A recent finding of arsenic in German beer has prompted an in depth study to ascertain what is the source of the contaminant.
At the moment only German beer has been found to contain the poison, albeit in very minute amounts. However, the levels are higher than the levels commonly found in water or other beer components, which led researchers to believe that the source of the contamination lay somewhere in the manufacturing process.
The discovery could be important for breweries everywhere and food processing plants that use the same technology.
The problem appears to come from the filtering apparatus, which uses diatomaceous earth, or earth containing diatoms, to remove the yeast hops and other microparticles to gvive beer its clarity. However, diatoms might contain substantial amounts of arsenic since some of the 140 German beers tested had notable levels of arsenic. Although the level was not high enough to cause sickness, it is important that the problem be addressed.
Diatomaceous earth is also used in the production of wine.
the researcher advised brewers to rinse out the kieselguhr, as the diatomaceous earth is called.
Source: MNT 4.8.13
Say it isn't so Joe. Say it isn't so.
ReplyDeleteIt's not really as bad as it sounds as it really only applies to filtered lagers. While the majority of lagers are in fact filtered many are not and very few if any ales are which fortunately where my favorite varieties reside
That's true, and it also is a problem that is being addressed.
ReplyDelete