Sodium bisulphite is the preservative the food industry lists as E222. In our table it is high risk: it takes 30 points off the additive subscore, which is worth a third of a product's score (about 10 of the 100).
- The key finding, from EFSA: Exposure exceeded the temporary group ADI for all population groups including toddlers and children (10.2903/j.efsa.2016.4438)
- Flagged for young children. Set only where EFSA’s own exposure assessment shows toddlers or children exceeding or approaching the ADI, or where a regulator used explicitly child-specific language. It is already in our top class, so the flag cannot move it higher.
- Where you meet it. It turns up in 1 of the 10,000 packaged foods scanned most on Open Food Facts. Nine in ten of those foods are sold in Europe (counted 26 Sep 2026).
- 3 citations from EFSA and the FDA, each one below.
What Sodium bisulphite does to a score
A packaged food's additive subscore starts at 100 and loses points for each additive on the label; that subscore is a third of the final score. Sodium bisulphite takes 30 points off the additive subscore, which is worth a third of a product's score (about 10 of the 100). Scan the pack in Sito and the score you get is the one for your own child's age, with this additive named in the reasons. How we score has the whole method.
See what is in your own cupboard
Scan a packaged food and Sito names the additives in it, then scores the product out of 100 for your child's age.
What the sources found
Every classification in our table comes from the citations below, and nothing else. Each finding is our one-line summary of what the source concluded, with the source and reference beside it.
-
EFSA
10.2903/j.efsa.2016.4438
Exposure exceeded the temporary group ADI for all population groups including toddlers and children. -
EFSA
10.2903/j.efsa.2022.7594
ADI withdrawn (inadequate toxicity data); MOE approach flags concern for high consumers. -
FDA
21 CFR §182.3739 (sodium bisulfite, GRAS); FDA 1986 prohibition on sulfites for raw fruits and vegetables
GRAS with the raw-produce prohibition and the 10 ppm declaration threshold.
Why this class
IARC Group 1 or 2A with a dietary exposure route; or EFSA has withdrawn or negated a safety conclusion; or EFSA’s own exposure assessment finds a child age group exceeding the ADI at mean intake; or the substance is banned or formally being phased out for food use by the EU, by the US FDA, or under a US state law.
Our confidence in this row's classification is high. Medium or low does not mean the evidence is weak; it means something about the row is still being pinned down, usually a regulatory status confirmed from one source rather than two.
Questions parents ask
Is Sodium bisulphite (E222) safe for kids?
High risk. In Sito it takes 30 points off the additive subscore, which is worth a third of a product's score (about 10 of the 100). It is flagged for young children, and it is already in our top class, so the flag cannot move it higher. The finding we rely on: Exposure exceeded the temporary group ADI for all population groups including toddlers and children (EFSA, 10.2903/j.efsa.2016.4438).
What is E222?
E222 is the E number for Sodium bisulphite, a preservative. Open Food Facts tags it en:e222.
Next to it on the label
The E numbers either side of E222 in our table, then the closest preservatives by number.
- methylparaben (E218), low risk
- Sodium methyl p-hydroxybenzoate (E219), low risk
- Sulphur dioxide (E220), high risk, flagged for young children
- Sodium sulphite (E221), high risk, flagged for young children
- Sodium metabisulphite (E223), high risk, flagged for young children
- Potassium metabisulphite (E224), high risk, flagged for young children