Sulphur dioxide is the preservative the food industry lists as E220. 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: Temporary group ADI 0.7 mg SO2 eq/kg bw/day (temporary because of uncertainties/limitations in the database); 'exposure estimates to sulfur dioxide and sulfites were higher than the group ADI ... for all population groups' (10.2903/j.efsa.2016.4438 (EFSA Journal 2016;14(4):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 25 of the 10,000 packaged foods scanned most on Open Food Facts, most often in breakfast cereals, sauces and cereal bars. Nine in ten of those foods are sold in Europe (counted 26 Sep 2026).
- 4 citations from EFSA, the FDA and IARC, each one below.
What Sulphur dioxide 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. Sulphur dioxide 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.
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EFSA
10.2903/j.efsa.2016.4438 (EFSA Journal 2016;14(4):4438)
Temporary group ADI 0.7 mg SO2 eq/kg bw/day (temporary because of uncertainties/limitations in the database); 'exposure estimates to sulfur dioxide and sulfites were higher than the group ADI ... for all population groups'. -
EFSA
10.2903/j.efsa.2022.7594 (EFSA Journal 2022;20(11):7594)
Follow-up: 'The existing ADI was withdrawn because adequate toxicity data were not available.' EFSA switched to a margin-of-exposure approach and concluded the MOEs 'raise some safety concerns for high consumers of foodstuffs that contain sulfites'; no new industry data had been generated. -
FDA
ORA Laboratory Manual Vol. IV §10 (fda.gov/media/73584/download)
US: sulfiting agents prohibited on fresh fruits and vegetables intended to be sold or served raw (except potatoes) effective 1986-08-08 after reports of allergic-type reactions; presence above 10 ppm must be declared (rule published 1986-07-09, effective 1987-01-09). -
IARC
classification list — Sulfur dioxide, Group 3 (Vol. 54, 1992)
Not classifiable as to carcinogenicity — the sulfite case rests on exposure/ADI withdrawal and asthma sensitivity, not cancer.
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 Sulphur dioxide (E220) 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: Temporary group ADI 0.7 mg SO2 eq/kg bw/day (temporary because of uncertainties/limitations in the database); 'exposure estimates to sulfur dioxide and sulfites were higher than the group ADI ... for all population groups' (EFSA, 10.2903/j.efsa.2016.4438 (EFSA Journal 2016;14(4):4438)).
What is E220?
E220 is the E number for Sulphur dioxide, a preservative. Open Food Facts tags it en:e220.
Next to it on the label
The E numbers either side of E220 in our table, then the closest preservatives by number.
- Sodium propyl p-hydroxybenzoate (E217), high risk
- methylparaben (E218), low risk
- Sodium methyl p-hydroxybenzoate (E219), low risk
- Sodium sulphite (E221), high risk, flagged for young children
- Sodium bisulphite (E222), high risk, flagged for young children
- Sodium metabisulphite (E223), high risk, flagged for young children