SULPHUR DIOXIDE AND ALLERGENIC SULPHITES
What is allergy to sulfur dioxide and sulfites?
Sulphurous anhydride and sulfites can cause symptoms of an allergic type in people suffering from asthma and allergic rhinitis. The most common allergic reaction is wheezing with a chest tightness, which over time can become severe and awkward.
Sulphites are classified in the category of preservatives, within food additives and have from the number E 220 to E 228, being composed of both sulfurous anhydride and: bisulphite and potassium metabisulphite, sodium bisulphite, sulfuric acid.
The sulphurous anhydride found in food in a concentration with allergenic potential, is used as a preservative (to preserve the color, to avoid the development of micro-organisms, to clarify and avoid oxidation) and is very well delimited in use for each type of food. The most frequent use of sulphites (sulphurous anhydride) is in wine, but there are other food products in which sulphites are used, in a much smaller proportion. There are thus food products to which sulfites have been added to the raw material, but by boiling they have evaporated, so that they should not be declared as allergens, as are some jams.
Detection procedure for the presence of sulfur dioxide in food
In the laboratory, quantitative dosages of sulfur dioxide allergen and sulphites are performed by enzymatic method.
Legislation in the field
According to the European Union legislation (Regulation 1169/2011) the following substances are defined that can cause allergies and which are mandatory to be labelled on food products:
ANEXA II
SUBSTANCES THAT CAUSE ALLERGIES OR INTOLERANCES
| 1. | Cereals containing gluten, namely: wheat, rye, barley, oats, spelt wheat, durum wheat or hybrids thereof and derived products, with the exception of:
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