Overview
About Potassium sorbate
Potassium sorbate (E202) is the mould and yeast inhibitor in wine, cheese, dried fruit, dips, syrups and packaged baked goods, and on the trigger columns it is about as clean as a food additive gets: no histamine, no salicylate, no sulphite, no FODMAP.
The useful thing to know is what it travels with. Sorbate is usually added to the same wines and dried fruits that carry sulphites, so a reaction people pin on potassium sorbate is very often the sulphite sitting beside it on the label.
Sensitivities
How Potassium sorbate scores
Watch for
What trips people up
- Not a sulphite and not a benzoate, despite being shelved with both. If dried apricots or white wine reliably bother you, check the label for sulphur dioxide or metabisulphite (220 to 228) before blaming the sorbate
- Reported food reactions are rare and mostly case reports of hives; the better documented problem is contact irritation from sorbic acid in cosmetics and creams rather than anything you eat
- Failsafe relevance: the RPAH elimination diet removes preservative numbers 200 to 203, so sorbate comes out during an elimination phase even though it is graded clean here. That is a protocol rule, not evidence it is a common trigger
Diet fit
Where it fits
Swap ideas
More alternatives
FAQ
Common questions about Potassium sorbate
Is potassium sorbate a sulphite?
No. Sulphites are numbered 220 to 228 (sulphur dioxide, sodium metabisulphite and relatives) and are the additive with a real asthma warning attached. Potassium sorbate is 202, a completely different compound, and it does not release sulphur dioxide. The confusion is understandable because wine, dried fruit and some fruit juices are frequently treated with both.
Is potassium sorbate safe with histamine intolerance?
On the data here it is graded clean for both histamine content and histamine release, so the additive itself is not a histamine problem. What matters more is the food carrying it. Wine, aged cheese and fermented dips are high-histamine foods in their own right, and sorbate is added precisely because those products are prone to yeast growth.
Why is potassium sorbate in wine?
It stops leftover yeast from restarting fermentation in the bottle, which is why it turns up mainly in off-dry and sweet wines that still hold sugar. It is added after fermentation finishes, usually together with sulphite. If wine is a reliable trigger for you, histamine, tyramine and sulphite are the three things worth testing before the sorbate.
References
Read the background
Ratings reflect the Triggerbites ingredient database and may vary with portion size and preparation.