Just as alcohol tolerance labelling differs between markets (which we’ve previously written about), winemakers and exporters need to be aware that the prescribed limit for sulphites present in wine differs too. In many markets, there isn’t just a simple limit for total sulphites either.
Knowing sulphite limits (as with all analytical parameters) for your destination market is vital. While compliance with the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code (ANZFSC) is a contributing requirement for product approval (i.e. to export your wine from Australia), you’ll need to ensure it also complies with destination market requirements for it to be successfully imported.
The Australian limit for sulphites in wine is found within ANZFSC Standard 4.5.1 and is relatively simple as it only changes based on one factor – residual sugar. Wine, sparkling wine and fortifieds containing under 35g/L residual sugar are permitted up to 250mg/L total sulphites, while wines with sugars higher than 35g/L are permitted a slightly increased level of 300mg/L total sulphites.
However, some export markets are more complicated, and the prescribed limit may vary depending on a variety of factors. These include the wine type/style (e.g. red, white, rosé or sparkling), whether a wine is organic, its sugar content (as is the case for Australia), or a combination of these factors.
In several markets, there’s a limit for both free and total sulphites too. It’s also important to note that while ANZFSC presents the limit for sulphites in mg/L (i.e. ‘parts per million’ or ‘ppm’ as it’s often referred to), the units may vary for other markets.
While there are several sulphites that are permitted additives under the ANZFSC, in Australia – and in many export markets – sulphites are measured as residual sulphur dioxide (SO2).
The summary below has been compiled using Wine Australia’s regularly updated Export Market Guides. These guides are an essential reference tool for the Australian wine community and contain market-specific details on other wine standards, duties and taxes, labelling requirements, and import and certification requirements.
For further details on export requirements, consult the relevant Export Market Guide and get in touch with Regulatory Services via audit@wineaustralia.com or (08) 8228 2000 if you need further assistance.
Market |
Free SO2 (ppm) |
Total SO2 (ppm) |
Notes |
|
Australia |
|
250 |
Wines with < 35 g/L sugars |
|
|
|
300 |
Wines with > 35 g/L sugars |
|
Argentina |
|
130 |
Red wines with < 4 g/L sugars |
|
|
|
180 |
Red wines with > 4 g/L sugars |
|
|
|
180 |
White and pink wines with < 4 g/L sugars |
|
|
|
210 |
White and pink wines with > 4 g/L sugars |
|
Brazil |
|
300 |
|
|
Cambodia |
|
350 |
Expressed in mg/kg |
|
Canada |
70 |
350 |
Federal standard; Provincial Liquor Control Boards may set their own overriding limits |
|
|
70 |
420 |
Quebec (SAQ) |
|
|
30 |
100 |
For Quebec, organic products with < 50 g/L sugar |
|
|
35 |
150 |
For Quebec, organic products with > 50 but < 100 g/L sugar |
|
|
45 |
250 |
For Quebec, organic products with 100 g/L or more sugar |
|
|
50 |
300 |
For Ontario, wines with < 35 g/L sugar |
|
|
70 |
400 |
For Ontario, wines with >35g/L sugar |
|
|
30 |
100 |
For Ontario, organic wines with < 50 g/L sugar |
|
|
35 |
150 |
For Ontario, organic wines with 50–99 g/L sugar |
|
|
45 |
250 |
For Ontario, organic wines with > 99 g/L sugar |
|
Chile |
75 |
250 |
Red, rosé, white and sparkling wine |
|
|
100 |
400 |
Sweet wines with < 30 g/L total sugars |
|
China |
|
250 |
Wines with < 45 g/L sugars |
|
|
|
400 |
Wines with > 45 g/L sugars |
|
European Union (EU) |
|
150mg/L |
Red wine, liqueur wine |
|
|
|
200mg/L |
White wine, rosé wine |
|
|
|
235 mg/L |
Sparkling wine |
|
|
|
300 mg/L |
Botrytis/late harvest wine |
|
|
|
100 mg/L |
Organic red wine |
|
|
|
150 mg/L |
