Hidden exogenous proteins in wine: problems, methods of detection and related legislation - a review

Abstract

Rizzi C., Mainente F., Pasini G., Simonato B. (2016): Hidden exogenous proteins in wine: problems, methods of detection and related legislation -a review. Czech J. Food Sci., 34: 93-104.Fining agents are commonly used in the winemaking process to clarify and stabilise wines. They have different origins (animal, vegetal or mineral) and are added to wines in order to remove specifically undesirable compounds that are discarded. Fining agents should not be present in the final product but their possible persistence, as well as other exogenous residual proteins such as the enzymes utilised in winemaking, cannot be excluded for sure. The principal concern about the presence of exogenous residual proteins is the health of allergic subjects. Nevertheless, the respect of religious creed or other practice of living of the consumer must be considered as well. In the present review we itemise the proteins used in winemaking and possible drawbacks of their permanence in the final products and the related risks, depict the status of the art of the studies performed about the detection of exogenous proteins, and describe the wine labelling laws adopted in different countries to avoid the drawbacks associated with these hidden substances.

Wine Fining with Plant Proteins

“…Wine chemical characterization should be performed according to the OIV official methods of analysis of reference [79], and should include basic wine parameters (e.g., pH, ethanol content, titratable acidity), chromatic characteristics, oxidative stability, phenolic content (e.g., by Folin-Ciocalteau method), and if more information is needed additional analysis as phenolic profile including anthocyanins for reds (by HPLC) [50,73], astringency assessments (e.g., mucin index [65]), variation in sensory attributes (e.g., astringency, bitterness, aroma [4,9]), and volatile composition by GC [10] can be done. Additionally, in case the starting plant material is already included in the list of the allergens, tests for checking the presence of protein residues (e.g., by immunological or MS-based methods) in the filtered wines treated with different doses are also necessary [80]. Benchmarking versus commercial products.…”

Enzymes for Wine Fermentation: Current and Perspective Applications

“…Another important source are protein-based wine additives (e.g., lysozyme, ovalbumin, gelatin, casein) which could pose allergenic-like reactions to consumers [60][61][62]. Most of these proteins have vanished after termination of wine fermentation and subsequent fining procedures.…”

Evaluation of the sensory and physical properties of meat and fish derivatives containing grape pomace powders

“…This approach permits to avoid the introduction of exogenous proteins into wine (e.g. from milk, egg and fish) that could represent an allergenic risk for the consumer (Rizzi et al ., ). Moreover, the use of proteins from grape seeds as well as from other nonallergenic sources (Simonato et al ., ) does not require declarations in the wine label (Mainente et al ., ).…”