Arsenic in Wine: Danger or Just Sour Grapes?

A former wine distributor who started a laboratory to test wines claims he tested over 1,250 bottles of wine and that almost 25% of those wines possess arsenic levels higher than the EPA’s maximum amount allowed in drinking water, according to a recent CBS report.

CBS News ran a story and reported that a class action lawsuit would be filed in California.  Bloggers and news outlets ran with the story which quickly spread quickly across the web.

The Wine Institute which claims over 1,000 wineries in the association fought back in a series of releases.

“We believe this allegation is false and misleading and that all wines being sold in the U.S marketplace are safe.”… “We are concerned that the irresponsible publicity campaign by the litigating party could scare the public into thinking that wine is not safe to consume which is patently untrue.”

“Arsenic is prevalent in the natural environment in air, soil and water, and in food. As an agricultural product, wines from throughout the world contain trace amounts of arsenic as do juices, vegetables, grains and other alcohol beverages. There is no research that shows that the amounts found in wine pose a health risk to consumers.”

Now the battle begins to see if the public is truly in danger or if this former distributor is just delivering a case of sour grapes.