Food & Drink / Compounds / Sodium metabisulfite

Sodium metabisulfite in food: ingestion safety

Low risk

(People-specific data is limited; this page draws from human adult context.) Sulfite preservative; triggers asthma in sulfite-sensitive individuals (~1% of population, higher in asthmatics); GRAS with labeling; EU E223; must declare >10ppm

What is sodium metabisulfite?

Also known as: Sodium pyrosulfite, Sodium disulfite, Disodium pyrosulfite, Natrii disulfis.

CAS number
7681-57-4
Molecular formula
Na2O5S2
Molecular weight
190.11 g/mol
SMILES
[O-]S(=O)S(=O)(=O)[O-].[Na+].[Na+]
PubChem CID
656671

Risk for people

Low risk

Sulfite preservative; triggers asthma in sulfite-sensitive individuals (~1% of population, higher in asthmatics); GRAS with labeling; EU E223; must declare >10ppm

Regulatory consensus

1 regulatory bodyhas classified Sodium metabisulfite.

AgencyYearClassificationNotes
Unknown——

Regulators apply different standards of evidence — animal-data weighting, exposure-pattern assumptions, epidemiological power thresholds — which is why two scientific bodies can review the same data and reach different conclusions. The disagreement is the data.

Where you encounter sodium metabisulfite

  • Food — wine, dried fruit, juice, pickled foods
  • Consumer Products — pharmaceuticals

Safer alternatives

Lower-risk approaches that achieve a similar outcome to Sodium metabisulfite:

  • Ascorbic acid
    Trade-offs: Alternative preservation system; spectrum of antimicrobial activity differs (gram+/gram-, yeasts, molds); pH range of efficacy varies; challenge testing per ISO 11930 required for cosmetics.
    Relative cost: 1.2-2×
  • Erythorbic acid
    Trade-offs: Alternative preservation system; spectrum of antimicrobial activity differs (gram+/gram-, yeasts, molds); pH range of efficacy varies; challenge testing per ISO 11930 required for cosmetics.
    Relative cost: 1.2-2×
  • Citric acid
    Trade-offs: Alternative preservation system; spectrum of antimicrobial activity differs (gram+/gram-, yeasts, molds); pH range of efficacy varies; challenge testing per ISO 11930 required for cosmetics.
    Relative cost: 1.2-2×

Frequently asked questions

What products contain sodium metabisulfite?

Sodium metabisulfite appears in: wine (Food); dried fruit (Food); pharmaceuticals (Consumer products).

See Sodium metabisulfite in the food app

Look up products containing sodium metabisulfite, compare to alternatives, and explore the full data record.

Open in food View raw API data

Sources (1)
  1. PubChem Compound Database (2026) — database

Reference data, not professional advice. Aggregates publicly available regulatory and scientific data; not a substitute for veterinary, medical, legal, or regulatory advice. Why we built ALETHEIA →