The sulfite ion is the conjugate base of sulfurous acid. Although the acid itself is elusive, its salts are widely used.
In 1986, the Food and Drug Administration in the United States banned the addition of sulfites to all fresh fruit and vegetables that are eaten raw.
If a product includes an ingredient that contains sulfites, such as dried fruit, then the ingredients label will list only "dried fruit" and is not required to indicate whether the dried fruit itself contains sulfites. Furthermore, the products most likely to contain sulfites (fruits and alcoholic beverages) do not require ingredients labels, so the presence of sulfites is usually undisclosed.
Source: Wikipedia > Sulfite
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