Glossary · Law and labelling
Contains sulphites
Also written sulphite declaration. Each is a name for the same thing, which is why none of them has an entry of its own.
Definition
The mandatory allergen declaration required on a drink containing more than 10 mg/L of sulphur dioxide, expressed as total SO₂.
- Subject
- Law and labelling
- Also written
- sulphite declaration
In more detail
The threshold is a labelling trigger, not a safety limit: maximum permitted levels are set separately and are much higher. The declaration exists because a minority of people, particularly some asthmatics, react to sulphites. A cider with no added sulphite can still exceed the threshold, since yeast produces a small quantity during fermentation.
Related terms
Terms that belong to the same part of the subject, or that this one is routinely confused with.
Chemistry
Sulphur dioxide
The antimicrobial and antioxidant additive of cider and wine-making, added as a metabisulphite salt or as gas. In solution it exists as molecular SO₂, bisulphite and sulphite, in proportions set by pH.
Fermentation
Sulphiting
Adding sulphur dioxide, usually as potassium or sodium metabisulphite, to juice or cider to suppress spoilage organisms, inhibit oxidation and enzymatic browning, and give a selected yeast a clear field.
Law and labelling
Best before
A quality date indicating how long a product remains at its best under stated storage conditions. It is not a safety date, and drinks above a certain strength are exempt from requiring one.
Faults
Sulphite excess
An addition of sulphur dioxide large enough to be perceptible as a sharp, struck-match or burnt aroma and a prickling sensation in the nose, and to suppress the cider’s fruit.
Where to go next
- Cider glossary — The whole vocabulary, by subject and A–Z.
- Comparisons — Terms that are only really clear when set against the thing they are not.
- Search — Finds terms by their aliases and by their spellings in other languages.
Sources
What this page rests on. Where a source is marked as registered rather than read, CiderHQ is recording that the body is authoritative on the subject without claiming to have worked through the document itself. See our evidence policy for what each state means.
Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 on the provision of food information to consumers
European Union · legislation · passage verified 2026-08-24
The instrument behind the "contains sulphites" declaration and the alcoholic-strength labelling rule. Read on 2026-08-24 in the assimilated text maintained on legislation.gov.uk, which is the version in force for Great Britain and keeps the EU numbering. Two provisions matter to cider and both are widely misquoted: the sulphite threshold is 10 mg/L rather than a percentage, and a labelled cider strength carries a tolerance of a full percentage point either way — twice what still grape wine is allowed.
Food labelling and packaging guidance
Food Standards Agency / Department for Business and Trade · regulator · retrieved 2026-08-24
European Food Safety Authority scientific opinions
EFSA · regulator · retrieved 2026-08-24
Registered for the food-safety questions cider genuinely raises: patulin in juice from rotten fruit, sulphite sensitivity, and the toxicology behind additive limits.