Senate Defeats Ban of Sulfite Use on Potatoes

A ban on the treatment of potatoes with potentially deadly sulfites has been defeated by the Senate after opponents argued that the legislation would damage California agriculture and destroy the state’s potato processing industry.

The proposal, by Assemblyman Burt Margolin (D-Los Angeles), would have ended the practice of treating freshly cut, non-frozen French fries and hash-brown potatoes for use in restaurants, hospitals and schools with a family of chemical preservatives called sulfites.

Sulfites can cause severe reactions and even death in certain sensitive individuals, primarily asthmatics. Last year, the Legislature banned the use of sulfites in pre-cut vegetables used in salad bars.

To add pre-cut potatoes to the state’s existing sulfite ban, backers had to win support for amendments to a related Margolin bill that had already passed the Assembly. But the Senate late Thursday night defeated the amendments on a 15-22 vote.

Heavily Opposed

The Margolin bill was heavily opposed by the National Coalition of Potato Processors, an industry group that contends that low levels of sulfites are safe.

A ban on sulfites, which prevent discoloration of potatoes and add to shelf life, would destroy the 10 to 12 California companies that prepare fresh-cut potatoes, the coalition argued.

Sen. Gary K. Hart (D-Santa Barbara), who carried the bill on the Senate floor, noted that a recent state Department of Health Services study of sulfite-treated potatoes concluded that the continued use of the chemicals could not be justified because of a threat to public health.

The department found measurable amounts of the preservatives in two-thirds of 151 products that it sampled, in some cases at many times the amount known to cause health problems in susceptible individuals.

Would Discolor

Leading the battle against the bill, Sen. Henry J. Mello (D-Watsonville) pointed to pictures showing that fresh-peeled or cut potatoes would rapidly discolor if left untreated. He disputed Hart’s assertion that there were acceptable alternatives to the continued use of sulfites in fresh-cut potato products.

Hart charged that at least three individuals in California have died from eating sulfite-treated potato products. An estimated 100,000 Californians are sensitive to sulfites, most of whom learn about their sensitivity only after experiencing a reaction.