SODIUM SULFITE
Official label name (INCIInternational name of cosmetic ingredients: the one printed on the pack. name, EU glossary of cosmetic ingredient names), No 27040
- Cited as an example in a rule, no rule of its own (Annex III)
- Preservative allowed under conditions (Annex V)
SODIUM SULFITE: Cited as an example in a rule, no rule of its own (Annex III, entry 99); preservative allowed under conditions, with limits depending on the product type (Annex V, entry 9), under Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009. Annexes of the Regulation consulted on 21 October 2026.
Who it concerns
What official classifications and rules say for each group. A classification describes the hazard of the pure substance, not the risk of a product that contains it, which depends on the dose and the exposure.
Prohibition or serious classificationThe text prohibits the substance for this use, or ranks it among the most serious hazards (known or presumed carcinogenic, mutagenic or reprotoxic, identified endocrine disruptor).Worth watchingThe text sets a condition or flags a hazard worth knowing: allergen, suspected effect, condition for children, hazard to the aquatic environment.For informationOfficial information with no condition on a finished product: warning to read, irritation of the pure substance.
Pregnancy and breastfeeding
No classification harmonised by the European Union covers reproduction, the unborn child or breastfeeding for this substance. This does not mean it has been judged to have no effect during pregnancy.
Babies and children
The Cosmetics Regulation sets no age-related condition for this ingredient.
Skin, eyes and allergies
No official classification for sensitisation, irritation or eye damage, and no obligation to label it as an allergen.
Environment
No official classification as hazardous to the aquatic environment and no assessment as an endocrine disruptor for the environment.
Read on the label
The Cosmetics Regulation requires no warning to be printed for this ingredient.
In plain words
What it is used for
Functions declared by manufacturers:
Antioxidant: inhibits reactions promoted by oxygen, thus avoiding oxidation and rancidity.
Hair waving or straightening: modifies the chemical structure of the hair, allowing it to be set in the style required.
Reducing: changes the chemical nature of another substance by adding hydrogen or removing oxygen.
What the rules say
This name is only cited as an example in an entry of Annex III, which covers a family of substances: the exact conditions depend on the form used.
An ingredient can be used as a preservative only if it appears on the list of Annex V. SODIUM SULFITE is on it with a maximum concentration.
The text of the annexes
Allowed with restrictions
CosIng cites the name SODIUM SULFITE in this entry, whose regulated name is “Inorganic sulfites and bisulfites (12)”: the title below says which form or use it covers.
| Product type | Maximum concentration |
|---|---|
| (a) Oxidative hair dye products | 0.67% (as free SO2) |
| (b) Hair straightening products | 6.7% (as free SO2) |
| (c) Self-tanning products for the face | 0.45% (as free SO2) |
| (d) Other self-tanning products | 0.40% (as free SO2) |
- Other conditions
- For purposes other than inhibiting the development of micro-organisms in the product. This purpose has to be apparent from the presentation of the product
- Entry
- Annex III, No 99
- Substance
- Inorganic sulfites and bisulfites (12)
Preservative allowed under conditions
- Maximum concentration
- 0.2% (as free SO2)
- Entry
- Annex V, No 9
- Substance
- Inorganic sulphites and hydrogensulphites (5)
- Glossary names
- SODIUM SULFITE / AMMONIUM BISULFITE / AMMONIUM SULFITE / POTASSIUM SULFITE / POTASSIUM hydrogen SULFITE / SODIUM BISULFITE / SODIUM METABISULFITE / POTASSIUM METABISULFITE
- CAS
- 7757-83-7 / 10192-30-0 / 10196-04-0 / 10117-38-1 / 7773-03-7 / 7631-90-5 / 7681-57-4 / 16731-55-8
- EC
- 231-821-4 / 233-469-7 / 233-484-9 / 233-321-1 / 231-870-1 /231-548-0 / 231-673-0 / 240-795-3
What has changed, and what will change
Dates of the texts that cover this ingredient. A text date may cover several substances: the details of each entry are below.
Annex V, entry 9: introduced or replaced by Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009
Annex V, entry 9: applies from this date
Identity
- CosIng identifier
- 38095
- CAS (according to CosIng)
- 7757-83-7
- EC (according to CosIng)
- 231-821-4
- Declared functions
- Antioxidant, Hair waving or straightening, Reducing
- Wikidata
- Q407806
- ECHAEuropean Chemicals Agency. InfoCard
- 100.028.929
- InChIKey
- GEHJYWRUCIMESM-UHFFFAOYSA-L
Elsewhere in the world
Information on other jurisdictions, with no effect on sale in France. What is covered, and what is not yet.
