The Taranto Prosecutors Office in southern Italy has released a statement about the investigations

underway on adulterated wines.

At the moment the analyses made on samples taken have only shown simple dilution of wine. However,

discovery of suspect substances, in a confiscated cellar in southern Italy, are currently being analysed.

Only further investigations will show if these substances have been used, considering that the materials

confiscated are only musts and diluted wines.

The investigations are aimed at the quantity and use in winemaking of hydrogen chloride, sulphuric and

phosphoric and acids, and material used in the production of fertilizers, such as phosphate ammoniac,

phosphate biammoniac and ammoniac sulfate commonly used in winemaking as activating the

fermentation.

It has been verified that no fertilizers have been used in the production of wine, but only products, which

have the same principal activator. For what concerns the acid minerals found, it is specified that they are

used only as weed killers, and are not found in wine.

Minister of Agricultural De Castro and Minister of Healthcare Turco have thanked the public ministers for

the sensitivity demonstrated in wanting to correctly inform the consumers, and have declared that the

investigations underway confirm the fraud is limited to a very small number of delinquents, already known

to the authorities for their ill deeds, who risk to damage the image of the entire wine production of Italy.