Sodium benzoate

[RachieRach22]

Hi just wondering if you know what alcoholic drinks contain sodium benzoate?? I've recently become deathly allergic and most of the time read labels before I eat or drink but have noticed alcohol doesn't generally have ingridients labels...

[JAN-ELBEE]

If you've got problems with sodium benzoate that probably includes salicylate and other related products - be careful of aspirin & some antibiotics notably metronidazole and of some natural foods like almonds and cranberries.

Preservatives and stock cubes & flavour enhancers are a nightmare.

I've been living with sodium benzoate & salicylate problems for 40 years - it developed in my early 20s - my daughter now 21 seems to have developed the same ... It forces us to eat more naturally.

You asked about alcohol - I can get away with young fresh light wines in moderate quantities but not the ones aged in oak barrels, eg Pinot Grigio can be ok but Chardonnay makes me feel dreadful - cheaper sparking wines are often ok as they've been in glass or stainless steel not oak. Young low alcohol farm made ciders (eg French) can be ok but not the chemically processed supermarket ones - and no beer.

You might find the same with smoked salmon - that the Norwegian beech smoked ones (Aldi sells this as standard at a very good price) are ok but the UK standard Scottish oak smoked ones upset me.

[Jacks in reply to JAN-ELBEE]

And smoked anything is potentially carcinogenic.