Organic white wine, organic rosé wine |
|
|
|
205 mg/L |
Organic sparkling wine |
|
|
|
120 mg/L |
Organic liqueur wine |
|
|
|
270 mg/L |
Organic botrytis/late harvest wine |
|
|
|
200 mg/L |
Red wine, liqueur wine (with at least 5 g/L sugar expressed as glucose + fructose) |
|
|
|
250 mg/L |
White wine, rose wine (with at least 5 g/L sugar expressed as glucose + fructose) |
|
|
|
130 mg/L |
Organic red wine (with at least 2 g/L sugar expressed as glucose + fructose) |
|
|
|
180 mg/L |
Organic white wine, organic rose wine (with at least 2 g/L sugar expressed as glucose + fructose) |
|
Fiji |
|
|
No specific wine standards – check with your importer |
|
Hong Kong |
|
350 |
‘Grape wines’ |
|
|
|
400 |
White wines |
|
|
|
70 |
‘Aromatised wines’ |
|
India |
|
350 |
Expressed in mg/kg |
|
Indonesia |
|
50 |
|
|
Japan |
|
350 |
Expressed in mg/kg |
|
Kenya |
70 |
350 |
Still table wine, expressed in mg/kg |
|
|
50 |
250 |
Sparkling wine, expressed in mg/kg |
|
|
30 |
250 |
Fortified wine, expressed in mg/kg |
|
Korea |
|
350 |
|
|
Malaysia |
|
450 |
|
|
Mexico |
|
350 |
|
|
Myanmar |
|
350 |
Expressed in mg/kg |
|
New Caledonia |
|
|
Refer to EU limits |
|
New Zealand |
|
250 |
Wines with < 35 g/L residual sugar, expressed in mg/kg |
|
|
|
400 |
Wines with > 35 g/L residual sugar, expressed in mg/kg |
|
Nigeria |
|
350 |
Expressed in mg/kg |
|
Norway |
|
|
Refer to EU limits |
|
Papua New Guinea |
|
200 |
Wines with < 35 g/L residual sugar, expressed in mg/kg |
|
|
|
400 |
Wines with > 35 g/L residual sugar, expressed in mg/kg |
|
Peru |
|
350 |
Expressed in mg/kg |
|
Philippines |
|
350 |
Expressed in mg/kg |
|
Qatar |
|
350 |
Expressed in mg/kg |
|
Russia |
|
200 |
Dry wines, grape wine drinks, sparkling wine, superior sparkling wine, liqueur wine, aromatised wine drinks |
|
|
|
300 |
Semi-dry, semi-sweet and sweet wines |
|
Singapore |
|
300 |
|
|
South Africa |
|
150 |
Red wine < 5 g/L sugar |
|
|
|
160 |
Dry wines < 5 g/L sugar |
|
|
|
200 |
‘Natural wines’ > 5 g/L sugar. (Defined as wines with at least 4.5% ABV but less than 16.5% ABV) |
|
|
|
300 |
Noble late harvest |
|
Sri Lanka |
|
450 |
Expressed in mg/kg. This limit is set to be reduced to 250 in the draft Food (Preservatives) Regulations |
|
Switzerland |
|
150 |
Red wine and Liqueur wines < 5 g/L residual sugar |
|
|
|
200 |
White and rosé wines with < 5 g/L residual sugar |
|
|
|
200 |
Red wine and liqueur wines with > 5 g/L residual sugar |
|
|
|
250 |
White and rosé wines with < 5 g/L residual sugar |
|
|
|
235 |
Sparkling wines |
|
Taiwan |
|
400 |
Alcohol products containing more than 250 ppm of SO2 are required to be labelled ‘this product contains less than 400 ppm of sulphur dioxide’ |
|
Tanzania |
50 |
350 |
Still table wine, expressed in mg/kg |
|
|
30 |
250 |
Fortified wine, expressed in mg/kg |
|
|
50 |
250 |
Sparkling wine, expressed in mg/kg |
|
|
50 |
200 |
Dry fruit wine, expressed in mg/L |
|
|
35 |
300 |
Sweet fruit wine, expressed in mg/L |
|
Thailand |
|
300 |
Expressed in mg/dm3 |
|
Turkey |
|
200 |
Red wine > 5 g/L sugar |
|
|
|
150 |
Red wine < 5 g/L sugar |
|
|
|
235 |
Sparkling wine |
|
|
|
250 |
White and rosé > 5g/L sugar |
|
|
|
200 |
White and rosé < 5g/L sugar |
|
|
|
200 |
Liqueur wines with > 5 g/L residual sugar |
|
|
|
150 |
Liqueur wines with < 5 g/L residual sugar |
|
United Arab Emirates |
|
|
Check with your importer |
|
United Kingdom |
|
|
See EU limits |
|
United States of America |
|
350 |
|
|
Uruguay |
|
250 |
|
|
Vietnam |
|
150 |
Red wine |
|
|
|
200 |
Red wine with > 5 g/L sugar (glucose + fructose) |
|
|
|
200 |
White wine, rosé wine |
|
|
|
250 |
White wine, rosé wine with > 5 g/L sugar (glucose + fructose) |
|
|
|
150 |
Liqueur wine with > 5 g/L sugar |
|
|
|
200 |
Mixed wine with > 5 g/L sugar |
|
|
|
185 |
Quality sparkling wine |
|
|
|
235 |
Sparkling wine (other than ‘quality’) |
|
|
|
400 |
Other wine products |