🍇Sulphite sensitivity
Sulphites are preservatives, including sulphur dioxide, used in dried fruit, wine and many processed foods. They are on the EU and UK list of 14 major allergens, and most reactions happen in people with asthma, so managing it means knowing where sulphites hide and reading labels.
🔬What it means
Sulphites keep food from browning and stop microbes growing. In most people they cause no problems, but in sensitive people they can trigger symptoms. This is usually an intolerance-type reaction rather than a classic allergy, and it most often shows up as wheezing or an asthma attack.
On labels sulphites appear as sulphur dioxide or as E220–E228. In the EU and UK they must be declared when there is more than 10 mg per kg or 10 mg per litre. Sulphites also form naturally during fermentation, so wine and beer contain some even without added preservative.
✅What you can eat
Fresh, unprocessed food is generally low in sulphites: fresh meat, fish, eggs, milk, grains, fresh fruit and vegetables. Cooking from fresh ingredients is the easiest way to avoid them. How strictly you need to avoid sulphites depends on how sensitive you are — ask your doctor.
🚫What to avoid
- 🍑Dried fruit: apricots, raisins, sultanas, figs and others (unsulphured versions exist).
- 🍷Wine and other drinks: wine, cider, some beers, fruit juices, squashes and cordials.
- 🌭Processed meat and potatoes: some sausages and burgers, and processed potato products such as some frozen chips and dried or ready-made mash.
- 🥒Pickles and preserves: pickled vegetables, some vinegars, jams and sauces.
- 🍋Bottled lemon and lime juice.
- 🦐Some prawns and shrimp, which can be treated with sulphites to stop them darkening.
- 🏷️Labels: look for “sulphites”, “sulphur dioxide”, “metabisulphite” or E220–E228 in the ingredients.
⚠️What happens during a reaction
Symptoms usually start soon after eating or drinking: wheezing, chest tightness, coughing or shortness of breath (most often in people with asthma), and sometimes flushing, hives, itching, stomach pain or diarrhoea.
In people with asthma an attack can be severe. Severe allergic reactions (anaphylaxis) to sulphites are rare but possible. Symptoms can depend on the amount, so a small portion may be tolerated while a larger one is not.
🚑When to get help urgently
Call emergency services if breathing becomes very difficult, you cannot speak in full sentences, your reliever inhaler is not helping, or lips or face swell or you feel faint. If you have been prescribed an adrenaline auto-injector, use it for signs of anaphylaxis. Follow your asthma action plan while you wait. If you suspect sulphites cause your symptoms, see a doctor about testing and a plan.
📱How Me Nutrition helps
Every dish in the app and on this site shows the major allergens of a typical recipe and which ingredient contains them. Sulphites are usually added during processing and are rarely visible in a recipe, so always check labels and ask whoever cooked the dish.
Sources
Written from the sources below; not reviewed by a doctor. Not medical advice. How we count →