FOOD INTOLERANCE NETWORK FACTSHEET
Dangers
of dried fruit
Dried fruit is probably the single biggest source of sulphur dioxide
your children will ever encounter, although if they are affected, it is
unlikely that either you or your doctor will make the connection.
In
• dried fruit 16 mg in one dried apricot
• sausages 8 mg in half a thin sausage
• drinks 5 mg in one glass of cordial
• hot chips 1 mg in half a cup of hot chips
To put that into perspective, the Acceptable Daily Intake for a
10-year-old weighing 21kg is just 15mg of sulphite per day.
The facts
• a national study published in
1996 found that Australian two-year-olds ate seventy times more dried fruit than 12-year-olds per kg of body
weight
• in 1999, the World Health Organisation (WHO) warned that up to 20-30
per cent of childhood asthmatics may be sensitive to sulphite preservatives,
and recommended that the use of sulphite preservatives should be reduced or phased
out wherever possible
• in 2005, re-analysis of the
same data above using a different method found that high sulphite consumers of
nearly all ages consume more than the Acceptable Daily Intake for sulphites -
especially children in the 2-5 age group where on average boys have an intake
of approximately 3 times the ADI
• the highest sulphited food consumed by children was dried apricots
• the survey was based on now outdated nutritional data from 1995
• schools across Australia promote dried fruits for snacks according to
new anti-obesity canteen guidelines; packet snack foods and drinks including
flavoured water sold in school canteens often contain additives associated with
asthma
• parents of asthmatic children are rarely warned by their doctors about
the effects of sulphites on asthma
• despite the WHO warning, the National Asthma Council says that diet
does not affect asthma
• asthmatics do not see a connection between what they eat and asthma
unless the effect occurs within 30 minutes
• only a few severely sensitive asthmatics have an immediate reaction to
sulphites and are thus aware of their sulphite sensitivity - asthmatics with
milder sulphite sensitivity do not have an immediate reaction, and are
generally unaware of their sensitivity. However, sulphites are likely to cause
irritated airways with no obvious symptoms until the person is exposed to an
asthma trigger such as cold air, running around (exercise) or a virus. When
sulphites (and possibly other additives or natural food chemicals, see Asthma
factsheet) are eliminated from the diet, the person is less likely to have
asthma when exposed to a known trigger.
Some excerpts from reader
stories
With the knowledge I gained from your books I was able to trace
which foods did what. The cause of my 3-year-old's asthma became obvious
(sulphites) when he would eat something out of the ordinary such as two apricot
fruit bars (which he had not eaten in ages), come home, run around outside and
have an asthma attack, which he has not had in ages. – Elisa, TAS
I read the story on your website about the soccer player who was
eating lots of muesli bars and developed exercise asthma. The same thing
happened to my daughter. We thought she had outgrown her asthma but it came
back when she started eating muesli bars recommended by her swimming coach. Her
asthma got so bad she had to give up swimming with the squad. - Reader, by email
I am an adult with asthma. I went off milk and
sulphite preservatives about 6 months ago, I have not had asthma since (unless
I am 'naughty' and have some sulphite). - Elizabeth, ACT
[527] Maya’s story (January 2007)
One mother reported that her two year old daughter Maya was a “huge
dried fruit eater”, consuming two or three packets of dried apricots or similar
and two or three fruit bars per week. At three packets of dried fruit per week
that’s roughly 250 mg per day, or 20 times the Acceptable Daily Intake for an
average two year old (0.7mg per kg bodyweight or half a dried apricot for a 2
year old) set by the World Health Organisation. Sulphites are associated with
both asthma and cough.
Maya had been diagnosed with suspected bronchiolitis at nine months.
“Ever since then, she has had bouts of coughing on a regular and frequent
basis, often only two or three weeks apart, usually with a cold but
occasionally following a slight fever,” wrote Maya’s mother. “The coughing can
last all night at its worst - but usually is about 40 minute bouts every few
hours. There is no apparent wheeze, although sometimes doctors have found a
slight wheeze with a stethoscope. Very occasionally, it will resolve gradually
after a week or two but usually becomes worse and requires antibiotics”. When
Maya’s cough was diagnosed first as asthma, then as hypersensitive cough
receptors, “the paediatrician advised that there was no link to diet and that she would
probably grow out of it”. Although her mother had never noticed any
connection, since avoiding sulphites Maya has been free of cough.
Preservative-free dried fruit
is available
Dried tree fruit such as apricots, peaches, apples and pears are usually
heavily sulphited unless from specialty stores, see below. Dates, prunes, figs,
sultanas and raisins may be sulphite-free (read the ingredients list) but
contain high levels of natural salicylates that can affect about 20 per cent of
asthmatics and over 70 per cent of children with behavioural problems. Pears,
banana and pawpaw are the only fruits low in salicylates; pears are the only
fruits low in both salicylates and amines; mangoes are amine free and lower in
salicylates than most fruit except pears. Drying will concentrate salicylates.
