The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is proposing to revoke its regulations allowing brominated vegetable oil (BVO), as an additive in food. Additionally, BVO is used as an ingredient in some soda’s. The FDA’s proposal comes shortly after California passes its Food Safety Act.
Last month, California became the first state in America to ban brominated vegetable oil. This additive has already been banned in Japan and Europe. If the FDA’s proposal is approved, BVO will be banned nationwide.
Brominated Vegetable Oil
BVO is a vegetable oil that has been modified with bromine, a chemical element that has a brownish-red color with a bleach-like odor. Additionally, bromine dissolves in water.
Currently, the FDA allows small amounts of BVO to be added in fruit-flavored beverages as a stabilizer. BVO has been shown to keep citrus from separating from the rest of the drink. However, the FDA only allows BVO to be used at levels not to exceed 15 parts per million.
Since the 1920s, brominated vegetable oil has been used as a food ingredient. The FDA wasn’t given authority to regulate food ingredients until 1958. Moreover, the agency was given this authority through the Food Additives Amendment made to the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.
In the Beginning
At first, BVO was placed in the Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) list. However, in the late 1960s, the FDA removed it after concerns about its safety came into question. Due to lack of evidence, the agency was unable to fully restrict its use. Subsequently, they did limit the usage of BVO and began regulating the chemical as a food additive. Furthermore, the agency began conducting long-term safety studies on BVO.
The FDA concluded the use of BVO in food was not in fact GRAS on Jan. 27, 1970. This conclusion was developed because of toxicity concerns under the conditions of use at the time. Seven months later, the agency started to regulate BVO being used as a food additive while further safety studies were conducted.
Furthermore, the FDA has continued to assess “possible health effects of BVO as it became available,” according to their website. Throughout the years, the agency has reassessed available information on the safety of BVO. Additionally, they have collected their own data and compared it to previous studies.
Call to Revoke Decision
The agency’s recent data collection has caused them to propose revoking their previous decision to allow BVO as an additive. In 1970, several countries in Europe and the UK banned the use of BVO. Now, the food additive is banned throughout Europe, the UK, and Japan. The United States is slowly working towards not using BVO all together.
Soda companies like Pepsi and Coca-Cola have already eliminated BVO from its ingredients. However, there are several other brands that still utilize the synthetic additive in their products.
If the FDA’s proposal is approved, the use of BVO will no longer be allowed to be used in food products.
By Sheena Robertson
Sources:
CNN: FDA proposes ban on potentially harmful ingredient found in some sodas
FDA: Brominated Vegetable Oil (BVO)
FDA: Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS)
CBC: Brominated vegetable oil may have adverse health effects: dietitian
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Featured Image Courtesy of Pattie‘s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
