The other shoe has dropped: it turns out wine doesn't solve every health problem from A to Z. Researchers in England have found that red and white wines from most European nations carry potentially dangerous levels of at least seven different heavy metals.
To put the danger in context, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has a measure called THQ (Target Hazard Quotients) that establishes safe levels of frequent, long-term exposure to various chemicals. A THQ over 1 indicates a health risk, and in the recent news, seafood THQs between 1 and 5 have raised serious concerns.
The wines studied from Europe, the Middle East, and South America, have THQs ranging from 50 to 200 per glass, with some going as high as 300.
The top offenders were Hungary, Slovakia, France, Austria, Spain, Germany, Portugal, and Greece. Safe wines came from Argentina, Brazil, and Italy. But don't lead the cry for "buy American" just yet: U.S. wines weren't studied because there's no source for data on heavy metals in U.S. wines.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
10-30-2008 @ 2:33PM
foxdude0486 said...
And I just bought 2 bottles of wine from Portugal. :( Not to late to cancel the order!
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10-30-2008 @ 6:47PM
Alex said...
This article doesn't link back to any sources, but one I read earlier today, from New Zealand's National Business Review (http://www.nbr.co.nz/article/euro-wines-carrying-potentially-dangerous-levels-heavy-metals-37121) carries some interesting comments about the THQ of an actual glass of wine. Apparently the study looked at "longterm, daily consumption of 1/3 of a 750 mL bottle of wine and concluded that their findings indicate that this rate of consumption of wines from the identified countries, "may present detrimental health concerns through a lifetime based upon the metal content alone"." (taken from the third comment which also includes a link back to the actual paper).
So, foxdude, drink your two bottles of wine from Portugal. The results of this study sound like they should be cautionary for those involved in the agricultural side of wine production, rather than be used as consumer scare-mongering.
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10-30-2008 @ 8:15PM
Gretchen Roberts said...
I linked to the WebMD story (where it says "Read" at the bottom of the post: http://www.webmd.com/news/20081029/heavy-metals-found-in-wine) which is basically the same info as what you're quoting.
I still think there's concern for consumers; at least those who, like me, do drink a glass daily...for a lifetime. The article says as much as well.
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11-04-2008 @ 9:56AM
drstrangegun said...
I don't think the metal levels will be so high in american, or perhaps as well australian wines.
See, WWI and WWII weren't fought in our vinyards...
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