Brominated vegetable oil, which is used in some fruit-flavored drinks, is potentially harmful for humans.

The FDA said it had concluded that BVO was not safe for use after the results of studies, it conducted in collaboration with the National Institutes of Health, found the potential for adverse effects in humans.

The agency had first proposed to revoke the regulation in November 2023. According to the Center for Science in the Public Interest, BVO was banned in the UK in 1970, followed by India in 1990, the EU in 2008 and Japan in 2010.

  • DominusOfMegadeus@sh.itjust.works
    38·
    5 months ago

    The Food and Drug Administration said on Tuesday it would revoke the regulation that authorized the use of brominated vegetable oil in food items, effective Aug. 2, as it was no longer safe.

    BVO is a chemical ingredient containing bromine, which is found in fire retardants. Small quantities of BVO are used legally in some citrus-flavored drinks in the United States to keep the flavor evenly distributed.

    The FDA said it had concluded that BVO was not safe for use after the results of studies, it conducted in collaboration with the National Institutes of Health, found the potential for adverse effects in humans.

    The agency had first proposed to revoke the regulation in November 2023. According to the Center for Science in the Public Interest, BVO was banned in the UK in 1970, followed by India in 1990, the EU in 2008 and Japan in 2010.

    In 1970, the FDA had concluded that its use in food was not generally recognized as safe because of toxicity concerns. After this, the agency began regulating BVO as a food additive, while simultaneously conducting safety studies.

    “The FDA’s new regulation to not allow BVO as a food additive is a terrific positive in the right direction,” said Michael Ashley Schulman, chief investment officer at Running Point Capital Advisors.

    As per FDA rules, whenever a company was using the ingredient in any product, it was necessary to list it on the label.

    Over time, many beverage makers have replaced BVO with an alternative ingredient, according to the FDA. “Today, few beverages in the U.S. contain BVO,” it said.

    PepsiCo and Coca-Cola have removed BVO from their drinks such as Gatorade and Fanta, respectively.

    “Sun Drop, manufactured by Keurig Dr Pepper, still uses BVO … This is probably the biggest national brand that still uses it,” said CFRA Research’s Arun Sundaram.

    Keurig Dr Pepper did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

    • [email protected]@sh.itjust.works
      332·
      5 months ago

      followed by India in 1990

      India, a country considerably more blasé about safety standards than the US, had already banned it a generation ago. Terrifying negligence on behalf of the FDA. How much money could this have possibly saved the megacorps?

      • Death_Equity@lemmy.world
        15·
        5 months ago

        Considered safe. Considerations are influenced by adequate research, ideally.

        Lead used to be considered safe in paint, asbestos used to be considered safe for napkins, cigarettes used to be considered safe to smoke, cocaine used to be considered safe to drink, etc.

        I am just waiting for the next “asbestos” to come to light in home construction. I am betting on drywall sooner or later being considered hazmat to disturb. Plastics are emerging as a bigger problem, so we will see how that all pans out.

        • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
          142·
          5 months ago

          Lead used to be considered safe in paint

          It’s worse than that. Ancient Romans knew that lead could poison you and no one ever forgot. They all kept using it anyway because lead was cheap.

          • Death_Equity@lemmy.world
            11·
            5 months ago

            The Romans even knew about asbestos, there were recommendations to not buy slaves from the asbestos mines because of the poor health associated.

            Oddly enough, they still wiped their faces with the stuff because those napkins and towels could be cleaned by throwing them in fire.

          • IamSparticles@lemmy.zipEnglish
            8·
            5 months ago

            Lead is still used as a gasoline additive for some applications. It was only banned for sale for on road vehicles in the 90s. Prior to 1975 just about every car on the road was spewing it from the tail pipe.

          • FireRetardant@lemmy.world
            6·
            5 months ago

            Then we put it in gasoline knowing damn well that the poisionous lead would spew out the exhaust, it took us decades to reverse that decison as well and it only really happened when engine knocking had been resolved.

          • Death_Equity@lemmy.world
            3·
            5 months ago

            Everything that the FDA doesn’t declare as “known” or “proven” safe within defined limits are “considered” safe or may be allowable to a defined limit. It is their cute little scapegoat should a substance they allow be proven unsafe and then they would face a greater risk of lawsuit had they determined it was known or proven safe.