Brominated vegetable oil, commonly referred to as BVO on product labels, was recently banned from foods and beverages sold in California. On July 2, 2024, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced it has revoked the regulation that permits BVO’s use in foods and beverages. Here’s what to know about this harmful additive, including where you might find it and why the FDA’s national ban is necessary.
After more than 50 years of studies showing a range of adverse health effects linked to an ingredient called brominated vegetable oil, or BVO, the FDA in December 2023 proposed revoking authorization for American food and beverage manufacturers to use the ingredient. The FDA’s long-overdue proposed ban arrived just weeks after the California Food Safety Act was signed into law, which bans for sale in the state products that contain brominated vegetable oil, Red 3, propylparaben, and potassium bromate starting in 2027. CSPI is working to pass similar legislation in New York.
Now that the FDA’s proposed rule is finalized, consumers will soon see changes to their favorite orange, lemon-lime, or pineapple sodas. The rule is effective on August 2, 2024, and manufacturers have one year from that date to “reformulate, relabel, and deplete the inventory” of their BVO-containing products.
What is Brominated Vegetable Oil?
Brominated vegetable oil, or BVO, is vegetable oil modified with bromine. It’s used to suspend citrus flavorings in sodas and juice drinks, preventing the flavoring from separating during shipping and storage. Following the publication of toxicity studies by the Canadian Food and Drug Directorate in 1969, the FDA removed BVO from the Generally Regarded as Safe (GRAS) list and restricted its use to products containing fruit flavorings. Brominated vegetable oil was banned in the United Kingdom in 1970; India followed in 1990. The European Union banned BVO in 2008; Japan banned it in 2010.
How is BVO Harmful?
BVO leaves residues of bromine triglycerides in body fat and fat in the liver, heart, and brain. Excessive bromine accumulation in the body results in bromine toxicity, which can cause damage to the central nervous system, headaches, nausea, memory loss, and loss of coordination. One case report identified drinking soda containing BVO as the source of bromine toxicity with neurological effects. However, bromine toxicity is more often caused by occupational exposure, particularly for agriculture and sanitation workers, or through contaminated drinking water or direct contact with liquid bromine or bromine gas.
In an animal study that fed rats BVO at quantities similar to what some people might consume through food and beverage sources, both males and females showed significant increases in the amount of bromide in their blood and increased levels of brominated triglycerides in the heart, lung, and fat tissue. Changes in some levels of thyroid hormones and impacts on the thyroid gland were also observed. The thyroid gland and its hormones play many important roles in the body, such as regulating metabolism and brain development.
Products That Contain BVO
The USDA Global Branded Food Products Database lists some 600 products that may still contain BVO. There is some uncertainty about the accuracy of these listings, though, as USDA relies on manufacturers to update the entries for their own products.
In 2016, PepsiCo pledged to remove brominated vegetable oil from all their products, but for years beyond that, Mountain Dew, Gatorade, and MTN DEW Amp still contained the ingredient. You should continue checking the ingredients lists of these products to avoid BVO, as some older stock may still be in circulation.
Though major brands have all but eliminated the ingredient from their product lines, it’s still found in many commonly available products, such as multiple flavors of D&G Genuine Jamaican Soda, Sun Drop, several store-brand soft drinks, including HEB Orange Burst and Giant Orange Soda, and citrus-flavored juice beverages like Borden’s Pineapple Orange Sun Burst.
Now that the FDA has finalized its rule revoking authorization to use BVO in foods for sale in the U.S., most products won’t change. The beverage industry has been phasing BVO out of products for decades, especially over the past few years. Because California has already banned the ingredient in the state beginning in 2027, companies that rely on their California sales will likely reformulate BVO-containing beverages before then and sell the BVO-free version in all 50 states, just as many already do in the UK, EU, India, and Japan.
In fact, the decision to ban BVO in 2024, more than 50 years after the first indications that it is toxic were reported to the agency, is an “indictment of the FDA,” says Thomas Galligan, CSPI’s principal scientist for food additives and supplements. “It’s too little too