Dried Fruit Warning! Sulfite Sensitivity

My best friend called me a couple nights ago to tell me how sick she was the day before. She gave me permission to tell her story because it gives me a chance to reiterate HOW MUCH I HATE CHEMICALS AND ARTIFICIAL PRESERVATIVES IN FOOD!

My friend had a routine day at her office on Monday, except around 3 o’clock she decided to eat some dried fruit that had been delivered in a holiday gift basket. Two hours later, when she was driving home, she barely made it without having to pull over. She was in full-blown intestinal distress and couldn’t get her car in the garage fast enough. She spent the next hour lying on her bathroom floor. Her words, “I had horrible diarrhea.” By 9 o’clock she said she felt much better, as anything and everything that was in her colon had now been eliminated.

She kept thinking about the dried fruit she ate earlier that afternoon. When she went back to work the next day I told her to look at the package and email me the exact ingredients.

She wrote; “This is what I ate. Nectarines preserved with sulfur dioxide.”

Yup, just what I suspected…SULFITES!

Sulfur Dioxide (sulfite) is sometimes used as a preservative for dried apricots and other dried fruits due to its antimicrobial properties, it is sometimes called E220 when used in this way. The preservative is used to maintain the appearance of the fruit and prevent rotting. Its presence can give fruit a distinctive chemical taste. (Wikipedia)

According to WebMD “The FDA estimates that one out of 100 people is sensitive to these compounds. A person can develop sensitivity to sulfites at any time in life, and the cause of sensitivity is unknown. For a person who is sensitive to sulfites, a reaction can be mild or life threatening. Click here for how to diagnosis a sulfite sensitivity.

In 1986, the FDA banned the use of sulfites on fruits and vegetables that are eaten raw, such as lettuce or apples. Regulations also require manufacturers who use sulfites in their processed products to list the compounds on their product labels. Avoiding foods that contain or are likely to contain sulfites is the only way to prevent a reaction.”

Always read the ingredient paragraph before eating something. If there are words that you can not pronounce or you don’t know what they are, avoid that product, it is probably a chemical that should not be in your body! Examples of foods that may contain sulfites include:

Baked goods
Soup mixes
Jams
Canned vegetables
Pickled foods
Gravies
Dried fruit
Potato chips
Trail mix
Beer and wine
Vegetable juices
Sparkling grape juice
Apple cider
Bottled lemon juice and lime juice
Tea
Many condiments
Molasses
Fresh or frozen shrimp
Guacamole
Maraschino cherries
Dehydrated, pre-cut or peeled potatoes

Sulfite-containing ingredients to look for on food labels include:

Sulfur dioxide
Potassium bisulfite or potassium metabisulfite
Sodium bisulfite, sodium metabisulfite or sodium sulfite

For a complete list of all “unacceptable ingredients” in foods click here.

As much as you can, when possible, eat REAL food, i.e. a piece of well washed or organic fruit, instead of heavily preserved dried fruit.

I know my friend will definitely avoid dried fruit preserved with sulfites from now on!