Factors Affecting Transfer of the Heavy Metals Arsenic, Lead, and Cadmium from Diatomaceous-Earth Filter Aids to Alcoholic Beverages during Laboratory-Scale Filtration.

Filtration methods for alcoholic fermented beverages often use filter aids such as diatomaceous earth (DE), which may contain elevated amounts of the heavy metals arsenic (As), lead (Pb), and cadmium (Cd). Here, we evaluated factors affecting transfer of these heavy metals from DE to beer and wine. A laboratory-scale filtration system was used to process unfiltered ale, lager, red wine, and white wine with three types of food-grade DE.