References to prove absence of Sulphites in Gin

Hi All,

I found lots of posts about that Gin/Vodka does not contain any sulphites as a result of its distillation process.

Unfortunately, I cannot find any reliable scientific article about this (like for gluten the EFSA journal article).

Can anyone help me that where can I find something and auditors accept it too?

Thank you

If it is for the purposes of being audited, can you not simply obtain a specification and/or allergen declaration from your supplier?

There isn't really any reason to add sulphites to these types of product - it's not like e.g. wine where the preservative effect is useful during initial handling of the must and to prevent secondary fermentation, and the antioxidant effect also provides some protection for one or more of flavour/colour/aroma.

IIRC sulphites aren't permitted additives in spirit drinks either, but that doesn't completely preclude presence in a spirit drink, given that the carryover principle means they'd be legal in the spirit drink if they were used in a raw material in which they were permissible.

It's also worth noting that some yeasts may produce sulphites as part of the fermentation process, so there could be natural presence in the base alcohol that has subsequently been distilled to produce a spirit. With gin there is also the possibility of introduction via items added to flavour the product, although in reality I think this is fairly unlikely and would probably be at a level well below the 10mg/kg threshold even if it did happen. But I'm doubtful that this speculation is auditable ;)

Distillation may remove/reduce sulphite levels, but this isn't necessarily automatically the case - indeed in some circumstances it could potentially increase the concentration - see e.g. this paper: https://onlinelibrar...10.1002/jib.100

The particular requirements for the use of the term "vodka" do make this highly unlikely to be the case here, but again it's "unlikely" vs. having an actual specification / allergen statement.

From a quick look I did see a lot of websites online stating that gin and vodka don't contain sulphites thanks to the distillation processes used, but none of them actually provided any references for this assertion.

I assume that this is an ingredient you're purchasing? I think that by far the best option here is to obtain the information from your raw material supplier. Personally I think that it is highly unlikely that gin or vodka would contain sulphites, but again that isn't going to be an auditable position.