Table 1.

Foods more likely to contain high levels of natural or added sulphites, benzoates and monosodium glutamate

	Sulphites (E220–E227) [11, 17, 118, 119]	Benzoates (E210–E219) [30, 31, 33, 119, 120]	Monosodium glutamate (E621–E623, E627, E635) [49, 121]
Meat, poultry and seafood	Prawns, lobster, dried salt cod, crab sticks, squid, meat burger, sausages	Dishes with a spicy sauce, ready to eat meals containing benzoates	Fish sauce
Milk and eggs		Yoghurt, cheese	Parmesan cheese
Fruits	Dried apricots, sultanas, figs, prunes, dates, dried banana, candied or glace fruit desiccated coconut, currants	Cranberries, bilberries, prunes, papaya, dried fruit, avocado
Vegetables, nuts, seeds and savoury snacks	Dried mushrooms and other fungi, frozen, tinned or vacuum packed potatoes, French fries, instant mash, gnocchi, potato cakes, potato croquettes, vegetarian burgers and sausages, tinned asparagus, broad beans, French beans, chestnuts, walnuts	Pumpkin, kidney beans, soy beans, soy flour, broccoli, spinach, baked beans in tomato/spicy sauce, dry roasted and spicy nuts, Bombay mix, crisps (except ready salted), potato or corn snacks,	Mushrooms, spinach, savoury snacks, crisps
Condiments and miscellaneous	Horseradish sauce, caramel colouring (E150)	Curry powder, allspice, mixed spice, nutmeg, clove, cinnamon, chocolate, cocoa, ketchup, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, salad dressing, salad cream, mayonnaise, jam, pickles	Soups, stock, gravy, rubs, coatings, ready-meals, soy sauce, black bean sauce, oyster sauce, tomato sauce, miso, marmite, instant rice and noodle dishes
Drinks	Cider, wine, beer, fruit squash and cordials, soft drinks, grape juice, fruit juice drinks, cola drinks	Tea, squash, cordial, carbonated drinks, milkshake syrup, beer, ready-to-drink alcohol and mixers, spirits with added spices

Foods with added sulphite, benzoates and MSG will vary from country to country