Sulfur dioxide (E220)

Names on a label

• E220
• E 220
• Sulfur dioxide

Labels outside Europe often print the number on its own, without the E.

What it’s used for

The FDA lists these uses in food: antimicrobial agent; antioxidant; color or coloring adjunct; flavor enhancer; flavoring agent or adjuvant.¹

What regulators and scientists say

• The FDA lists it as generally recognized as safe (GRAS) for its intended use in food (21 CFR 182.3862).¹
• IARC classifies it as not classifiable as to its carcinogenicity to humans (Group 3, 1992).²

IARC’s groups “indicate the strength of the evidence as to whether an agent is capable of causing cancer,” but they don’t measure how likely cancer is at a given level of exposure.³