Austrian wine blacklist grows

Press, 7 August 1985, Page 10

Austrian wine blacklist grows

NZPA-Reuter Vienna The blacklist of Austrian wines found to contain the poisonous sweetening chemical diethylene-glycol had grown to 362 after an intensive hunt, said a Ministry of Health spokesman yesterday. The spokesman said the search had extended to bottles, barrels and metal tanks. More than 10 million litres of wine have been impounded. The Minister of Agriculture, Mr Guenter Haiden, renewed his appeal for vintners who have sold contaminated wine to withdraw their product from the market and turn themselves in. He said they would be treated leniently. The scandal, which has halted ,• Austria’s wine exports s,‘and damaged its

image, erupted after the discovery of diethyleneglycol in several quality wines. The anti-freeze chemical can cause brain and kidney damage. Thirtyone wine merchants and growers have been arrested. Most are being held pending investigation for suspected fraud and endangering public health. No formal charges have been laid. The Austrian Cabinet will meet on August 27, two days before a special parliamentary session, to discuss tough new wine laws. With Government and Opposition parliamentarians endorsing the introduction of stringent controls, a bill is expected to be approved and the law to take effect on October 1, Government sources said.