Wine Law

CONSUMER PROTECTION RELATED TO WINE LAW 267 III.1. Safety The first aspect mentioned in the traditional issues of consumer protection related to Wine Law is the right to product safety. The main focus of this right is that the product must not expose consumers to serious hazard if this product is used in its usual conditions. It also addresses the fact that products must be developed and elaborated to have enough security based on the common expectation of use. Accordingly, product safety is also linked to adequate production. It is expected that the producers have compliance in all steps of the production line to avoid to place on the market a product with large risk to consumer health. Wine is a kind of product that offers a reduced risk to consumers when considering its habitual use. Usually, hazards in the beverage industry are related to a failure in the production line 7 , although it is also possible that microorganisms make the wine unable to consumption 8 . To control all production steps – including machines – is the best way to avoid matters related to wine safety. Nonetheless, there are products that are dangerous themselves. In those cases, there is the necessity to clearly inform consumers that the product is dangerous and how to use it to avoid hazards. III.2. Quality Quality is the second traditional issue related to Wine Law. While safety is more related to the production phase, quality is linked to storage and conservation. Therefore, in this case, the concern is directed to all members of the supply chain. Each stakeholder must have compliance and produce due diligence to maintain the wine features while the product is in its storage. The main idea in this case is that the wine chemical and physical characteristics obtained in the production are conserved until consumption. In other words, 7 For example, in Brazil, there is a case of product contamination at the Backer brewery, where mono- ethylene glycol and diethylene glycol (two products that avoid freezing) were used in the production line. However, these products, when in touch with the beverage, make it toxic, which led to severe injuries and even some deaths upon consumption. 8 Lonvaud-Funel presents the examples of ethyl carbamate and biogenic amines as results of biochemical reactions produced by microorganisms to be controlled in the wine production. LONVAUD-FUNEL, Aline. Undesirable compounds and spoilage microorganisms in wine. In MORENO-ARRIBAS, M. Victoria; & BARTOLOMÉ SUALDEA, Begoña (orgs.). Wine safety, consumer preference and human health . Cham: Springer, 2016 (esp. pp. 4-21).