THE MICROBIOLOGICAL SAFETY OF WINE SARA AZEVEDO WINE

THE MICROBIOLOGICAL SAFETY OF WINE SARA AZEVEDO WINE INSTITUTE GREG HODSON, PHD WINE INSTITUTE TECHNICAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE CHAIR 24 May 20 1 6 S an L uis Obisp o , CA

THE MICROBIOLOGICAL SAFETY OF WINE • THIS PRESENTATION IS BASED ON THE MICROBIOLOGICALLY, WINE IS A LOW FOOD SAFETY RISK CONSUMER PRODUCT PAPER PREPARED FOR THE APEC WINE REGULATORY FORUM. • THE PAPER HAS BEEN ENDORSED BY WORLD WINE TRADE GROUP (WWTG) MEMBER COUNTRIES (ARGENTINA, AUSTRALIA, CANADA, CHILE, NEW ZEALAND, REPUBLIC OF GEORGIA, SOUTH AFRICA AND U. S. A. ) AS WELL MEMBERS OF THE INTERNATIONAL TRADE ASSOCIATION FIVS.

PRESENTATION OVERVIEW • CHARACTERISTICS WHICH MAKE WINE A, MICROBIOLOGICALLY, LOW FOOD SAFETY RISK CONSUMER PRODUCT 1. ACIDITY & POLYPHENOLS 2. ALCOHOL CONTENT 3. SULPHITE CONTENT • THE HURDLE CONCEPT • RESULTING REGULATORY FRAMEWORK • CONCLUSIONS

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY SCIENTIFIC STUDIES INDICATE • WINE DOES NOT SUPPORT THE GROWTH OF PATHOGENIC MICROORGANISMS • WINE HAS ANTI-MICROBIAL PROPERTIES DUE TO ITS HIGH ACIDITY (LOW p. H), POLYPHENOL CONTENT, ALCOHOL CONTENT, AND SULPHITE CONTENT WINE IS RECOGNIZED AS A CONSUMER PRODUCT WITH A LOW MICROBIOLOGICAL ACCORDINGLY GUIDANCE AND GOVERNMENTS EMPLOYED SAFETY RISK. HAVE ISSUED PROPORTIONATE REGULATORY FRAMEWORKS FROM A FOOD SAFETY STANDPOINT.

WINE CHARACTERISTICS: ACIDITY TWO IMPORTANT FACTS 1. WINE IS A HIGH ACID (AND THEREFORE LOW p. H FOOD) 2. HIGH ACID HOSTILE FOODS PRESENT ENVIRONMENT MICROORGANISMS A FOR

WINE CHARACTERISTICS: ACIDITY WIDE CONSENSUS AMONG ACADEMICS, TRADE PRESS AND ANALYTICAL INSTRUMENT MANUFACTURERS IS THE p. H OF WINE IS TYPICALLY BETWEEN 2. 9 AND 3. 9

p. H : H O W L O W C A N P A T H O G E N S G R O W ? Pathogens FISH AND FISHERY PRODUCTS HAZARDS AND CONTROL GUIDANCE - U. S. FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, 4: 420 (HTTP: //BIT. LY/1 M 8 XCJL) Min. p. H Bacillus Cereus 4. 3 Campylobacter Jejuni 4. 9 Clostridium Botulinum (A, proteolytic B&F) 4. 6 Clostridium Botulinum (E, non-proteolytic B&F) 5. 0 Clostridium Perfringens 5. 0 Pathogenic E. Coli 4. 0 Listeria Monocytogenes 4. 4 Salmonella spp. 3. 7 Shigella spp. 4. 8 Staphylococcus Aureus (growth) 4. 0 Staphylococcus Aureus (toxin formation) 4. 0 Vibrio Cholerae 5. 0 Vibrio Parahaemolyticus 4. 8 Vibrio vulnificus 5. 0 Yersinia Enterocolitica 4. 2

WINE CHARACTERISTICS: ACIDITY • BASED ON ACIDITY ALONE- ALMOST NO PATHOGENS WILL SURVIVE IN WINE. • HOWEVER, SUGGESTS LITERATURE THE ALSO POLYPHENOLIC CHEMICALS PRESENT IN WINE ACT SYNERGISTICALLY TO ENHANCE ITS OVERALL ANTIMICROBIAL CHARACTER.

