2024 Author: Isabella Gilson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-01-02 16:12
In order for wine products to be better preserved, they are treated with sulfur dioxide. Today, on the labels, the buyer can find such an inscription as sulfur dioxide, or simply E 220. It's the same thing.
Sulfur dioxide was used by the ancient Greeks, and in the Middle Ages this was done with wines in Europe. But what does modern science think about this substance? Is it bad for he alth?
Why is a preservative added to wine?
It is extremely important for a manufacturer to maintain its brand. The wine should still have a pleasant taste, even when it has lain on the store shelves for several months. Adding a preservative is the only way to ensure that the wine stops playing and does not spoil its taste.
Therefore, absolutely in all wines, the most delicious and natural, there is such a substance as sulfur dioxide. This is an additive - a preservative, without which bacteria will continue to develop. The fermentation process will lead to the fact that up to the end consumera completely poor-quality product will reach.
It should be written on the bottle of wine that the preservative E 220 has been used. The use of the substance is not prohibited, only the manufacturer must adhere to the standards. Currently, the rate of sulfur dioxide in wine is 300 mg of the substance per 1000 ml of drink. For the so-called ecowines, this rate is much less, somewhere around 100 mg.
If the norm is exceeded, the preservative will negatively affect human he alth. However, the excess of sulfur dioxide, the consumer will notice when opening the bottle. Then the wine will give off an unpleasant smell. And it's better not to drink it.
How is sulfur dioxide added to wine?
The stabilizer is added already in the process of making wine directly into the must, and then during bottling. In fact, no winemaker can do without a preservative. All premises where harvested grapes are stored are also treated with sulfur dioxide.
E 220 is used not only in wines. But also in ordinary children's juices, because it would be impossible to transport them. For the storage of all dried fruits, sulfur dioxide is used many times more. It's just that the consumer did not know this before, since the law did not oblige the manufacturer to mention sulfur dioxide on the product label.
Preservative formula
The preservative is usually obtained by roasting sulfide ores. For the food industry, it is necessary to use a sulfide such as pyrite.
You can also get sulfur dioxide in the process of burning carbon disulfide or by exposing sodium sulfide to sulfuric acid. Substance formula -SO2.
The substance is, in its chemical qualities, an antioxidant, a bleach, and a fermentation stabilizer. The wine industry uses a large amount of SO2. every year
Sulfur dioxide in wine. Effect on the body
How does this substance affect the body? With excessive use of wine, the preservative accumulates in the body.
Some producers of low-quality wines sometimes exceed the norm several times. In these cases, the person may feel the effects of the dioxide poisoning. How does poisoning manifest?
- In the morning there will be weakness and severe headache.
- Nausea and vomiting.
- Possible skin rash.
- Asthma sufferers may suffer more as excess stabilizer in wine damages lungs first.
- The accumulation of the substance in the body leads to stomach problems such as changes in acidity, and subsequently gastritis.
But contrary to popular belief, this preservative cannot be the reason for changing eating habits.
In general, excess sulfur dioxide has a rather harmful effect on the human body. It worsens the condition of the bronchopulmonary system and, more importantly, reduces the amount of the biologically active substance thiamine, known as vitamin B1, in the body.
The most severe consequences of consuming large doses are severe vomiting, gastritis, against which a stomach ulcer can develop. Start in the bodyviolations of all metabolic processes. But for such changes in the body to begin, you need to drink at least a liter on your own.
Asthmatics are not allowed to drink any alcohol at all. An increase in the allowable rate of preservative in the body can cause a severe attack.
Also, some allergy sufferers may provoke some symptoms. But people who have a negative allergic reaction to SO2 are very few - about 0.2% of the total population of the Earth (according to some research organizations).
Consequences of vitamin B1 deficiency
What happens to the body when there is not enough thiamine? Adults, both men and women, it is imperative to receive at least 1.1 mg of a biologically active substance daily. And for breastfeeding women, at least 1.4 mg of this vitamin.
What is B1 responsible for in the body? It improves brain function, stimulates bone growth, improves mood when we are depressed. And we know that sulfur dioxide does not have the best effect on the body - thiamine is destroyed. The disadvantage is immediately noticeable. The person becomes irritable, suffers from depression, and does not sleep well at night, often suffering from headaches.
Which varieties of wine have less dioxide?
If a person drinks a glass of wine or two in the company, he is not in danger of any poisoning. There is very little sulfur dioxide in this amount of wine. The effect on the body is imperceptible. Only when there is more than 0.7 mg of preservative per 1 kg of a person's weight, then he can feel dizzy.
If a person already has stomach problems, you need to choose thosewines that contain less of this harmful substance.
What varieties are these? More of this substance is added to sweet and semi-sweet wines.
Also, red wine has less preservative than white wine. Due to some features of white wine, manufacturers add 50-100 mg more E 220 to it on average than to red wine. Such norms are valid not only in Russia, but all over the world. You also need to remember that with other food we also get a certain amount of sulfur dioxide, not only from wine products.
Can the preservative be substituted?
Unfortunately, the chemical industry has not yet found a quality replacement for this stabilizer. This is the only preservative that allows you to stop the fermentation process at the right stage of winemaking.
By the way, the alcohol itself, for which wine is drunk, is no less dangerous than sulfur dioxide for the body.
Conclusions
So, now it's clear why sulfur dioxide is added to wine products. Sulfur dioxide is not a deadly poisonous substance, in small doses it is not dangerous. Only when the winemaker broke the law and added more than the norm of dioxide into the bottle, a person can become ill. All symptoms resemble the usual hangover - a heavy head, nausea, drowsiness. To avoid these negative consequences, you need to buy only good quality wines. And it is quite possible to determine by taste and smell whether there is an excess of preservative or not.
Harmful E 220 only for allergy sufferers and asthma patients. But for most he althy peoplethe additive is quite harmless if you drink alcohol in acceptable doses.
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