Crispy mango and crispy banana (freeze-dried fruit chips) from Lion of
Sahara Crispy Fruit in Woolworths and selected Franklins dried fruit sections. http://www.fmpmarketing.com.au/crispyFruit/crispyFruit.htm
Totally Pure Fruits freeze dried pears and others, direct from the
Chamber Door 1095 Mornington-Flinders Road Red Hill Victoria or from
Bio-Dynamic Marketing: 03 5966 7370.
Bega Dried foods, Tathra NSW, Ph/Fax 02 6494 1995, www.begadriedfoods.com.au Fruit is
dried in an air tunnel without preservative so it looks more as if it has been
freeze dried. Cost: $14 for a 200g packet, but bulk prices are much more
reasonable at $32 per kilogram of dried pears plus freight. Pears includes skin
on but slices are done across the fruit so it is possible to remove the skin.
Kakadu Dried Fruits sell preservative free dried mango, banana, paw paw
and other tropical fruits, www.kakadudriedfruits.com.au
Goulburn Valley Fruit Leathers, Shepparton, Vic Ph/Fax (03) 5829 2338.
Preservative and chemical free pure fruit leathers including pears. The fruit is picked ripe
and peeled by machine. Cost: $1.20 per 20gm roll. There are leaflets with
more information.
References
·
‘It is unlikely you or your doctor will make the
connection’ – based on research in Corder EH, Buckley CE, 3rd. Aspirin,
salicylate, sulfite and tartrazine induced bronchoconstriction. Safe doses and
case definition in epidemiological studies. J Clin Epidemiol
1995;48(10):1269-75, and also stated by an FDA spokesperson: ‘you can take
steps to minimize your contact with sulfites if you are diagnosed with asthma or
sulfite sensitivity … But you may not
even know you have a problem with sulfites until a reaction occurs. Undiagnosed
people are at risk because even if they know that sulfites can cause adverse
reactions, they often don't associate sulfites with their own health
problems." – FDA consumer safety officer Dr JoAnn Ziyad,
http://www.fda.gov/fdac/features/096_sulf.html
·
‘Dried fruit can contain extremely high amounts of
sulphites’, at the legal limit which is very high, or even above – see the
Dried Tree Fruit Annual Industry Report, 2004, www.horticulture.com.au/docs/
industry/annualreports/driedtreefruit.pdf
‘…an increased emphasis on monitoring sulphur dioxide levels in the fruit
during the drying process has controlled residues to within acceptable levels,
overcoming last season’s compliance issues’; Rigg, A. Sulphur dioxide in
sausages and other products. ACT Health services. Food survey reports, 1996-7 www.health.act.gov : ‘some of the
·
sulphites in hot chips – from the Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food.
Dietary intake of food additives in the
·
‘A national study published in 1996’ - Australia New
Zealand Food Authority (ANZFA). 1994 Australian Market Basket Survey.
·
‘The World Heath Organisation warned’ - Fifty-first
meeting of the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA), Safety
Evaluation of Certain Food Additives: Evaluation of national assessments of
intake of sulfites, World Health Organisation, Geneva, 1999. www.inchem.org; Australian research found
over 65 per cent of asthmatic children were affected by sulphites: Towns SJ,
Mellis CM. Role of acetyl salicylic acid and sodium metabisulfite in chronic
childhood asthma. Pediatrics 1984;73(5):631-7.
·
‘Re-analysis of data’ and ‘dried apricots were the
highest’ - Food Standards Australia New
Zealand, The 21st Australian Total Diet Study: a total diet study of sulphites,
benzoates and sorbates, FSANZ 2005, http://www.foodstandards.gov.au/newsroom/publications/21staustraliantotald2963.cfm
·
anti-obesity canteen guidelines
-www.schoolcanteens.org.au
·
‘National Asthma Council says that diet does not
affect asthma’ – www.nationalasthma.org.au
accessed December 2006
·
‘Asthmatics do not see a connection …unless the effect
occurs within 30 minute’ - McDonald JR,
Mathison DA, Stevenson DD. Aspirin intolerance in asthma. Detection by oral
challenge. J Allergy Clin Immunol 1972;50(4):198-207. Asthmatics were given an
aspirin tablet they were told was not aspirin. Those who reacted within 30
minutes blamed the aspirin. Those who reacted more than 30 minutes later (up to
hours later) didn't make the connection.
·
Sulphites associated with severe cough - Steinman HA, Le Roux M,
Potter PC. Sulphur dioxide sensitivity in South African asthmatic children.
See
also:
The information given
is not intended as medical advice. Always consult with your doctor for
underlying illness. Before beginning dietary investigation, consult a dietician
with an interest in food intolerance. Email for our list of supportive
dietitians from confoodnet@ozemail.com.au
© Sue
Dengate update January 2007
