The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced Wednesday that, effective Aug. 2, it will repeal regulations allowing the use of brominated vegetable oils in food.
According to the agency, the ingredient was previously approved for use in small amounts “to prevent citrus flavors from separating and rising to the surface in some beverages,” but in 1970 the FDA determined that the ingredient was no longer “generally recognized as safe” (the agency’s official designation) and began overseeing its use under food additive regulations.
In its advisory on Wednesday, the FDA said that after studies conducted in collaboration with the National Institutes of Health found possible “adverse effects in humans,” it had concluded that “the intended use of BVO in food is no longer considered safe.”
“The removal of the only approved use of BVO from the food supply follows a thorough review of the latest science and research findings that have raised safety concerns,” Jim Jones, deputy secretary for human foods, said in a news release.
“We will continue to monitor new evidence on the chemicals we’ve reevaluated and, when, as in this case, the science no longer supports continued approved uses, we will take action to protect public health,” Jones added.
California passed the California Food Safety Act in October last year, banning the use of the ingredient, but BVO is already banned in Europe and Japan.
Which soft drinks contain BVO and which don’t? Here’s what you need to know.
Which sodas contain BVO?
More than 600 branded products may still contain BVO, according to USDA data, but the agency’s Global Branded Food Database relies on companies voluntarily submitting nutrition information, raising questions about the accuracy of the list, as pointed out by the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a food and health watchdog group.
The USDA database lists many grocery store soda brands and regional beverages that may contain BVO.
“SunDrop, which is made by Keurig Dr Pepper, still uses BVO and is probably the largest domestic brand that still uses BVO,” Arun Sundaram of CFRA Research told Reuters on Tuesday.
“We are actively reformulating SunDrop to eliminate this ingredient and will comply with all state and federal regulations,” a KDP spokesperson said in an email to USA Today on Wednesday.
To find out if a product contains BVO, check the ingredients list.
Drinks containing BVO will list “brominated vegetable oil” or “brominated” on their ingredients list along with a specific type of oil, such as soybean, Dr. Thomas Galligan, chief scientist for food additives and supplements at the Center for Science in the Public Interest, told Today.
As reported by Today, Galligan offered some tips on how to spot a BVO.
- It is most commonly used in citrus drinks.
- If the entire bottle of drink is cloudy, it may contain BVO.
- No-brand sodas are more likely to contain BVO than name-brand products.
- If you drink fountain soda at a restaurant, the risk of it containing BVO is lower because they usually sell name brands, but if you’re concerned, ask restaurant staff about the brand and ingredients.
Which sodas do not contain BVO?
According to the FDA, many beverage manufacturers are reformulating their products to replace BVO with alternative ingredients.
PepsiCo agreed to remove BVO from Gatorade in 2013, and in 2014 both Coca-Cola and PepsiCo announced they would remove the ingredient from all of their beverages.
The ingredient remained in Mountain Dew for a few years after 2014, but a 2020 fact check by USA Today confirmed that PepsiCo no longer uses the ingredient in the drink.
What is BVO?
According to the FDA, BVO is a vegetable oil modified with bromine. It was used in small amounts, not exceeding 15 ppm, as a “fruit flavor stabilizer in beverages” to keep citrus flavors from floating to the top.
The FDA announced a study in May 2022 to evaluate potential health effects associated with BVO ingestion in rodents. In the study, the FDA measured the amount of BVO present in animal food and brominated fats in the tissues of test animals. The FDA said the test animals were given amounts of BVO that “simulate real-world exposure.”
Research data suggest that oral ingestion of BVO is associated with elevated tissue bromine concentrations, and that at high levels, the thyroid is a target organ that “may adversely affect rodent health.”
Gabe Haouari is a national trend news reporter for USA Today. You can follow him on X. Gabe Haouari Or email me at Gdhauari@gannett.com.