STUDIES ON ANTI-MICROBIAL EFFECTS OF HIGH ACIDITY & POLYPHENOLS “…FOOD-BORNE BACTERIA WERE KILLED IN BOTH RED AND WHITE WINE WITHIN THIRTY MINUTES, ” - DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN AND ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES AT THE OCHANOMIZU UNIVERSITY, JAPAN ( HTTP: // 1. USA. GOV/1 NWJYCB) “…CONSUMPTION OF WINE DURING A MEAL MAY LOWER THE RISK OF TOXI-INFECTION CAUSED BY CERTAIN PATHOGENS, ” - ESCOLA SUPERIOR DE BIOTECNOLOGIA, UNIVERSIDADE CATÓLICA PORTUGUESA, PORTUGAL (HTTP: // BIT. LY/1 QYOPP 4 ) “[RED WINE HAS] SIGNIFICANT ANTI-NOROVIRUS EFFECTS ON FOODBORNE VIRUSES, ” - RESEARCHERS, SOUTH KOREA (HTTP: // BIT. LY/1 GXLMBL)

STUDIES ON ANTI-MICROBIAL EFFECTS OF HIGH ACIDITY & POLYPHENOLS ALL THREE STUDIES CONCLUDED THAT HIGH ACIDITY (LOW p. H) AND POLYPHENOLIC COMPOUNDS CONTRIBUTED WINE’S ANTIMICROBIAL PROPERTIES. SIGNIFICANTLY TO

WINE CHARACTERISTICS: ALCOHOL • IN ADDITION TO POLYPHENOLIC HIGH ACIDITY AND CHARACTERISTICS- ANOTHER ANTI-MICROBIAL FACTORS AT WORK IN WINE IS ALCOHOL. • ALCOHOL CREATES A HOSTILE ENVIRONMENT FOR MICROORGANISMS. • BY REGULATION AROUND THE WORLD, WINE MOST OFTEN IS DEFINED AS HAVING A MINIMUM OF 7% ALCOHOL BY VOLUME.

WINE CHARACTERISTICS: ALCOHOL • ETHANOL (ALCOHOL) AT HIGHER CONCENTRATIONS (70 -80%) IS USED IN SANITATION PRODUCTS LIKE HAND SANITIZERS. • NEVERTHELESS, CONCENTRATIONS, AT ETHANOL LOWER DOES HAVE THE ABILITY TO INHIBIT AND KILL PATHOGENIC MICROORGANISMS

WINE CHARACTERISTICS: ALCOHOL “THE GENERAL MODE OF ACTION FOR INACTIVATION OF MICROORGANISMS BY ALCOHOLS IS BY DENATURATION OF PROTEINS, WITH THE PRIMARY SITE OF ACTION BEING THE CELL (PLASMA) MEMBRANE. . MOULDS AND ACTINOMYCETES ARE MOST SUSCEPTIBLE TO ALCOHOLS AND ARE INHIBITED AT 4% (V/V) WHEREAS MOST BACTERIA CAN STILL GROW AT THIS CONCENTRATION. APPLICATION OF 5. 5 % (V/V) SHOWS A BACTERIOSTATIC EFFECT ON E. COLI…” - UNDERSTANDING PATHOGEN BEHAVIOUR VIRULENCE, STRESS RESPONSE AND RESISTANCE (PG. 489 -490), EDITED BY MANSEL GRIFFITHS (HTTP: //BIT. LY/1 OV 2 CCG )

WINE CHARACTERISTICS: ALCOHOL • ON THE BASIS OF THIS INFORMATION IT IS DEMONSTRATED THAT THE ALCOHOL CONTENT IN WINE ALONE WILL EXERT A BACTERIOSTATIC EFFECT ON MICROORGANISMS. • BUT YET AGAIN, THERE ARE MORE ANTIMICROBIAL FACTORS AT WORK IN WINELIKE SULPHITES.

