(Wines&Vines) - Alopecia, anorexia, ataxia—these are hardly the characteristic physical attributes of those who frequent tasting rooms and wine shows, let alone the 13% of the population marketers term “high-frequency wine consumers” who drink wine several times a week or even daily.

But a lawsuit launched on March 19 in California claims that wine consumers risk chronic poisoning from inorganic arsenic, a heavy metal whose toxic effects include the loss of hair, weight and coordination.

The suit, which seeks certification as a class action, argues that wines from 28 named parties including The Wine Group, Constellation Wines, Trader Joe’s Co., Treasury Wine Estates and Hahn Family Wines contained “unacceptably high levels of inorganic arsenic,” and that its presence in the wines was not disclosed. (Organic arsenic is less harmful, and typically metabolized with no ill effects.)

The plaintiffs include Doris Charles, Alvin Jones, Jason Peltier and Jennifer Peltier, private individuals represented by the Los Angeles law firm of Kabateck Brown Kellner LLP.

The firm didn’t respond to Wines & Vines’ request for comment regarding the motivation of the suit, but court documents don’t indicate any of the plaintiffs have suffered as a result of wine consumption.

Nevertheless, the suit seeks a declaration, “Exposure to inorganic arsenic to consumers when drinking their wines is unlawful,” and various orders requiring the defendants to notify class members of their “unlawful and deceptive conduct,” to advertise the risks of consuming inorganic arsenic on wine labels, and an order enjoining the defendants from marketing, advertising, distributing and selling their products in “the unlawful manner” described in the suit. “Compensatory damages and restitutionary disgorgement” as appropriate are also sought.

Just the latest arsenic scare
The legal action has sparked headlines that echo concerns regarding inorganic arsenic in rice, and similar attention in 2013 to the element’s presence in beer.