Austrian wines removed

Press, 7 August 1985, Page 8

Austrian wines removed

PA Wellington The Health Department yesterday ordered wine importers not to distribute Austrian and German “quality” wines and retailers were asked to remove Austrian stock from shelves. The action came after the anti-freeze chemical, diethy-lene-glycol, was discovered in bottles of the Austrian Blue Danube wine, said a Health Department spokesman, Mr Jim Fraser yesterday. In Europe, 31 people have been arrested and more than 10 million litres of wine impounded after several quality Austrian wines were found to be contami-

nated with the poisonous sweetening chemical, diethylene-glycol, which can cause brain and kidney damage. Mr Fraser said the wine contained 90 parts per million of the anti-freeze. Contamination was low compared with some wines tested overseas which had contained more than the fatal dose of 1400 parts per million. But the department was not taking any chances and had ordered the importer to hold all stock and asked retailers not to sell the wine until further tests were completed next week. The Health Department public health director, Mr

Max Collins, said the Austrian wine contaminated with 90 parts per million would not cause health problems unless drunk in huge quantities. “But we don’t want to see any (in the wine),” he said. Mr Fraser said overseas health authorities had advised the department of German “quality” wines that were also suspect. Initial checks had not found any of the suspect brands on sale, but as a precaution the department had asked importers to hold all German “quality” wines until the situation became clearer. At this stage the instruc-

tions did not extend to wines in retail outlets, Mr Fraser said. Austrian wines were rare in New Zealand, said Mr Paul Wai-poi, general manager of Allied Liquor Merchants, which imports Blue Danube wine. Probably about 20 dozenbottle cases were available in shops throughout New Zealand, he said. The company had approached retailers yesterday asking them to remove the wine from sale and a shipment was being held in an Auckland warehouse awaiting testing by the Health Department.