Sodium metabisulfite

Hi there . At which levels should sodium bisulfite be declared as an allergen on the product packaging?

Foibe,

 

The answer to your question depends on where the food will be sold.  In the US, sulfites must be listed as ingredients when they are present above 10 ppm. They are NOT listed as allergens, but as ingredients.  

 

Many other countries consider them to be in the same category as allergens (sensitizing substances), but most use the 10 ppm threshold to require labeling.

 

Steve

Hi foibe,

 

The exact interpretation of "sulphite" can also be complicated, possibly depending on things like terminology/function/measurement/local legalities, eg see these threads -

 

http://www.ifsqn.com...oxide-sulphite/

 

http://www.ifsqn.com...-in-wine-in-us/

Foibe,
 
The answer to your question depends on where the food will be sold.  In the US, sulfites must be listed as ingredients when they are present above 10 ppm. They are NOT listed as allergens, but as ingredients.  
 
Many other countries consider them to be in the same category as allergens (sensitizing substances), but most use the 10 ppm threshold to require labeling.
 
Steve

Thank you Steve.

Hi foibe,
 
The exact interpretation of "sulphite" can also be complicated, possibly depending on things like terminology/function/measurement/local legalities, eg see these threads -
 
http://www.ifsqn.com...oxide-sulphite/
 
http://www.ifsqn.com...-in-wine-in-us/

Thank you Charles

The specific FDA regulation dealing with this:

 

http://www.ecfr.gov/...se21.2.101_1100

 

 

 

(4) For the purposes of paragraph (a)(3) of this section, any sulfiting agent (sulfur dioxide, sodium sulfite, sodium bisulfite, potassium bisulfite, sodium metabisulfite, and potassium metabisulfite) that has been added to any food or to any ingredient in any food and that has no technical effect in that food will be considered to be present in an insignificant amount only if no detectable amount of the agent is present in the finished food. A detectable amount of sulfiting agent is 10 parts per million or more of the sulfite in the finished food. Compliance with this paragraph will be determined using sections 20.123-20.125, “Total Sulfurous Acid,” in “Official Methods of Analysis of the Association of Official Analytical Chemists,” 14th Ed. (1984), which is incorporated by reference and the refinements of the “Total Sulfurous Acid” procedure in the “Monier-Williams Procedure (with Modifications) for Sulfites in Foods,” which is appendix A to part 101. A copy of sections 20.123-20-125 of the Official Methods of Analysis of the Association of Official Analytical Chemists” is available from the AOAC INTERNATIONAL, 481 North Frederick Ave., suite 500, Gaithersburg, MD 20877, or available for inspection at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). For information on the availability of this material at NARA, call 202-741-6030, or go to: http://www.archives...._locations.html.

The specific FDA regulation dealing with this:

 

http://www.ecfr.gov/...se21.2.101_1100

 

Also linked via Post 3.