Wine Institute & Beverage Grades Both Have An Arsenic Science Problem

Both sides in the new arsenic in wine controversy  have scientific weaknesses.

Beverage Grades Has Problems

First of all, if there is a study by Beverage Grades, it is not a published, peer-reviewed nor does it release data and protocols to allow third-party replication. In fact, we don’t even seem to have a study, just a lawsuit.

Without that degree of oversight and transparency, all we have is “trust us”, which is insufficient. Click How To Separate Good Science From Sketchy Tales to learn more about the value of peer review.

I am not saying that the Beverage Grades science is bad.

I am saying that there is no way to determine its trustworthiness.

They may be a very fine lab, but filing a lawsuit rather than first establishing their credibility and standing through peer-reviewed papers published in respectable scientific journals does not help them or offer credibility to their litigation.

Wine Institute Has Problems

The Wine Institute Statement on Possible Arsenic Litigation states flatly that:

“There is no research that shows that the amounts found in wine pose a health risk to consumers.”

And that is flat wrong.

This peer-reviewed paper presents a relatively current survey of the health hazards of arsenic in food and water.

And while the hazards of low doses (low parts per billion or trillion) have been controversial, hundreds of the most recent studies have found significant health effects.

Hundreds of studies do not equal, “There is no research….”

The controversy over low doses exists because old-line toxicologists expect to see predictable effects from poisons, effects like death and disability.

Low doses, on the other hand can interfere with the sensitive molecular and genetic pathways inside cells. (The Dose Is The Poison – Not!).

Because of those molecular-level interactions, low doses tend to create different types of harm, often disrupting hormones and promoting other problems such as cancer, obesity and developmental problems in children. (The Amounts Are Too Small To Matter –  A Deadly Misconception).

The science of low doses is new and tends to confuse older, more traditionally oriented scientists.