Risks associated with arsenic exposure resulting from the consumption of California wines sold in the United States

Concerns have recently been raised about the presence of arsenic (As) in wine. In this analysis, 101 different California wines were evaluated for organic and inorganic As concentration. The average concentrations of total inorganic As in red, blush and white wines were 6.12 μg/L (range: 0.40-20.5 μg/L), 21.6 μg/L (range: 0.92-41.2 μg/L) and 9.5 μg/L (0.57-30.4 μg/L). The average concentrations of total organic As in red, blush and white wines were 0.64 μg/L (0.10-2.74 μg/L), 0.99 μg/L (0.50-2.28 μg/L), and 0.51 μg/L (0.10-1.78 μg/L). A screening level risk assessment was conducted to assess the potential non-carcinogenic risk resulting from wine consumption. The hazard quotient (HQ) for the inorganic As RfD and the As content of red, blush and white wines was each less than one; indicating that the non-cancer health risk was insignificant. Results indicate that ingestion of California wine does not pose a hazard due to inorganic As content.