Italian wine found with monoethylene glycol

The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) today (June 29) urged the public not to consume a kind of Italian wine, which might contain a chemical, monoethylene glycol (MEG). The trade should also stop selling the product concerned.

"The CFS received notification from the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed of the European Commission (EC) that a kind of Italian wine was found by the German authorities to contain MEG. The level detected was 570 milligrams per litre," a CFS spokesman said.

"Investigations revealed that there had been leakage of MEG from a cooling device in the winery of the Italian packer/filler concerned, which could have caused the contamination of the wine," he added.

That product has not been imported to Hong Kong.

Quoting the information provided by the EC, the spokesman said that a batch of another kind of wine produced by the same packer/filler, which had been stored in the same cooling device and might have also been contaminated, has been exported to Hong Kong. Details of the product concerned are as follows:

Product name: Vino Spumante Brut Rosè
Place of origin: Italy
Lot number: 1/2009
Packing size: 750 millilitres or 1.5 litres
Packer/filler: Luca Abrate s.r.l

The CFS' investigation revealed that the above batch of the product was imported into Hong Kong between August 2010 and April 2011 by a local company. According to the importer, the affected wine has been sold out and it will initiate a recall of the product," the spokesman said.

"CFS staff have conducted checks at retail outlets and found no affected product available for sale," he added.

"The MEG, which is of low acute toxicity, is not commonly detected in food. In rare circumstances, excessive exposure to MEG may cause damage to the central nervous system as well as affect functions of the heart and kidney. Nevertheless, usual consumption of the wine with MEG at the level detected by the German authorities would not pose any significant health risks to consumers," the spokesman said.

For the sake of prudence, the spokesman advised consumers who had bought the affected batch of the product not to consume it. For enquiries about the recall, they may contact the importer, Abrate & Sons Limited, at 2852 2644. The trade should also stop selling the affected product.

So far the CFS has not received any reports of persons feeling unwell after consuming the product or complaints about the affected product.

The trade has been alerted to the incident. The CFS will continue to monitor the situation and take appropriate follow-up action, the spokesman added.

Ends/Friday, June 29, 2012
Issued at HKT 18:53