United States Bans Additives In Sports Drinks And Sodas Over Health Concerns

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of the United States has recently announced that it will no longer allow the use of harmful additives in food products and packaged drinks. CNN reports that FDA released a statement, explaining brominated vegetable oil (BVO) - a type of vegetable oil - is used in the form of a food additive and helps keep citrus flavouring from floating to the top in beverages. FDA also informed that this ruling will go into effect from August 2, 2024. However, the packaged food companies will have "one year after that date to reformulate and relabel their products as well as deplete their BVO inventory", the FDA statement reads.

What Is Brominated Vegetable Oil? What Is Its Effect On Human Health?

Brominated vegetable oil, popularly referred to as BVO, is vegetable oil modified with bromine. It is usually used in drinks like sodas, energy drinks and packaged juices, to suspend citrus flavourings and prevent it from separating during shipping and storage.

A 1969 study by the Canadian Food and Drug Directorate claimed bromine to be toxic for human health, following which, the FDA removed BVO from the Generally Regarded as Safe list. Until now, the use of BVO was restricted just to products containing fruit flavourings. A report, published by the Center for Science in the Public Interest, explained that the additive is known to leave bromine triglyceride residues in body fat that often causes damage to the liver, heart and brain. Some of the common effects of bromine toxicity are damaged central nervous system, headaches, nausea, memory loss, and loss of coordination.

The report also stated that earlier in 1970, the use of brominated vegetable oil was banned in the United Kingdom. Then Indian banned it in 1990, the European Union in 2008 and Japan in 2010.

Also Read: This Common Food Additive May Trigger Weight Gain And Diabetes: Study

Why FDA Has Put A Ban On Use Of Brominated Vegetable Oil In Foods And Drinks?

The Hill reports that the FDA claims several beverage makers have already reformulated their recipes to replace BVO with a different ingredient. However, there are still a few companies in the United States that use this additive in their drinks.

"The removal of the only authorized use of BVO from the food supply was based on a thorough review of current science and research findings that raised safety concerns," stated Jim Jones, the deputy commissioner for the FDA's Human Foods program, reports the Hill.

Jim Jones also informed that the body will also take stringent actions against companies who will continue to use BVO without any scientific evidence for it.