Sulfite Use on Potatoes Opposed by Health Chief

SACRAMENTO — In a long-awaited report on the health effects of potatoes treated with sulfites, the state’s top health official Friday concluded that the use of the potentially deadly chemicals cannot be justified.

The findings by Dr. Kenneth W. Kizer, director of health services, could clear the way for the passage of a bill that would extend the present ban on the use of sulfites in fresh-cut vegetables to potatoes that are cut and processed for use in restaurants, schools and hospitals.

Last year, rather than ban the use of sulfites in potatoes, the Legislature called on Kizer and the Department of Health Services to study the public health effects of their use.

The author of the sulfite bill, Assemblyman Burt Margolin (D-Los Angeles), welcomed Kizer’s report, saying it gave him “the ammunition I need to support a ban.”

Longer Shelf Life

Sulfites are widely used to prevent discoloration and give a longer shelf life to potato products.

In a letter accompanying the report, Kizer acknowledged that there were scientific uncertainties about how and why sulfites in extremely minute quantities can cause severe and sometimes fatal reactions in a small number of asthmatics and other sensitive individuals.

However, he asserted “that from a purely public health point of view, the continued use of sulfites on potatoes cannot be supported.”

The letter, written to Margolin, noted that sulfites are not needed for the production of fresh, frozen or canned potato products but are “essential to the dehydrated potato industry at this time.” Dehydrated potatoes would turn a dark brown without treatment with preservatives and would be unacceptable to consumers, according to the industry.

Margolin said Friday that he was still undecided whether to push for a total ban or simply a ban in fresh-cut products that are used in many restaurants. Many of the fast-food chains use frozen potatoes that are sulfite-free.

Severe Reactions

Last year, lawmakers agreed to a Margolin bill that prohibited the use in California of sulfites in other fresh-cut vegetables--a measure that eliminated the chemicals from restaurant salad bars, which were found to be the source of many cases of severe sulfite reactions.

Since 1982, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has received 700 consumer complaints of health problems related to medications and food products containing sulfites. Among those cases, 28 severe reactions, including three deaths, have been traced to potatoes treated with the chemicals.

Sulfites, a group of six different chemicals, can cause wheezing, flushing, intestinal upsets and shock. In extreme cases, sensitive individuals simply cannot breathe.

Margolin said that this week his office received an unconfirmed report of a Southern California man who died after eating a small portion of sulfite-treated potato in an Orange County restaurant. According to the account, the man knew he was sulfite sensitive but was assured that the restaurant’s potatoes were free of sulfites.

Kizer estimated that between 10,000 and 100,000 asthmatics may be sensitive to the chemicals.

Earlier this week, Kizer said in an interview that he was likely to make no recommendation to the Legislature on whether sulfites should be banned from potato products. In his letter to Margolin, he discussed the potential effectiveness of an intense educational program on sulfites, which continue to be used in wine, beer, dough and other products.