WINE CHARACTERISTICS: SULPHITES • SULPHUR DIOXIDE (SO 2 ) & SULPHITES (INS 220 -228): • • SULFUR DIOXIDE IS A BROAD-SPECTRUM ANTIMICROBIAL AGENT WHICH INHIBITS A WIDE VARIETY OF MICROORGANISMS. FOR WHITE WINES, A LEVEL OF 0. 8 PPM MOLECULAR SO 2 WILL SLOW DOWN THE GROWTH OF YEAST AND WILL PREVENT THE GROWTH OF MOST OTHER MICROBES. DEPENDING ON THE WINE p. H, 11 -125 PPM OF FREE SO 2 WILL GIVE 0. 8 PPM MOLECULAR SO 2 IN THE WINE. SULFUR DIOXIDE. THE SCIENCE BEHIND THIS ANTI-MICROBIAL, ANTIOXIDANT WINE ADDITIVE, PAT HENDERSON, PRACTICAL WINERY & VINEYARD HTTP: //WWW. PRACTICALWINERY. COM/JANFEB 09/PAGE 2. HTM • .

HURDLE CONCEPT • THE CONCEPT OF COMBINING SEVERAL FACTORS TO PRESERVE FOODS HAS BEEN CALLED THE HURDLE EFFECT, WHERE EACH FACTOR IS A HURDLE THAT MICROORGANISMS MUST OVERCOME IN ORDER TO SURVIVE. • HURDLE TECHNOLOGY IS THE DELIBERATE COMBINING OF FACTORS TO CREATE AN ENVIRONMENT IN FOOD WHERE MICROBIOLOGICAL SAFETY IS ENSURED.

HURDLE CONCEPT Physico-chemical hurdles to growth of micro-organisms Carbon dioxide Ozone Ethanol (Alcohol) Phenols Lactic Acid Phosphates Lactoperoxidase Salt Low p. H Smoking Low redox potential Sodium nitrite/nitrate Low water activity Sodium or potassium sulphite Maillard reaction products Spices and herbs Organic acids Surface treatment agents Oxygen

HURDLE CONCEPT • WINE NATURALLY CONTAINS AS MANY AS SIX HURDLES, MANY OF WHICH ON THEIR OWN MAKE THE GROWTH OF PATHOGENS ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE. • COLLECTIVELY, IT IS CERTAIN THAT PATHOGENIC MICRO-ORGANISMS CANNOT SURVIVE IN WINE.

HURDLE CONCEPT IN WINE “ALCOHOL IS AN EFFECTIVE ANTIMICROBIAL AT LEVELS AS LOW AS 2. 5%” - APPLIED AND ENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY ( HTTP: // 1. USA. GOV/1 PJZYVF ) “WHEN DIFFERENT COMBINATIONS OF ETHANOL, ORGANIC ACIDS, AND ACIDITY WERE TESTED AGAINST THE PATHOGENS, IT WAS FOUND THAT A COMPOSITION OF 0. 15% MALIC ACID, 0. 6% TARTARIC ACID, 15% ETHANOL, AND p. H 3. 0 HAS A STRONG BACTERICIDAL EFFECT”. - MICROBIAL SAFETY OF MINIMALLY PROCESSED FOODS ( HTTP: // BIT. LY/1 LQJFDS) “THE WINES TESTED HAD STRONG ANTIBACTERIAL ACTIVITY AGAINST THE 4 PATHOGENS, S. TYPHIMURIUM, E. COLI O 157: H 7, L. MONOCYTOGENES, AND S. AUREUS” - JOURNAL OF FOOD SCIENCE ( HTTP: // BIT. LY/1 LPFPY 9)

FOOD SAFETY RISK MANAGEMENT • WINE IS AN ACIDIC (LOW p. H), ALCOHOL AND POLYPHENOL CONTAINING PRODUCT OFTEN TREATED WITH SULPHITES- GIVING IT STRONG ANTIMICROBIAL PROPERTIES. • IT IS A CONSUMER PRODUCT WITH LOW MICROBIOLOGICAL FOOD SAFETY RISK. • GOVERNMENTS HAVE WINE ACCORDINGLY. REGULATED

LOW RISK FOOD: PHILIPPINES REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES FDA “…HEREBY IMPLEMENTS ELECTRONIC REGISTRATION) SYSTEM AN (E- INITIALLY APPLICABLE FOR RAW MATERIALS OR INGREDIENTS AND LOW RISK PRE -PACKAGED PRODUCTS PROCESS IN FOOD ORDER TO STREAMLINE THE APPLICATION AND EVALUATION PROCESS WITHOUT COMPROMISING PUBLIC HEALTH AND CONSUMER SAFETY…” - WINE (INCLUDING STILL, SPARKLING AND FORTIFIED GRAPE WINE) IS INCLUDED AS A LOW RISK FOOD IN ANNEX A (HTTP: //BIT. LY/1 JBGLEL)

