Wine features related to safety and consumer health: an integrated perspective

This review presents a global view of the current situation of the scientific knowledge about aspects of wine with possible repercussions (positive or negative) on consumer health and wine safety. The presence in wine of some potential harmful compounds such as phytosanitary products, trace metal compounds, sulfites, and some toxics of microbial origin, such as ochratoxin A, ethyl carbamate, and biogenic amines, is discussed. The different strategies and alternative methodologies that are being carried out to reduce or to avoid the presence of these substances in wines are also discussed. In recent years much work has focused on establishing the scientific explanations for the positive biological effects of some wine compounds. In this review, we also examine the latest knowledge regarding wine and health, focusing on two types of compounds that have been related to the positive effects of moderate wine consumption, such as phenolic compounds and bioactive peptides.The authors are grateful to AGL2006–04514, PET2007 0134, and CSD2007–00063 Consolider Ingenio 2010 FUN–C–FOOD Projects (Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia) and S–505/AGR–0153 ALIBIRD Project (Comunidad Autónoma de Madrid) for the financial support for this work. M.A. P.–B., and M.M. gratefully acknowledge CSIC for their respective research contracts.S0505/AGR–0153/ALIBIRDPeer Reviewe