The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is going to propose amendments to national regulations governing the production of Icewine, reports Decanter.com. The effort comes in an attempt to curb fraud.

The Canadian Vintners Association claims that the new, internationally recognized standard will help countries identify and control fraudulent Canadian Icewines on their shelves.

At present, the CFIA says, ‘”There are only regional standards, which exist in Ontario, British Columbia and Nova Scotia.”

Apart from harmonizing labelling regulations, the amendment will require that wine labelled as Icewine in Canada meet a national standard. This standard would require Icewine to be made only from grapes naturally frozen on the vine.

The problem of fake icewine is greatest in China, where “an estimated 30-50% of Icewine on Chinese retail shelves is fake,” according to Randy Dufour, export director of Inniskillin Wines.

Luke Harford, vice president of economics and government relations at the Canadian Vinters Association said the national standard would “protect the consumer and ensure a baseline of quality”.

He added, “Fending off counterfeit products in a global market is difficult and the problem isn’t something that goes away with a single piece of regulation. It is a continuous process.”

Louise Wilson, international sales manager at Peller Estates, said “The issue of counterfeit products is not exclusive to Canadian Icewine, but also German Eiswein and other quality European wines.”

To avoid fraudulent products, Wilson advises consumers to look for quality assurance guarantees on bottles, such as the VQA from Ontario, and to beware comparatively low prices, terms such as ‘iced wine,’ ‘iced dessert wine,’ and similar variations.

Canadian Icewine producers have welcomed the amendments.