TIME/TEMPERATURE CONTROL FOR SAFETY (TCS) FOODS: U. S. A. FOODS WITH A p. H BELOW 4. 2 (NOT HEAT TREATED OR HEAT TREATED BUT NOT PACKAGED) ARE “NON-TCS FOODS” (NOT NEEDING TIME AND TEMPERATURE TREATMENT TO CONTROL GROWTH OF PATHOGENS AND/OR SPORES WHERE APPLICABLE). - FOOD CODE 2013. RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE UNITED STATES PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE. FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION. TABLE B, PAGE 339. HTTP: //1. USA. GOV/UYYRFJ WINE HAS A p. H BELOW 4. 0 AND IS PACKAGED, SO WOULD NOT BE EXPECTED TO SUPPORT THE GROWTH OF PATHOGENS AND SPORES.

LOW RISK: AUSTRALIA NEW ZEALAND FOOD STANDARDS AUSTRALIA NEW ZEALAND STANDARD 3. 2. 2 REQUIREMENTS. FOOD SAFETY PRACTICES AND GENERAL “DIVISION 1 - INTERPRETATION AND APPLICATION” IDENTIFIES POTENTIALLY HAZARDOUS FOOD AS, “FOOD THAT HAS TO BE KEPT AT CERTAIN TEMPERATURES TO MINIMISE THE GROWTH OF ANY PATHOGENIC MICRO-ORGANISMS THAT MAY BE PRESENT IN THE FOOD OR TO PREVENT THE FORMATION OF TOXINS IN THE FOOD. ” WINE DOES NOT FIT THIS DEFINITION AS IT DOES NOT REQUIRE TEMPERATURE-CONTROLLED THEREFORE NOT BE STORAGE, CONSIDERED HAZARDOUS FOOD UNDER THIS STANDARD. AND A WOULD POTENTIALLY

LOW RISK: AUSTRALIA WINE AUSTRALIA • IN THE PRESENTATION ENTITLED, “THE REALM OF THE STATE HEALTH DEPARTMENT, ” SLIDE 9 STATES: ‘WINE IS A LOW RISK FOOD ’ GOVERNMENT OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA: FOOD POLICY AND PROGRAMS BRANCH • “…LOW RISK FOODS ARE THOSE THAT ARE UNLIKELY TO CONTAIN PATHOGENIC ORGANISMS AND WILL NOT SUPPORT THEIR GROWTH, AND WILL NOT INTRODUCE MICROBIAL…”

LOW RISK: CANADA CANADIAN FOOD INSPECTION SYSTEM IMPLEMENTATION GROUP • “HIGH RISK FOODS ARE NON-ACIDIC OR SLIGHTLY ACIDIC, MOIST, AND PROTEIN FOODS. THESE FOOD PRODUCTS REQUIRE A NUMBER OF COMPLEX CONTROL STEPS TO ENSURE PRODUCT SAFETY (I. E. , PROPER TEMPERATURE REQUIREMENTS AT VARIOUS STAGES OF PREPARATION). THESE FOODS INCLUDE MEAT AND MEAT PRODUCTS, MILK AND MILK PRODUCTS, EGGS, POULTRY, FISH AND SHELLFISH, AS WELL AS GRAVIES, PUDDINGS, CUSTARDS, CREAM-FILLED BAKED GOODS, POTATO AND OTHER MAYONNAISEBASED SALADS, CREAM-BASED SOUPS AND SAUCES…. LOW RISK FOODS ARE FOOD PRODUCTS WHICH DO NOT POSE SIGNIFICANT HEALTH HAZARDS BY THEMSELVES. ”

CONCLUSION WINE IS A POLYPHENOLIC, HIGH ACID (LOW p. H) AND ALCOHOL CONTAINING PRODUCT WITH ANTI-MICROBIAL PROPERTIES. = IT IS A CONSUMER PRODUCT WITH LOW MICROBIOLOGICAL FOOD SAFETY RISK. = IT SHOULD BE REGULATED ACCORDINGLY, AND THIS IS RECOGNIZED BY MANY ECONOMIES AROUND THE WORLD.