Federal Actions in Dealing With Contaminated Imported Wines

GAO discussed Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (BATF) actions in dealing with imported wines contaminated with the industrial chemical diethylene glycol (DEG), a highly toxic substance used in industrial applications. In 1985, after DEG was found in some Austrian, West German, and Italian wines, the Bureau began testing those wines. Although FDA is responsible for preventing the importation of contaminated food and beverages and for testing samples of domestic and imported products, it does not usually test imported alcoholic beverages for contaminants. Standard BATF tests only determine ingredient levels and verify labeling accuracy. BATF initiated a DEG testing effort because it could conduct the testing more quickly than FDA; subsequently, FDA referred DEG testing to BATF. BATF held all shipments of Austrian wines for testing and asked wholesalers and importers of Austrian wines to have private laboratories test samples of their imported wines. However, BATF success in testing all Austrian wines is unknown because it did not identify which importers and wholesalers sold and distributed Austrian wines, or which Austrian wines they currently marketed in the United States. BATF relied on importers and wholesalers to remove all contaminated wines from the market, but it did not routinely review their actions or require them to report on their actions. GAO concluded that: (1) because BATF did not identify those importers actively importing Austrian wines, it could not assess compliance with the testing and reporting requirement; (2) BATF did not maintain and disseminate a current master list of all contaminated wines; and (3) gaps and inconsistencies in BATF recordkeeping may have hampered its ability to ensure that it identified all contaminated wines and to monitor the actions of importers in removing those wines from the market. GAO believes that the government needs to provide an appropriate degree of assurance that it will identify and remove from the market wines with DEG in amounts representing a significant risk to health.