Food additive databasebleaching agent, preservative, antioxidantChecked 2026-10-02
Sulfur Dioxide (Sulfurous Acid Anhydride) 二酸化硫黄（別名無水亜硫酸）
Designated additivePermitted in the EU (E220)
- Purpose
- bleaching agent, preservative, antioxidant
- On the label
- “保存料（二酸化硫黄）” (preservative (sulfur dioxide)), “酸化防止剤（亜硫酸塩）” (antioxidant (sulfites)), “漂白剤（二酸化イオウ）” (bleaching agent (sulfur dioxide))
- Name in the List of Designated Additives
- 二酸化硫黄（別名無水亜硫酸） (No. 291)
In Japan
- A member of the sulfite group, used for bleaching, preservation and preventing oxidation. The amount allowed to remain in food (residue as sulfur dioxide) is set for each food (standards for use).
- It covers foods such as dried gourd strips (kanpyo), dried fruits, raisins and fruit wine, and cannot be used in sesame, beans (legumes) or vegetables.
- It is written together with the purpose name, as in “保存料（二酸化硫黄）” (preservative (sulfur dioxide)). The short names are “二酸化イオウ” and “亜硫酸塩” (CAA, Attachment to the Food Labeling Standards guidance).
Japan's standards for use
- Dried gourd strips (kanpyo): residue of less than 5.0 g/kg as sulfur dioxide
- Dried fruits (excluding raisins): less than 2.0 g/kg as sulfur dioxide
- Raisins: less than 1.5 g/kg as sulfur dioxide
- Konjac flour: less than 0.90 g/kg as sulfur dioxide
- Dried potatoes, gelatin, Dijon mustard: less than 0.50 g/kg as sulfur dioxide
- Fruit wine and other alcoholic beverages (zasshu): less than 0.35 g/kg as sulfur dioxide
- Other foods: less than 0.030 g/kg as sulfur dioxide (excluding cherries for making candied cherries, and others)
- Must not be used in sesame, beans (legumes) or vegetables
- And others (candied cherries, molasses, starch syrup (mizuame), natural fruit juice, amanatto, boiled beans, shrimp, frozen raw crab, etc.)
This is a summary of the standards for use. See the source list for the exact conditions.
In the EU
- It is on the EU list of food additives (Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008, Annex II) as E220.
- In its 2016 re-evaluation, EFSA set a temporary group ADI for sulfur dioxide and sulfites (E220 to E228) of 0.7 mg per kg of body weight per day, as sulfur dioxide. In its 2022 follow-up evaluation, it withdrew this, saying the toxicity data are insufficient to derive an ADI, and switched to an approach based on the margin of exposure (MOE). In that assessment, for high consumers (95th percentile) the estimated MOE was below the reference value of 80 in all age groups except adolescents, and EFSA concluded there is a safety concern.
When it is labeled under a shared name
Sulfur Dioxide (Sulfurous Acid Anhydride) may be declared on the label in the same way as “亜硫酸塩”. See Sulfites for details.
Sources
- List of Designated Additives — Japan Food Chemical Research Foundation (Japanese)
- Standards for use and storage of each additive — Japan Food Chemical Research Foundation (Japanese)
- EU food additive database (Japanese translation) — MAFF (Japanese)
- Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008 on food additives — EUR-Lex
- 消費者庁「食品表示基準について」別添 添加物1-1〜1-5（簡略名・用途名併記・一括名・栄養強化の範囲）東京都保健医療局の掲載版 (Japanese)
- EFSA FAF Panel (2022) Follow-up of the re-evaluation of sulfur dioxide (E 220) and sulfites (E 221–228) (Japanese)
Checked 2026-10-02. Rules and evaluations change over time. This page is a translation of our Japanese page; if they differ, the Japanese page is the reference.
This page lists facts stated in laws and in evaluations by public bodies; it is not a safety verdict. Additives used in Japan are approved by the government, which sets the foods and amounts they can be used in. The ADI is a guide to the amount that is considered safe to take every day over a lifetime.