What the FDA's ban of BVO — a soda additive and flame retardant — says about food safety in AmericaPUBLISHED JULY 17, 2024For many years, brominated vegetable oil, or BVO, existed in something of a regulatory gray area. When added in small amounts, the product serves as a stabilizer in some orange-flavored beverages and prevents the citrus flavoring from floating to the top. In the early 1960s, the Food and Drug Administration placed BVO on the agency’s original “GRAS” list, which encompassed ingredients that were “generally recognized as safe.”
BVO also contains bromine —an ingredient found in brominated flame retardants, which are added to products like textiles and building materials to prevent the spread of fire. These wildly disparate uses raised questions among consumer groups and health advocates over whether BVO, while generally recognized as safe by the federal government, was actually safe, and for decades, the FDA maintained that it was (though eventually heavily restricted the amount that could be added to beverages).
However, earlier this month, on July 3, the FDA issued a final rule to revoke the regulation allowing the use of BVO in food.
“High levels of bromine have been associated with neurological symptoms such as memory loss, tremors, fatigue, and headaches — a constellation of effects known as bromism,” they write. “Scientists worry that long-term exposure to BVO could exacerbate these symptoms, potentially leading to more serious and persistent neurological conditions.”
Many American beverage manufacturers had already phased out using BVO in their product formulations, in part because it’s a chemical that’s banned in many other parts of the world. However, according to Scott Faber, senior vice president of governmental affairs at the Environmental Working group, it is still used “especially in so-called off-brand products, including store-brand products and lesser-known, smaller brands that are sometimes sold regionally.”
Notably, PepsiCo announced in 2022 that they had removed BVO from Mountain Dew.
“The FDA’s decision to ban brominated vegetable oil in food is a victory for public health. But it’s disgraceful that it took decades of regulatory inaction to protect consumers from this dangerous chemical,” Faber said. “It’s outrageous that for years Americans have been consuming a chemical banned in Europe and Japan. The FDA’s belated action on BVO underscores the urgent need for more rigorous and timely oversight of food additives.”
https://www.salon.com/2024/07/17/bvo-fda-ban-soda/Brominated Vegetable Oil (BVO)Animal and human data, including new information from recent FDA-led studies on BVO, no longer provide a basis to conclude the use of BVO in food is safe.
On July 3, 2024, the FDA issued a final rule to revoke the regulation allowing the use of BVO in food. The rule is effective on August 2, 2024. The compliance date for this rule is one year after the effective date, to provide the opportunity for companies to reformulate, relabel, and deplete the inventory of BVO-containing products before the FDA begins enforcing the final rule.
https://www.fda.gov/food/food-additives-petitions/brominated-vegetable-oil-bvo
