Safety evaluation of certain food additives - ipcs inchem

SULFITES: ASSESSMENT OF DIETARY EXPOSURE 229
lower concentrations of sulfites in the vegetables as consumed. Thus, in the data
made available for Italy (Leclercq et al., 2000), sulfites appeared on the label of dried
mushrooms and peeled potatoes in brine but were no longer detectable in the
cooked product (risotto with mushrooms and peeled potatoes with butter,
respectively). In another study, a reduction of 25–50% of sulfites was observed after
1 month of storage of fish products, potatoes and dried fruit (Di Lullo et al., 1987)
and during cooking, with observed reductions of about 40% in cooked burgers
(Armentia-Alvarez et al., 1993), reduction of 70% in Thai noodles (Kingkate et al.,
1981) and reduction to non-detectable levels in dried mushrooms and peeled
potatoes in brine (Leclercq et al., 2000). For this reason, the analytical
determinations of sulfites performed on ready-to-consume foods are most valuable.
Germany submitted analytical data on the concentration of sulfites in a wide
range of foods and beverages present on the German market, and Brazil provided
such data for wine and fruit juice. Further analytical data are related to foods and
beverages present on the markets of the United Kingdom (only for soft drinks and
minced meat) and Italy. In the case of Australia, Italy and Lebanon, analytical
determinations in foods were performed after cooking. Data on occurrence/use
levels of sulfites in foods available on the French market, as reported by the food
industry based on their product recipes, together with analytical determinations in
wine, were made available.
The analytical determinations and reported occurrences suggest that in all
these countries, which belong to different regions of the world, sulfites are frequently
added in many of the categories of foods and beverages for which there are
provisions in the current GSFA.
The analytical data on wine in Brazil, France, Germany and Italy showed that
the average concentration of sulfites may vary according to the country and the type
of wine, but all were in the range of 70–130 mg/l—i.e. they are lower than the
provisions in current GSFA (350 mg/l) or national legislation. Two studies showed
that the current average levels of residue are lower than those found in previous
decades (Leclercq et al., 2000; Bemrah et al., 2008). A limited number of single
samples exceeded the MLs, reaching more than 1000 mg/l.
The analytical data in other foods and beverages show that, in line with MLs
set by national legislation being higher than those set by Codex, mean
concentrations of sulfites can be greater than the MLs of the current GSFA. This is
the case for some non-alcoholic beverages and for dried fruit. Thus, in Brazil, the
mean concentration of sulfites in one type of fruit juice was greater than the ML for
fruit juices in the current GSFA. The same was true for lemon and lime juices and
for barley waters in the United Kingdom. In Australia, the mean concentration of
sulfites in dried fruit ranged from 1200 to 2000 mg/kg, whereas the ML in the current
GSFA is 1000 mg/kg.
In Australia, sulfites are largely used in sausages containing raw beef and in
burger meat, with average concentrations in the range of 100–300 mg/kg.
The observed mean concentrations of sulfites in some food categories were
found to be close to the national MLs, and the concentrations of sulfites in single