Alcoholic beverage strength discrimination by taste may have an upper threshold.

Background: Given the association between alcohol consumption and negative health consequences, there is a need for individuals to be aware of their consumption of ethanol, which requires knowledge of serving sizes and alcoholic strength. This study is one of the first to systematically investigate the ability to discriminate alcoholic strength by taste.

Methods: Nine discrimination tests (total n = 413) according to International Standardization Organization (ISO) 4120 sensory analysis methodology "triangle test" were performed.

Is contaminated unrecorded alcohol a health problem in the European Union? A review of existing and methodological outline for future studies.

Aims: Some European countries with high levels of unrecorded alcohol consumption have anomalously high rates of death attributable to liver cirrhosis. Hepatotoxic compounds in illegally produced spirits may be partly responsible. Based on a review of the evidence on the chemical composition and potential harm from unrecorded alcohol, the Alcohol Measures for Public Health Research Alliance (AMPHORA) project's methodology for identifying, analysing and toxicologically evaluating such alcohols is provided.

Epidemiology-based risk assessment using the benchmark dose/margin of exposure approach: the example of ethanol and liver cirrhosis.

Background: A novel approach to derive a threshold dose with respect to alcohol-related harm, the benchmark dose (BMD) methodology, is introduced to provide a basis for evidence-based drinking guidelines. This study is the first to calculate a BMD for alcohol exposure using epidemiological cohort data. With this BMD we will be able to calculate the margin of exposure (MOE) for alcohol consumption, which can be used for comparative risk assessment and applied to setting public health policy.

Unrecorded consumption, quality of alcohol and health consequences.

Issues: This contribution aims to examine systematically the evidence on the impact of the quality of unrecorded alcohol products on health consequences.

Approach: Systematic computer assisted review of the literature.

Key Findings: There are a number of pathways related to alcohol quality that may lead to acute or chronic health problems.

Cancer risk assessment of ethyl carbamate in alcoholic beverages from Brazil with special consideration to the spirits cachaça and tiquira.

Background: Ethyl carbamate (EC) is a multi-site carcinogen in experimental animals and probably carcinogenic to humans (IARC group 2A). Traces of EC below health-relevant ranges naturally occur in several fermented foods and beverages, while higher concentrations above 1 mg/l are regularly detected in only certain spirits derived from cyanogenic plants. In Brazil this concerns the sugarcane spirit cachaça and the manioc (cassava) spirit tiquira, which both regularly exceed the national EC limit of 0.

Causal considerations on alcohol and HIV/AIDS--a systematic review.

Aim: The study aimed to explore the possible causal nature of the association between alcohol consumption and HIV/AIDS.

Methods: A review based on meta-analyses and reviews was conducted according to standard epidemiological criteria to distinguish causality from association, examining (i) the potential impact of alcohol on the incidence of HIV and (ii) alcohol's impact on worsening the disease course.

Results: In terms of incidence of HIV, although we found a consistent and strong association with consumption, there was not enough evidence for a causal connection.

Artisanal alcohol production in Mayan Guatemala: chemical safety evaluation with special regard to acetaldehyde contamination.

There is a lack of knowledge regarding the composition, production, distribution, and consumption of artisanal alcohol, particularly in the developing world. In Nahualá, an indigenous Mayan municipality located in highland Guatemala, heavy alcohol consumption appears to have had a significant negative impact on health, a major role in cases of violence and domestic abuse, and a link to street habitation. Cuxa, an artisanally, as well as commercially produced sugarcane alcohol, is widely consumed by heavy drinkers in this community.

Ethyl carbamate in alcoholic beverages from Mexico (tequila, mezcal, bacanora, sotol) and Guatemala (cuxa): market survey and risk assessment.

Ethyl carbamate (EC) is a recognized genotoxic carcinogen, with widespread occurrence in fermented foods and beverages. No data on its occurrence in alcoholic beverages from Mexico or Central America is available. Samples of agave spirits including tequila, mezcal, bacanora and sotol (n=110), and of the sugarcane spirit cuxa (n=16) were purchased in Mexico and Guatemala, respectively, and analyzed for EC.

Carcinogenicity of acetaldehyde in alcoholic beverages: risk assessment outside ethanol metabolism.

Aims: In addition to being produced in ethanol metabolism, acetaldehyde occurs naturally in alcoholic beverages. Limited epidemiological evidence points to acetaldehyde as an independent risk factor for cancer during alcohol consumption, in addition to the effects of ethanol. This study aims to estimate human exposure to acetaldehyde from alcoholic beverages and provide a quantitative risk assessment.

Alcohol in Mayan Guatemala: consumption, distribution, production and composition of cuxa.

Aims: To describe the consumption, distribution, production and chemical composition of alcohol, including cuxa (pronounced 'coo sha'), in Nahualá, a highland Mayan municipality in Guatemala. Cuxa is a sugarcane-derived spirit, in part produced clandestinely, that has been distributed in the community for several decades.

Methods: Key informant interviews with alcohol distributors and consumers, cuxa producers and health professionals, as well as analyses of questionnaires from a sample of 47 spouses who came to the local health centre for problems related to their husband's drinking.