Report Warns of Lead in Balsamic and Other Red Wine Vinegars
An Environmental Health News (EHN) special report has allegedly identified significant lead levels in aged balsamic and other red wine vinegars, noting that “some vinegars had 8-9 times more lead than recommended” by California’s Proposition 65 regulations. The Environmental Health Sciences Foundation purportedly tested a range of domestic and imported vinegars sold in California in 2002, claiming that “for three imported varieties… people who eat one tablespoon per day would be exposed to seven to 10 times the maximum daily level of lead set by California.” Likewise, according to EHN, “eating one tablespoon a day of some balsamic or red wine vinegars can raise a young child’s lead level by more than 30 percent.”
Although EHN noted that lead levels in vinegar can “vary widely,” it suggested that “aged varieties produced by the traditional method, which involved concentration in wood barrels for at least 12 years, have the highest levels.” The publication has also cited experts who have called on agencies to lower federal and state guidelines for lead. “If lead intakes from vinegars can be avoided, they should be as a straightforward precautionary principle,” stated one consultant who has helped agencies set lead standards. “That would be especially true if children are already near a toxicity threshold from lead paint or dust or any other sources, and vinegar lead might just be enough to nudge the blood lead to a toxicity risk zone.” See SFGate. com, November 9, 2009.
