Giudici Paolo - Balsamic vinegars : tradition, technology, trade

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Vinegar production is regulated by an extensive set of statutes and the definition of vinegar varies from a country to another. The FAO/WHO defines vinegar as any liquid, fit for human consumption, produced exclusively from suitable products containing starch and/or sugars by the process of double fermentation, first alcoholic and then acetous. The residual ethanol content must be less than 0.5 % in wine vinegar and less than 1 % in other vinegars. (Joint FAO/WHO Food Standards Programme). In the USA, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requires that vinegar products must have a minimum acidity of 4 g per 100 ml, while in Australia the lower limit is 4 g per 100 g (FSANZ 2.10.1). This qualification ensures a minimum strength for vinegars sold in retail. There are currently no standards that identity vinegar; however, the FDA has established Compliance Policy Guides that the Agency applies for the labelling of vinegars, such as cider, wine, malt, sugar, spirit, and vinegar blends (FDA/ORA CPG 7109.22).

European countries have regional standards for vinegar produced or sold in specific areas. Unlike US law, the EU has established a threshold both for acidity and ethanol content. Vinegar of X is a general definition used for products with a minimum of 5 % (w/v) of acidity and a maximum of 0.5 % (v/v) of ethanol. Wine vinegar is obtained exclusively by acetous fermentation of wine, and it has at least 6 % of acidity (w/v) and 1.5 % (v/v) of ethanol (Regulation EC 479/2008). Table shows the ranges of acidity and ethanol in some common vinegars.

In Europe vinegar is considered a flavouring or preservative food ingredient and, with few exceptions, its taste is generally sharp and sour. On the other hand, in Asia and Africa, vinegar is also a drink with a less sour taste. A lot of sweetened fruit vinegars characterised by low acidity and aromatic flavours are very popular in China and East-Southeast Asia. In Africa some fermented beverages can spontaneously acidify to produce alcoholic-acetous products, which are very difficult to classify as either alcoholic beverages or vinegars. Similarly, in Japan, black rice vinegar is usually diluted with fruit juice and consumed daily as a healthy tonic drink, representing 20 % of the Japanese vinegar market with a value of 21.46 billion yen in the year 2004. In some western countries, mainly the USA and Canada, apple cider vinegar is an old folk remedy claimed to be beneficial for treating a long list of diseases and it is consumed mixed with fruit juice. In the traditional wine-producing countries of Europe, it is very easy to differentiate between wine and vinegar, since the respective names are well established both historically and legally, with a precise definition for each. Wine can have a maximum of 1.2 g/l of acetic acid and, in all cases, the acetic acid content must be less than 1 % of the ethanol content. Vinegar must have a minimum of 6 % of titratable acidity and less than 1.5 % (v/v) of residual ethanol. In China, the word vinegar indicates products obtained from both fermentation and artificial processes, according to the Chinese National Standard definitions (CNS 14834, N5239 ).