am up in the air on the whole thing. As a reminder I did notice that while doing my research for this article my sources always liked to add in what other things we eat or drink and state they those items also contain small amounts of arsenic. That to me sounds like a bait and switch. I don't care right now about a food since wine is a liquid drink. As far as I am concerned Wine / water (and yes for that matter food) should have the same levels of danger. That is like saying you or I are only a little dead. Drinking / eating 25ppb of Arsenic is either dangerous or it's not dangerous, there is no in between. I do wonder now about the wine that I drink. The wine industry is saying that since arsenic is natural than there is nothing to worry about. As I just said, I don't care where the arsenic I eat or drink comes from, it is very dangerous and it accumulates in the human body over time causing major issues. The one thing the so called experts say that I do agree with is that if you are not a heavy drinker (more than 4 drinks on any day or 14 per week) and only have a glass or two once in a while you should have nothing to worry about. My opinion is if you are a heavy drinker of Alcohol in general that you either stop or cut way back on wine or other Alcohol. Right now the whole situation is up in the air and still open for debate since nothing has been verified and not much in the way of testing procedures has been disclosed. This is something I would keep a very close eye on however. What I want to know is is the wine industry purposely putting arsenic (Inorganic) based chemicals or pesticides on their vines and therefore in the soil and in our wines. If this is the case I can understand joining in on this lawsuit. From what I have educated myself on and in my humble opinion I do see a very serious issue brewing here and cause for alarm. I also see a large problem on the horizon that will need to be addressed by the wine industry and very soon.
The Desert Wine Guy
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