red wine or white wine, which pesticides in the glass?

The weekend consumer meeting focuses on our glasses of wine: Chablis, Muscadet, Bordeaux, Côtes-du-Rhône. The magazine “60 Millions de consommateurs” tested around forty products to find out if they contained sulphites or pesticide residues. Still progress to be made.

Patricia Chairopoulos, journalist at the magazine 60 Million consumers speaks to us today about their case: “Red or white”, which pesticides in the glass? The INC monthly magazine tested 40 products and the good news is that two thirds of this sampling came away with no pesticide residue in the bottles.

franceinfo: A positive result from this sampling, but can we do better?

Patricia Chairopoulous: Yes, this is exactly our observation. Two-thirds of our sampling is free of pesticide residue in the bottles, so that’s good news. But the last remaining third contains one to three residues, so there is still room for improvement. Furthermore, we have measured sulphites, and all our references are on point, with values ​​below the regulatory thresholds.

However, has legislation become tougher on the use of phytosanitary products?

It is true that under pressure from consumers and environmental protection associations, regulations has become tougher, for example by limiting the authorized quantities of certain pesticides per hectare or, for labels such as HVE (High Environmental Value), the ban since this year on the use of certain potentially toxic molecules.

On what criteria did you choose your wines, because the range is wide?

We chose them from large retailers, and from the four most consumed appellations: Chablis, Côtes-du-Rhône, Bordeaux and Muscadet, making a panel with conventional wines, organics and HVE.

What molecules did you find?

Of the 742 pesticide molecules searched, we detected 6 different pesticide molecules, three of which are “CMR”, that is to say suspected of having a “carcinogenic, mutagenic, reprotoxic” action. However, they are present in very small quantities. Note that the white wines in our panel are generally more likely to contain pesticide residues than the reds.

Sulphites more in white wines?

Yes, no surprise. Indeed, white wines contain less tannins, which have antioxidant properties than red wines, and it is therefore necessary to add more sulphites. They are used to extend the shelf life of wine and protect it from oxidation. Muscadets are the most “loaded” in sulphites, at an average of 100 mg/l, knowing that the limit is 200 mg/l for conventional whites.

As for reds, Bordeaux and Côtes-du-Rhône are doing quite well?

Yes, and especially Bordeaux, since in our study, two thirds of the references received a score higher than 15/20, both because they do not contain too many sulphites – three times less than the threshold value (150 mg /l for conventional reds) – and because most, except two bottles, are pesticide-free. It is a little less good for Côtes-du-Rhône, with 4 out of 10 references containing traces of a CMR pesticide.

Do organic wines keep their promises?

Completely, since all our organic wines are “clean”! They also have scores equal to or higher than 16/20.

What about the HVE certification found on many bottles (high environmental quality)?

Our observation is more nuanced than for organic. The specifications of this certification certainly limit the use of certain synthetic pesticides, but do not prohibit them. However, our analyzes show the presence of potentially toxic pesticide residues, CMR, in several HVE wines, notably a Bordeaux and a Muscadet, which are found at the end of the classification.

Wines with zero pesticides, can we believe in them or not in the future?

Scientific work is being done on this. They rely on several levers such as better knowledge of the parasite cycle, a selection of vine varieties resistant to certain diseases or even the development of organic control.

Generally speaking, what should you look at on labels before buying a bottle?

Already the label or certification. And since last January, the bottles produced must display the list of ingredients still present in the wine, as well as the nutritional values. This is usually a QR code on the label. But most of the bottles currently on the shelves are not yet affected by this obligation.