The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) moved to revoke the regulation that permits the use of brominated vegetable oil (BVO), an additive found in fruity-flavored drinks and sodas.
The ingredient was authorized by the FDA for use in small amounts to “keep the citrus flavor from separating and floating to the top of some beverages,” says the agency. However, recent studies conducted by the FDA, along with the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, found that BVOs are no longer considered safe and may cause adverse effects in humans.
The FDA’s research found that the accumulation of bromine is toxic to the thyroid, the gland that produces hormones that play a key role in regulating blood pressure, body temperature, metabolism, and the reaction of the body to other hormones.
When used in food or beverages, BVO is required to be listed on the label as “brominated vegetable oil” or as the specific oil that has been brominated, such as “brominated soybean oil.”
According to USA Today, California banned the ingredient in October when it passed the California Food Safety Act. BVO is already prohibited in Europe and Japan. According to the Environmental Working Group (EWG), a nonprofit research and advocacy group for consumer health, there are at least 90 products that use BVO’s, most of which are sodas.
Fortunately, many beverage manufacturers reformulated their products to replace BVO with an alternative ingredient. Today, few beverages in the U.S. contain BVO, says the FDA. Small grocery store brands such as Food Lion and regional drinks such as Sun Drop citrus soda could still contain BVOs. The EWG’s complete list is here.
In 2014, both Coca-Cola and PepsiCo agreed to removed this potentially harmful ingredient from their line of products, including Gatorade and Mountain Dew, the latter of which continued to contain BVOs for a few years after the 2014 decision, says USA Today.
Earlier this month, the FDA issued a proposed rule that, if finalized, would revoke the regulation allowing the use of BVO in food and drinks. Animal and human data, including new information from recent FDA-led studies on BVO, no longer provide a basis to conclude the use of this ingredient is safe.