Wine Processing Aids
A study by Kirschner et al set out to establish whether traces of egg, milk, and fish derived processing aids used in winemaking might elicit clinical reactions in food-allergic individuals.
Five German wines were fined with high doses of egg albumin, lysozyme, milk casein, fish gelatin, or isinglass, and filtered. Fourteen adults with allergy to egg, milk, or fish were involved in the study. Skin prick tests were performed with fining agents, and fined and unfined wines. All patients underwent double-blind placebo-controlled food challenges with fined and unfined wines.
Although concentrated fining agents containing ovalbumin, lysozyme, and casein were allergenic in the skin prick test, none of the study participants reacted adversely in provocation tests to fined wine.
The authors concluded that wines treated with fining agents, at commercial concentrations, appear not to present a risk to allergic individuals when filtered.
Kirschner S, Belloni B, Kugler C, Ring J, Brockow K.
Allergenicity of wine containing processing aids: a double-blind, placebo-controlled food challenge.
J Investig Allergol Clin Immunol. 2009;19(3):210-7.