Preservative, bleach: Dried fruit, wine, processed potatoes.
Sulfiting agents prevent discoloration (dried fruit, some "fresh" shrimp, and some dried, fried, or frozen potatoes) and bacterial growth (wine). They also destroy vitamin B-1 and, most important, can cause severe reactions, especially in asthmatics. To non-sensitive individuals, sulfites are safe. If you think you may be sensitive, avoid all forms of this additive, because it caused at least twelve identifiable deaths in the 1980s and probably many, many more in the preceding decades. Deaths and less severe reactions were linked most commonly to restaurant foods. Sulfite levels in the lettuce and potatoes served at restaurants were often extremely high, because workers would allow the vegetable to sit in a sulfite solution for far too long a time. As a result of pressure from the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), a congressional hearing, and media attention, the FDA banned the most dangerous uses of sulfites and required that wine labels list sulfite, when used. Since those actions, CSPI has not been aware of any additional deaths.

Back to Chemical Cuisine