Mandatory Allergne Labelling in Wines?

Filed in archive Food Allergies , Living with Allergies on August 1, 2006

Some people say they have alcohol allergies, and therefore completely defer taking alcoholic beverages. However, in most (or all?) of the times, it's not the alcohol they are allergic to, but other substances in alcoholic beverages.

Some wines, for example, have traces of egg whites and isinglass, a substance obtained from the bladders of fish. These are used in clarifying wine, particularly the more expensive varieties. And though these substances are modified in the process which might render them non-allergenic, the end-product is not totally devoid of them, thus posing a danger for people with very high sensitivities.

There is a currently a petition lobbied to the US Congress for the mandatory labelling of allergens in wine. Read more about it from the Monterey Herald.