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Poison in grapes determines winemakers puzzle over origin
Food supervisors found the insecticide dimethoate in a must during a routine check in the must of a batch of Goldriesling. This confirmed, according to the "Saxon newspaper" (SZ) now the President of the State Investigation Institute (LUA) on request of the sheet. The incident is a mystery, because the controlled winegrower had not used the proven insecticide.
Proven neurotoxin affects numerous organisms
As the president of the LUA, Gerlinde Schneider, explained to the SZ, examiners had discovered the insecticide Dimethoat in the context of a routine investigation in a batch Goldriesling after the 2015 harvest. This acts as a strong neurotoxin on numerous organisms and is used against pests such as aphids, cicadas and bedbugs, but e.g. also used against house flies. In addition, it is considered to be harmful to bees and therefore may not be used for flowering or bees flown plants. Dimethoate was first approved in the US in 1962, later it was used by everyone and very often, especially in the former GDR as a central component in the pesticide "Bi 58".
Poisons in the wine give up rustling. Image: Africa Studio - fotolia No health hazard for consumers
Schneider emphasized, according to the SZ, that although the permitted maximum levels in the EU were exceeded - but from the must was no wine had been produced. At the same time, she had rejected a report by the Dresdner Neuesten Nachrichten, in which the ban on "thousands of liters of contaminated wine" had been mentioned. The State Investigative Office had informed the competent district office Meissen after the announcement of the test results, which, according to the spokeswoman Kerstin Thöns then requested to process the affected batch no further or destroy.
"For this reason, the insecticide poses no danger to the health of consumers," explained Gerlinde Schneider. As a precautionary measure, however, according to the District Administrator spokeswoman Thöns, samples have also been taken from tanks in other factories, but the results are not yet available. According to Christoph Reiner, the head of the Saxon wine-growing association, a meaningful action. "We winemakers are not afraid that something will be found in a cellar," Reiner told the SZ. Accordingly, the Saxon gold Riesling can be continued to drink without hesitation.
Goldriesling is only grown in Saxony
An important aspect for the local winemakers, because the affected white wine variety is planted to a significant extent only in Saxony and therefore plays an important role especially in the tourism sector. According to the Weinbauverband Sachsen e.V. it is a light fruity wine with a neutral bouquet and low acidity, which makes it particularly suitable as a sparkling wine. However, the gold Riesling is not durable and should be drunk after a maximum storage period of one year.
Insecticide may come from fruit growing
Now, according to Reiner, it should be found out how the poison could get into the must. Because the affected winegrower did not use it according to information of the Landratsamtes even. Therefore, it could be assumed that it was used in the neighborhood in the fruit growing and could thus reach the acreage of the winegrower. An obvious proposition, because last year, according to the Federal Office for Consumer Protection and Food Safety (BVL), from May to September, an emergency authorization for the active substance dimethoate was given due to cherry fruit flies in sweet and sour cherries. Lua boss Bettina Schneider also confirmed this theory. Thus, the inspectors of the State Investigation Institute would carry out regular inspections and had previously never come to such a conclusion.
Toxic cloud over organic field causes massive damage
Already in 2014, there had been a similar case near the Saxon town of Nossen. At that time, a poison cloud had passed from the adjacent field of a conventional farmer on the organic crops of Demeter farm Mahlitzsch and had destroyed almost the entire crop of kohlrabi on onions to tomatoes and carrots on a total of 8.5 hectares. The organic farm in Mahlitzsch is one of the largest in Saxony according to a report of the SZ and supplies thousands of customers nationwide with its "eco-box".
The conventional farmer had reportedly cultivated winter rapeseed and wanted to destroy weeds after sowing with highly effective pesticides. For this he used the agent Echelon with the active ingredient clomazone, which, however, if misused, poses a risk to health and the environment. As a result, the pesticide is subject to strict regulations - but an employee of the plant ignored them and caused the serious environmental scandal. "We have made a mistake in treatment. The distance to the vegetable areas of the organic farm was not kept, "explained farmer Hans-Jürgen Wolters at that time opposite the" SZ ". (No)