Potassium metabisulfite

CAS 16731-55-8

Companies reported imports and no US production of this chemical to EPA for 2023.

Molecular structure of 16731-55-8 — 2 K⁺

US productionZero

Import value, 2024$4M

Import volume829.3K lb

Import dependency100%

Top sourceItaly 46%

Production is reported production, not a complete census of factories. Production reporting year: 2023. Import value and source-country shares describe a shared customs category, not a separate chemical measurement.

Potassium metabisulfite · US import value by year

2013: $2M · Peak 2024: $4M · 2025: $2M

Where It Comes From

Customs basis: HS 283220 · basket

EPA reports by year

2023: US production Zero · Imports 829.3K lb
2019: US production Confidential · Imports Confidential

These shares come from HS customs code 283220, which covers 11 tracked chemicals in total. They estimate the category's origin mix, not this chemical specifically.

Source Countries

Country of origin for US imports, from Census customs data (2024).

IT 46%ItalyCN 33%ChinaDE 18%GermanyIN 1%IndiaNZ 1%New Zealand

Denmark
Hong Kong
Japan
Spain

Domestic parents -- activity not disclosed (1)

EPA records name a US company for this chemical but do not disclose whether the company made it here or imported it.

Basf

EPA-registered importers (2)

Companies that report making or importing this chemical to the EPA. Registration is US-centric and does not indicate import origin.

Esseco Usa

Oenofrance Usa

Why It Matters

Sectors

AgricultureFood

Downstream UsesNot recorded

FDA Shortage Status

Whether any manufacturer currently reports this drug as in shortage on the FDA Drug Shortages database. "Active Shortage" means at least one presentation has status "current."

No FDA shortage records

Industrial Uses

Used in 2 sectors as 2 functional roles.

•Solubility enhancer in Pesticide, Fertilizer, and Other Agricultural Chemical Manufacturing (100%)Processing as a reactant
•Preservative in Food, beverage, and tobacco product manufacturingProcessing—incorporation into formulation, mixture, or reaction product

Chemical Identity

CAS16731-55-8

PubChem CID28019

DTXSIDDTXSID1021293

FormulaK2O5S2

Mol. Weight222.33 g/mol

SMILES[O-]S(=O)S(=O)(=O)[O-].[K+].[K+]

Data Sources

EPA CompTox (DSSTox) · DTXSID1021293Retrieved 2026-04-06
PubChem · compound 28019Retrieved 2026-04-06
EPA Chemical Data ReportingReporting year: 2023 · Retrieved 2026-10-04
EPA Chemical Data ReportingReporting year: 2023 · Retrieved 2026-10-04
US Census international tradeReporting year: 2024 · Retrieved 2026-10-04

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Brief citations

Potassium metabisulfite (CAS 16731-55-8) https://chemicalindependence.com/chemical/16731-55-8/ EPA CompTox (DSSTox): DTXSID1021293. Retrieved 2026-04-06. https://comptox.epa.gov/dashboard/chemical/details/DTXSID1021293 PubChem: 28019. Retrieved 2026-04-06. https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/28019 EPA Chemical Data Reporting: 16731-55-8. Reporting year: 2023. https://www.epa.gov/chemical-data-reporting EPA Chemical Data Reporting: CAS 16731-55-8. Reporting year: 2023. https://www.epa.gov/chemical-data-reporting US Census international trade: HS 283220 for CAS 16731-55-8. Reporting year: 2024. https://usatrade.census.gov/