Italians are reacting to the advice of British dental experts, who criticize prosecco for its deleterious effects on teeth.
Between Italy and the United Kingdom a storm is currently blowing in a glass of water. With a little alcohol and a few bubbles. The attacks revolve around prosecco, this sweet and sparkling white wine from the region of Venice, to the north-east of the Italian boot.
The object of the crime: the message of British dental experts, who dared to criticize its deleterious effects on the teeth of its consumers. They even went so far as to give them a little name: the “prosecco smile”. The prosecco smile, in French. Sacrilege!
Consumer n ° 1
In an article from Daily Mail titled “How prosecco rots the teeth of the nation,” Dr Mervyn Druian of the London Center for Cosmetic Dentistry warns his fellow citizens: “It is acidic and contains a lot of sugar. While drinking a few glasses is not a problem, excessive consumption is a source of problems ”.
It must be said that the British are particularly fond of the Venetian drink. In 2016, they drank 40 million liters of it, ie… a third of world production! Wine, inexpensive and obviously suited to the local palate, conquered the island’s supermarkets. In recent years, major brands have increased their promotions. The latest: Lidl offered this summer a box of six bottles for less than 22 euros.
Acidity, sugar, alcohol
Prosecco would have, according to British experts, several elements to attack the teeth. First of all, the acidity: the wine is acidic in nature and the carbon dioxide in the bubbles adds a layer of it. In addition, prosecco is very sweet, much sweeter than champagne, for example. It contains about a tablespoon of sugar per flute. Alcohol is also bad for the teeth. “A triple curse,” said Professor Damien Walmsley, scientific adviser to the British Dentistry Association.
The problem, for dentists, lies in part in the mode of consumption of prosecco: unlike other acidic wines that accompany meals, it is rather consumed as an aperitif or – most of the time – in the evening. Wine has plenty of time to work on the teeth.
“The prosecco smile appears when the gums start to retract,” says Druian. It begins with a white line just below the gum line which, upon probing, appears a bit soft. It is the royal road to tooth decay, which leads to filling and more important dental work. “
A matter of state
Outraged, stung in their pride, the Italians reacted. On social networks, in the press, and even the government! Maurizio Martina, the Minister of Agriculture, responded to the Guardian, who had resumed the anti-prosecco fight of Daily Mail by listing the reasons to abandon this Italian wine.
In a tweet, since deleted, she declared “Dear Guardian, tell the truth: prosecco also makes the British smile!” Please stop them fake news ! “
Luca Zaia, the president of the Veneto region, also commented on it: “It doesn’t make sense. It is as if they were saying that the Sacher tart (a German chocolate cake, editor’s note) gave stomach pain. The idea that prosecco takes away a smile makes me laugh, ”he said with a hint of humor.
A Brexit war?
The case, which is growing, is indeed ready to smile. The exchanges by the interposed press and social networks are ultimately cordial, but the stake behind the small war is not trivial.
With 40 million liters and 366 million euros per year, the United Kingdom is the world’s largest consumer of prosecco. A consequent and expanding outlet for Italian producers, who have bet on the British market, which they refuse to see disappear.
Boris Johnson, the former mayor of London and now Minister of Foreign Affairs, had caused smiles and tension on the subject. In 2016, during a meeting with Carlos Calenda, the Italian Minister for the Economy, he said on Brexit that Italy would grant Britain access to the European market anyway, because it was too afraid of losing his prosecco market.
Would the prosecco war crystallize, in a light and tense tone, the tensions around Brexit? Carlos Calenda replied in an interview on Bloomberg TV: “OK, you will also sell less fish and chips. But I will sell less prosecco in one country, while you will sell less in 27 ”. Atmosphere.
Towards appeasement
On the medical front, the prosecco producers union allowed itself a comment, noting that no scientific study came to support the words of the experts. Dr Druian and Professor Walmsley, at the origin of the controversy, did not think that their intervention would take on such a scale.
“With the current political situation, we thought I was taking a stand on Brexit,” Dr Druian almost apologized. His colleague clarified that the same kind of recommendations were issued for sodas, champagne and homemade smoothies. Prosecco is therefore not stigmatized.
The British Dentistry Association is trying to reconcile: it refutes the idea of fake news, but calls on all consumers to be “more vigilant about the impact of all drinks on oral health”.
While waiting for the reaction of the Champagne Houses …
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