Click to be +/- on this low volume wine ping list.Oenology egg white fining news ping.
Posted on 01/15/2007 9:11:04 PM PST by quantim
SANTA ROSA, Calif. - Vintners have been using byproducts from milk, eggs, wheat and even fish guts in the winemaking processes for centuries.
But a new federal proposal could require American wineries to disclose such unsavory items _ used as "fining" agents to remove grit _ as ingredients. The proposal, which could be passed by the end of the year, would require companies to redesign the labels on every bottle to protect people who are allergic to certain foods.
Executives at Sonoma and Napa county wineries and their trade groups say few, if any, wine drinkers suffer allergic reactions from fining agents, which are nearly untraceable by the time consumers uncork or unscrew their bottles. They're rallying against the proposal, which they say would make even the biggest oenophiles turn up their noses.
"It's a solution in search of a problem," said Pete Downs, vice president of governmental affairs for Santa Rosa's Kendall-Jackson Wine Estates. "I kind of feel like its Shakespearean in nature. It's much ado about nothing."
Wine industry veterans say the labels could mislead consumers, leading them to believe wine contains milk or fish membranes. Vintners use a milk protein called casein and a substance derived from the inner membrane of the air bladders of sturgeon, called isinglass, to bind with yeast, bacteria and excess tannins that are naturally found in the winemaking process. Thanks to the binding agents, the larger molecules sink to the bottom of the barrel, leaving the wine above it clean.
"It's kind of like sweeping the wine," said Bill Nelson, president of the wine lobby Wine America.
The U.S. Treasury Department's Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau is expected to publish a final rule on the issue by late 2007. It has received comments from nearly four dozen consumers, trade groups and wine industry veterans.
The FDA adopted the Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act in 2004. It requires labels on every food or drink that contains one of eight major food allergens: milk, eggs, fish, crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat and soybeans.
The act came after Harvard University scientist Christine Rogers petitioned the government to add an allergen warning to alcoholic drinks. Rogers, who is allergic to eggs, said she would notice reactions whenever she tipped a glass of wine.
Food allergies affected 2 percent to 5 percent of children, send 30,000 people to emergency rooms every year, and kill 150 people annually, according to the FDA. Nine out of 10 allergies are from the eight major groups cited in the law.
Fremont resident Catharine Alvarez supports the proposal. Her 4-year-old son is allergic to eggs, and her 7-year-old daughter is allergic to peanuts.
"There are a lot of people I know who are willing to pay extra for products that they know to be safe," Alvarez said.
Information from: The Press Democrat, http://www.pressdemo.com
A service of the Associated Press(AP)
The act came after Harvard University scientist Christine Rogers petitioned the government to add an allergen warning to alcoholic drinks. Rogers, who is allergic to eggs, said she would notice reactions whenever she tipped a glass of wine.
At least the 'caps lock' wasn't on.
Click to be +/- on this low volume wine ping list.Oenology egg white fining news ping.
Why in the world does this article cite children's allergies? Last time I checked, the minimum age for consuming alcohol is 21 in the US.
By the way, the traditional, old-school long-banned but non-necessarily forgotten filter is bull's blood. Some top French vitners still use it, even though they face steep fines and penalties, because it simply works better than any of the alternatives.
How about the sulfuric acid used in French wines, either from a bottle or by burning chunks of sulfur on sticks inside the barrels?
If people let government decide what foods they eat and what medicines they take, their bodies will soon be in as sorry a state as are the souls of those who live under tyranny.
Thomas Jefferson
yea cause nobody has food allergies right? Try to feed a kid with multiple allergies then tell me this is a solution with no problem..
and if you cook with wine?
nobody is saying what people can or should eat, were talking about allergies here!
I'm deathly allergic to celery and highly allergic to carrots and rye bread. I don't have to read the labels - if in doubt, I just don't eat the food.
True... She would seductively strip, pull me into bed, throw her feet into the air and start screaming in delight...
Semper Fi
You too, eh?
L
You know we got some people who can't take care of themselves, so they need the government to look after them. There's one of them on this thread.
I have used isinglass ie fish guts in all my home brews with great success. It binds with the particles in suspension and falls to the bottom. I siphon off the top and get good clear beer. It's all good.
Labeling foods with their contents is NOT telling people what to eat. It is informing people what is in a food so they can CHOOSE what to eat.
As someone who reacts very unpleasantly to casein, gluten and corn, I am very grateful when companies list whether or not these things are in their products. And yes, as noted in the article about that one lady, some of us do react to traces of these things. I have to avoid things like vanilla extract because of its base being grain alcohol.
If companies don't label their products, we tend to assume they are free of our allergens. But once we've been burned, we realize that many packaged items may contain our allergens whether they say so or not. We either have to jump through a bunch of hoops to call the company and then choose whether to believe them when they say their product is allergen free, OR avoid the product altogether.
You should be happy that a company that sells you food to eat is required to tell you what is in your food so that you can make an informed choice.
Ping to Gabz for her 'Nanny State' list.
Wouldn't bull's blood make the wine non-Kosher?
I haven't read rabinical opinions of this, I would assume so, but note that bull's blood doesn't actually remain in the wine --- it binds with foul-tasting toxins disolved in the wine and sinks to the bottom, where it is entirely filtered out. If anybody's consuming any blood at all, it's only a microscopic portion.
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