Comparison between countries
Most restrictive status in each country, and the maximum concentration cited. The details and the source of each rule follow.
| Country | Rule | Maximum concentration cited |
|---|---|---|
| European Union | Cited as an example in a rule, no rule of its own | 0.2% |
| United Kingdom | Cited as an example in a rule, no rule of its own | 0.2% |
| Switzerland | EU Regulation applies | 0.2% |
| United States (federal) | No federal rule recorded | not cited |
| Japan | No entry in the lists recorded | not cited |
| South Korea | Restricted | 0.2 to 0.67% |
| China | No entry in the lists recorded | not cited |
| Australia | No entry in the lists recorded | not cited |
| Brazil | Allowed under conditions | 0.2% |
United Kingdom (Great Britain)
- Cited as an example in a rule, no rule of its own (Annex III)
- Preservative allowed under conditions (Annex V)
Same entries as in the European Union. Conditions (concentrations, warnings) may differ: they are not compared here.
Switzerland
Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 applies in Switzerland (Article 54 of the Ordinance on Foodstuffs and Utility Articles).
United States, federal rules
None of the integrated sections of the federal code (21 CFR 700.11 to 700.27 and 250.250) targets this name. The FDA does not publish a list of allowed ingredients.
South Korea
- Restricted: 무기설파이트 및 하이드로젠설파이트류 (SODIUM SULFITE)
별표 2, 보존제 성분 (preservatives), entry 12, page 2-3. Limit: 유리 SO2로 0.2%.
Conditions, source text, in Korean
화학물질명: 암모늄바이설파이트 (CAS No. 10192-30-0) | 화학물질명: 암모늄설파이트 (CAS No. 10196-04-0) | 화학물질명: 포타슘메타바이설파이트 (CAS No. 16731-55-8) | 화학물질명: 포타슘바이설파이트 (CAS No. 4429-42-9) | 화학물질명: 포타슘설파이트 (CAS No. 10117-38-1 23873-77-0) | 화학물질명: 소듐바이설파이트 (CAS No. 7631-90-5) | 화학물질명: 소듐메타바이설파이트 (CAS No. 7681-57-4) | 화학물질명: 소듐디설파이트 (CAS No. 7757-74-6) | 화학물질명: 소듐설파이트 (CAS No. 7757-83-7)
- Restricted: 무기설파이트 및 하이드로젠설파이트류 (SODIUM SULFITE)
별표 2, 기타 (other substances with limits), entry 30, page 31-32. Limit: 산화염모제에 서 유리 SO2로 0.67%.
Conditions, source text, in Korean
비고: 기타 제품에는 사용금지 | 화학물질명: 소듐설파이트 (CAS No. 7757-83-7) | 화학물질명: 암모늄바이설파이트 (CAS No. 10192-30-0) | 화학물질명: 암모늄설파이트 (CAS No. 10196-04-0) | 화학물질명: 포타슘설파이트 (CAS No. 10117-38-1) | 화학물질명: 포타슘하이드로젠설파이트 (CAS No. 23873-77-0) | 화학물질명: 소듐바이설파이트 (CAS No. 7631-90-5) | 화학물질명: 소듐메타바이설파이트 (CAS No. 7681-57-4) | 화학물질명: 포타슘메타바이설파이트 (CAS No. 16731-55-8)
Brazil
- Allowed under conditions: Sulfitos e Bisulfitos inorgânicos (*) (SODIUM SULFITE/ AMMONIUM BISULFITE/ AMMONIUM SULFITE/ POTASSIUM SULFITE/ POTASSIUM HYDROGEN SULFITE/ SODIUM BISULFITE/ SODIUM METABISULFITE/ POTASSIUM METABISULFITE)
RDC 528/2021, Anexo (allowed preservatives), entry 9, page 3. Limit: 0.2% (expresso como SO2 livre).
Recorded cosmetics that contain it
109 recorded products list it, according to Open Beauty Facts contributors. Records are dated: the formula may have changed. See the list (in French).
Glossary: Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2025/1175. Page updated on 21 October 2026.