text: Similar to the cosmetic industry, the European Commission requested the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) to review and determine if the use of sulfites as food additives was still safe in light of new scientific technology and information. Since sodium bisulfite is a known sulfonating compound, it underwent the experimentation. Based on clinical experiments using rats and mice, the World Health Organization Expert Committee on Food Additives came to the conclusion that 0-0.7mg of sulfur dioxide equivalent/kg of body weight per day will cause no harm to an individual consuming this compound as a food additive. The genotoxicity and carcinogenicity were examined just as in the cosmetic trials and in both cases, no potential for concern with respect to the sulfites were found.
  The production of sodium bisulfite used as a food additive can be described by the combination of sulfur dioxide gas with aqueous sodium hydroxide solution in usual absorber apparatuses. In order to analyze the amount of free sulfites in food as a result of the sulfonation of sodium bisulfite, multiple methods can be used including the Monier-Williams type procedure, HPLC after extraction, and Flow Injection analysis. Overall, the use of sodium bisulfite in the food industry as an additive and antioxidant is safe and beneficial to the lifespan of processed foods.