Sulphur Dioxide

Now that I have roiled the waters with my "Organics" post I'll try a new one and see if I can really stir things up.

What are your thoughts on the use of sulphur dioxide in dried fruit? Should I give a rat's or really make an effort to avoid it?

rwj

Unless you're an asthmatic who's sensitive to sulphites, or you don't happen to like the slight taste that it gives to dried fruits, it's harmless and I see no reason to care.

-Paul W.

It beats rot and bacteria, eh?

On the wine side of my life, I tell people that one out of 500 is sensitive to sulfites and 495 out of 500 are worried about it.

Are these the same sulfites found in wine?

rwj

Precisely.

Great. Then make it 494 out of 500.

rwj

Piling on, Robert. EPA lists this as one in the least dangerous categories -- there is some risk to workers using it -- at the level of bleach, for example, but for the great majority of people there is no risk. Especially in the level found in food or wine.

The warning on wine on sulfites has a fascinating history -- it's amazing that the Aussie winemakers piled onto the warning label merry-go-round so voluntarily for example.

The US history is even more fascinating. Thomas, I believe, is working on the subject.

Piling on, Robert. EPA lists this as one in the least dangerous categories -- there is some risk to workers using it -- at the level of bleach, for example, but for the great majority of people there is no risk. Especially in the level found in food or wine.

The warning on wine on sulfites has a fascinating history -- it's amazing that the Aussie winemakers piled onto the warning label merry-go-round so voluntarily for example.

The US history is even more fascinating. Thomas, I believe, is working on the subject.

To put it as succinctly as I can, the sulfite warning on alcohol labels was the result of CSPI and groups like it siezing an opportunity to taint alcohol in any way possible...the strong lobbying effort was to scare people not to inform them.

Piling on, Robert. EPA lists this as one in the least dangerous categories -- there is some risk to workers using it -- at the level of bleach, for example, but for the great majority of people there is no risk. Especially in the level found in food or wine.

The warning on wine on sulfites has a fascinating history -- it's amazing that the Aussie winemakers piled onto the warning label merry-go-round so voluntarily for example.

The US history is even more fascinating. Thomas, I believe, is working on the subject.

The "contains sulfites" warning required on wine and beer labels is nothing more or less than a scare tactic being used by the anti-alcohol folks to frighten the public into avoiding alcoholic beverages.

There most definitely are those--mostly asthmatics--who are allergic to sulfites. I'm one of them. The severity of the reaction varies from a slight feeling of tightness at the back of the throat or in the chest (this is the reaction I have), all the way to a severe asthmatic attack or anaphylactic shock, either of which can be deadly. The unfortunates who have these severe reactions certainly must be very careful that their food does not contain sulfites.

The problem is, the "contains sulfites" warning on alcoholic beverages is next to useless for the severe sulfite allergy sufferers. First off, only a very, very few of the sulfite-sensitive get reactions from the trace amounts in booze that trigger the requirement for the "contains sulfites" warning label. If that level is considered dangerous to the public, then why aren't the same warnings required for dried fruit, restaurant salad bars, fast food french fries, commercially baked bread, and other foodstuffs that have far higher levels of sulfites?

The answer is that protecting the sulfite-sensitive isn't and never was the goal of those advocating the warning labels. That was merely their excuse. Their objective was to put a label onto booze that would fool the ignorant public into thinking that some new and dangerous additive was being put in their drinks, in the hope that they'll be scared into abstinence.

Personally, I find that this use of my (very minor, in my case) infirmity for the promotion of a socio-political agenda to be offensive in the extreme.


Back to the subject of sulfites as a dried fruit preservative. If you're one of the sulfite-sensitive who has a severe reaction, you already know about this and wouldn't be asking about it. Otherwise, you don't have to worry about it (that's the vast majority of us). The other objection to sulfites is that they do impart a certain flavor that you might find undesirable. Personally, I find it much less objectionable than dried fruit that goes moldy in hot, humid weather, or worse yet, in the package.

-Paul W.


-Paul W.