thecages

Anita found a plastic sheet inserted into a box of grapes bought from Woolworths named Uvasys Dual Action.

One the sheet is written 'Notice to all store employees: Ensure that sheet is removed before Display'
hmmmmm...

It turns out that the sheet (looks like a kitchen towel-type performated cloth with a plasitc covering on one side) contains Sodium Metabisulphate which is a commonly used preservative.

I'm not too picky about preservatives (god knows I inhale worse things on a daily basis while walking down the road), but the fact that it is not listed as an ingredient on the box and is (secretly) removed before the grapes are displayed makes me uneasy.

Moreover, it seems that a sulphite allergy is quite a serious thing:

... many of the sulphites you eat will be in unlabelled foods. When you look at the sulphite lists below, you can see why the failsafe diet works so well for sulphite-sensitive asthmatics. By avoiding processed foods and salicylates in fruit, fruit drinks, dried fruit, fruit flavoured breakfasts, cookies, snacks, muesli bars, yoghurt, icecream and confectionary, you are also getting rid of sulphites.

There is a big gap between reading sulphite lists and understanding whether the food you buy or a dish you order in a restaurant contains sulphites. The best way to find out which foods contain sulphites is to ask consumers who are particularly sulphite sensitive.

Liz, a sulphite-sensitive asthmatic from Australia, recommends avoiding sausages, all processed deli meat, cordials, jams, shop produced fruit salad, pickled anything with vinegar, shop bought hot chips, dried foods like apricots and 'anything that isn't natural'.

Rick Williams from the USA, who runs the Nosulfites website, suffers severe headaches from eating the smallest quantities of sulphites. The list of sulphites in US processed foods below gives an idea of the size of the problem. 'Current regulations discourage the use of large amounts of sulfites,' says Rick. 'Today, the problem is low levels of sulfur dioxide in practically everything you touch.' Sulphites under 10 ppm in the US do not have to be listed but they will all contribute to your sulphite intake.

also

... Avoid processed food products, which contain dried fruit. Dried fruit is treated with sulphur dioxide to preserve the product and sometimes also to bleach the fruit (sultanas). Food which may contain dried fruit, such as muesli mixes and yoghurt with dried fruit pieces, chocolates with dried fruit bits, chutneys, pickles, cake mixes, peanut and raisin mixes, and instant fruit sauces made from dried apricots and peaches, may contain sulphur and trigger a reaction.
Be careful of foods that have a long shelf-life and do not require refrigeration. The chances are good that these foods contain sodium benzoate or have been treated with sulphur.
When eating in a restaurant be alert to the possibility that certain dishes may contain ingredients that have been preserved with sulphur dioxide or sodium benzoate. Check with the waiter or the maitre 'd before you order items like "Cape curry with apricot sambal".

But fresh grapes(direct from the farm) for goodness sakes! Does this mean that people with a sulphite allergy cannot even buy a frickin' bunch of grapes without secretly having themselves exposed to an allergen?

And I thought Woolworths was different to the others...
phew.