Watch out for brominated vegetable oil, now banned, in food and soft drinks

Consumers need to read ingredient labels carefully to avoid brominated vegetable oil or BVO because, although the U.S. Food and Drug Administration finally banned it, products containing BVO may remain for sale on store shelves. 

Consumer advice

BVO has mainly been used to help stabilize citrus flavorings in sodas, sports drinks, and energy drinks.

PepsiCo, Coca-Cola, and other companies have reformulated their products, and they no longer contain BVO.

About 600 food items may still contain BVO, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. However, the number may be higher because the information in the agency’s database is voluntarily supplied by companies.

The USDA’s database shows many grocery store soda brands and regional beverages that may also contain BVO.

Rule details

The new rule will take effect Aug. 2, then companies will have one year to reformulate, relabel, and deplete their inventory of BVO-containing products.

BVO can no longer be used in food due to concerns about the chemical’s health harms, including effects on the nervous system, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced recently.  

“The FDA’s decision to ban brominated vegetable oil in food is a victory for public health,” Scott Faber,  senior vice president of government affairs at the Environmental Working Group, said in a statement. “But it’s disgraceful that it took decades of regulatory inaction to protect consumers from this dangerous chemical.”

It’s outrageous that for years Americans have been consuming a chemical banned in Europe and Japan, said Faber.

State action

While federal action on BVO lagged, California banned the chemical in October 2023, the first state in the nation to do so.

Health concerns

In addition to harm to the nervous system, BVO has been linked to other health hazards. It can also build up in the body.

Research shows a connection between large amounts of BVO-containing soda ingested over a long period of time and problems such as headaches, irritation of the skin and mucous membranes, fatigue, and loss of muscle coordination and memory.

BVO was originally considered “generally recognized as safe” by the FDA, but that designation was removed in 1970. Soon after, at the request of manufacturers, the agency again claimed it could be used “on an interim basis” in limited quantities.