The filtering process for some of your favorite spirits could actually be creating a toxic beverage filled with heavy metals like arsenic, Newsweek warns.
Often using a filter called diatomaceous earth (DE), manufacturers use the sedimentary rock to give clarity to their drinks and make them last longer. However, the process could also be leaving behind heavy metals like lead, cadmium, and arsenic.
Twenty types of beer and 20 types of wine were tested and scientists found that, based on the spirit’s pH level along with the amount of filter used, heavy metals were found in all of the beverages.
Although the drinks contained the nasty metals, there’s no need to fret just yet as researchers say the amount found in the drinks was below the safety limit — except for two wines.
Researchers found that the less DE used the less heavy metals they found in the liquid. The amount of metals found was also affected by the amount of time the beverage was filtered.
“The current study provides data showing that there are various factors that affect the transfer of heavy metals from filter aids to alcoholic beverages. These factors should be considered in designing beverage-filtration measures to mitigate heavy metal contamination,” the authors of the study concluded.
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