Sodium Metabisulfite

CAS Number: 7681-57-4

SERIOUS
health hazard

MODERATE
health hazard

FEW OR NO
health hazards

0 79
80 89
90 100
88

Sources of exposure:

Cleaning products and household care
Personal care
Food
Medications

Wine, dried fruits, processed foods

Description:

Sodium metabisulfite is an inorganic salt used as a preservative, antioxidant, and reducing agent. It is used in foods and beverages, including wine and dried fruits, as well as in certain personal care products, cleaning formulations, and pharmaceuticals.

Health concerns:

Genotoxicity

May cause mutations or damage DNA in cells.

Irritant

May cause skin, eye, or respiratory irritation.

Ecotoxicity

May be toxic to ecosystems and wildlife.

Banned/restricted lists:

  • EU Cosmetics Regulation Annex V - Permitted preservative

References

  1. US Environmental Protection Agency. Cheminformatics Modules, Computational Toxicology and Exposure Informatics (CompTox).
  2. US National Library of Medicine. PubChem database.

HOW MILLION MARKER SCORES CHEMICALS

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We identified key chemicals based on a database compiling dozens of authoritative sources, screening tools, and QSAR models.

Hazard scores within 11 different health categories (carcinogens, endocrine disruptors, reproductive toxicants, developmental toxicants, genotoxicity, neurotoxicity, organ system toxicity, immunotoxicity, respiratory toxicity, skin/eye/respiratory irritants, and ecotoxicity).

They are weighted based on several factors, including strength of evidence for adverse impacts in humans, severity, and potential contamination.

For more information on our scoring methodology visit this page.