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Document links
What is Ethyl carbamate?
Government Regulations for Ethyl Carbamate
How Ethyl Carbamate is Formed?
You are likely consuming more ethyl carbamate than producers are measuring
Phyterra's solution
Additional links
What is Ethyl Carbamate ?
Ethyl Carbamate Information
Ethyl Carbamate Studies and Links
Ethyl Carbamate (also known as EC or urethane) is a well known, potent carcinogen. It is found in wine and other fermented foods in low concentration as a naturally occurring by-product of the fermentation process. It was initially used during surgery in place of ether, to keep patients anaesthetized longer. These patients developed tumors within months, and the practice was abandoned. Today, ethyl carbamate is sometimes used in pesticide production.
Molecular Structure of Ethyl Carbamate
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acrylamide (found in many snack foods),
anabolic steroids,
PCB's,
arsenic
diesel engine exhaust
mustard gas |
Ethyl carbamate can further break down into vinyl carbamate (VC) and Vinyl carbamate epoxide (VCE) a substance with 40 times greater carcinogenicity than ethyl carbamate.
Government Regulations for Ethyl Carbamate
The Canadian government has set and enforces mandatory maximum EC limits for wines and spirits. In a well-documented case in October 2006, four wines were recalled from store shelf for exceeding legal EC limits. Wines imported into Canada that exceed the legal limit have been rejected and returned to the producers. In the USA, the FDA currently has set voluntary limits at this time, though mandatory limits may be considered. In Europe, the European Food Safety Agency (EFSA) is currently considering regulating ethyl carbamate levels in wine and alcoholic beverages, as recent studies strengthening the EC—cancer link have increased world-wide interest in this potent carcinogen. In addition, the USA National Toxicology Program cites clear evidence linking EC to breast, lung, liver, ovarian and stomach cancer in animals. Ethyl carbamate is listed as a California proposition 65 substance known to cause cancer.
Mandatory limits in Canada set by Health Canada
| Wines |
30 μg/L |
| Fortified wines |
100 μg/L |
| Distilled spirits |
150 μg/L |
| Sake |
200 μg/L |
| Fruit brandies |
400 μg/L |
USA voluntary limits set by FDA
| Table wines |
15 μg/L |
| Fortified wines |
60 μg/L |
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How Ethyl Carbamate is Formed
Yeasts break down arginine, an amino acid and important nutrient, into urea and ornithine
Yeast cells then either:
- further degrade urea into ammonia for a nitrogen source OR
- excrete urea.
Urea + ethanol + time + heat => ethyl carbamate
EC is often higher in port and sherry wines as urea concentration highest at 6-9 Brix, when fermentation is typically arrested.
You are likely consuming more ethyl carbamate than producers are measuring
Typically ethyl carbamate analysis is done at bottling. If urea is present, the EC reaction chain will continue post-bottling, with heat and time driving the reaction. The concentration at point of consumption will therefore be higher than when analyzed at bottling. We have seen that it can be many times higher than at bottling.
Regulatory bodies are becoming aware of that actual EC levels at consumption are likely much higher than reported at bottling, and may set limits based on a wine’s potential ethyl carbamate.
Phyterra’s Solution
Phyterra has created a natural, preventative solution to minimize ethyl carbamate formation in wine. We take an existing yeast strain and favor the cell’s natural tendency to degrade urea into NH3, which is then used as a nitrogen source.
By preventing the formation of urea, the pathway to ethyl carbamate is interrupted yet all of the parent strain’s desirable attributes are retained.
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