Issue link: http://winesandvines.uberflip.com/i/498427
May 2015 P R A C T I C A L W I N E R Y & V I N E YA R D 73 P A C K A G I N G Just as in liquor manufacturing, vari- ous stages in winemaking may involve plastic products containing leachable plasticizers and other additives that are potentially extractable if the wine comes in contact with them. In March 2013, three brands of French Cognac were prohibited from entering China's market because they reportedly contained exces- sive levels of plasticizers. 18 Plastics are used in the manufacture, transport and storage of wine (Table II). It has been estimated that synthetic closures have taken 19% of the world's closure market, with metal screwcaps making up 11% of the market of approxi- mately 20 billion wine bottles per year. 43 Large-scale tests of China's liquor have shown that almost all alcohol products contain an average level of 0.537 mg/kg of plasticizers. The use of artificial closures, screwcap plastic liners and other plastic closures or plastic containers such as bag-in-box, may expose wine to plastic leachates that can alter organoleptic properties in the wine as they do with other foods and beverages. 37,53 A wide range of plasticizers have been used in plastic closures compared to other sources of plasticizers in the winemaking process. 4,39 Saranex used in both screwcap liners and synthetic closures is a barrier film consisting of layers of Saran resin (polyvinylidene chloride, PVDC) and ther- moplastic polymer resins. 12 Plasticizers that have been found in PVC-based films include DEHA and phthalates such as DBP and DEHP. 21 Low- density polyethylene (LDPE) is used as a replacement for PVC in Saran, 38 however it provides a poor oxygen barrier and can scalp flavors from foods. 42 Plastic packaging may scalp the vol- atile flavors from wine, or the wine may absorb undesirable aromas from the plastic. 32 Packaging materials may also contain BPA, such as plastic stop- pers used to seal partially consumed bottles of wine and the lining of concrete fermentors, which are commonly coated with epoxy that may contain PVC. 37,40,44 Due to the widespread environmen- tal contamination, use and presence of plasticizers and bisphenols, there are a variety of sources of potential con- tamination in the winemaking process. Besides packaging materials, pumps, tubing, transport containers, pneumatic ORGANIZED BY WORLD LEA DER IN WINE TECHNOLOGY 3 rd — 6 th NOVEMBER 2015 Fiera Milano (Rho) Italy info@simei.it / simei.it 26 TH EDITION INTERNATIONAL ENOLOGICAL AND BOTTLING EQUIPMENT EXHIBITION