Safety evaluation of certain food additives - ipcs inchem

SULFITES: ASSESSMENT OF DIETARY EXPOSURE 247
a. Australia (contd)
Food groups Sulfite concentration (mg sulfur dioxide/kg or mg sulfur dioxide/l)
Total samples (n) Positive samples (n) Mean (trace = 0) Mean (trace = LOR) Minimum Maximum
Sultanas 9 6 74 76 nd 350
Table spread, 9 0 0 0 nd nd
polyunsaturated
Wine, red 15 15 55 55 25 85
Wine, white 15 15 123 123 90 150
LOD, limit of detection; LOR, limit of reporting; nd, not detected; *, concentrations exceeding the MLs of national legislation; # , positive analytical
determination suggests that an illegal use of sulfites occurred.
Source of analytical data: Food Standards Australia New Zealand (2005). National legislation: Food Standards Australia New Zealand (2008).
Note: All analysed foods were prepared to a “table-ready” state before analysis. Two means are given in the table: the “lower bound” derived by assuming
that not detected results and results between the LOD and the LOR are zero (trace = 0), and the “upper bound” derived by assuming that not detected
results are zero and results between the LOD and the LOR equal the LOR of 5 mg/kg (trace = LOR). Not detected results are less than the LOD of
2 mg/kg. The AOAC Modified Monier-Williams Method 962.16 was used for sulfite determination. The Food Standards Code does not permit the addition
of sulfites to minced meat. However, analytical data in minced meat indicate that illegal addition of sulfites to minced meat may occur. Of the 15 composite
samples of minced meat analysed in this study, sulfites were detected in 4 samples, with concentrations ranging from