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Allergy Warnings Coming to Wine Labels
Posted by perle0 on 2006-08-08 01:10:56
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[News]
[USA] |
 Let's say you're allergic to eggs. Deathly allergic, even. The smallest hint of eggs leads to salivating, stomach cramps, flushing of skin and eyes, lightheadedness, vomiting, diarrhea, and in extreme cases, even death. But at least you can relax with a glass of wine while you ponder which menu items might hide some wiley trace of egg.
Not so much. Egg whites are often used in the fining process during winemaking, which helps to remove sediments and clarify the wine prior to bottling. For other allergy sufferers, fining can also be performed with milk proteins or isinglass, a substance derived from fish. For anyone with severe allergies to these substances, sipping the wrong wine can produce a nasty reaction. The solution? Labeling. |
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That's right...how simple it would be to check out the wine label and learn which wines might contain minute traces of the dreaded ingredient--usually imperceptable to anyone who doesn't react physically to the allergen. The US government is considering requests that winemakers begin a voluntary process of listing possible traces of common allergens on their labels. These requests came in when the government solicited suggestions from the public for new requirements for wine labels in the US.
Mandatory labeling is also being considered, though some vintners claim that the costs of examining the wine would be prohibitive to smaller bottlers. (I say if there are eggs in your wine at any point, even the small bottlers should know it.)
This should allow allergy sufferers to imbibe with a bit more peace of mind, and who knows? It could even educate a few people about the strange science of wine. More important, with an estimated 30,000 emergency room visits per year due to food-related allergies, medical costs and unnecessary suffering could be avoided.
And for the American winemakers, there's another silver lining. Since only wines bottled in the US will have these labeling requirements, some allergic customers might start buying more American wine, and less foreign vino. |
More details on the proposed new labelling requirements. |
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nurse
Posted by lisa on 2007-01-15 14:55:07 | Recently while having guests for dinner I served a red wine from Italy. To my great dismay and amazement we were suddenly on our way to the Emergency Room with one of my guests with an allergic reaction to the wine. He had nothing else but the wine at the time of the reaction.
We spent the entire night in the care of the professionals until my friend was finally out of the reaction and was placed on Prednisone for 10 days more.
Now without a ingredients label we have no idea as to the ingredients but we know that my guest is extremely allergic to eggs and nuts. |
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