You crack open a can of ice-cold, citrus-flavored soda. You take a sip and get that perfectly consistent, tangy taste, just as you expect. You’ve probably never stopped to wonder how the oily citrus flavor stays perfectly mixed in the water and sugar instead of separating and floating to the top. For decades, the answer was a little-known but powerful ingredient: Brominated Vegetable Oil, or BVO.
This chemical workhorse kept our favorite sodas looking and tasting great. But it harbored a dark secret: a chemical connection to flame retardants and a list of health concerns that grew more alarming with each new study. For years, BVO lingered in our drinks despite being banned in Europe and Japan. Now, after immense pressure from consumers and a landmark move by California, the FDA has finally taken action. The story of BVO is a fascinating look at food science, corporate responsibility, and how a “sticky” ingredient finally lost its grip on the American beverage industry in 2023.
What is Brominated Vegetable Oil and What Did It Do?
At its core, Brominated Vegetable Oil is a simple concept. It starts as a regular vegetable oil, like soybean or corn oil, which is then chemically bonded with the element bromine. This process dramatically increases the density of the oil. Its purpose in soda was purely functional: it was an emulsifier and a stabilizer. Flavoring oils, like those derived from lemons, limes, oranges, or grapefruit, are much less dense than water. Left on their own, they would quickly separate and form an oily ring at the top of the beverage. BVO solved this problem. By blending the flavor oils with the now-heavy BVO, their density became similar to the surrounding liquid, allowing them to stay suspended indefinitely. This ensured that the last sip of soda from the bottle tasted just as good as the first. For this reason, BVO became a go-to ingredient for decades in dozens of popular citrus-flavored soft drinks and sports drinks, from Mountain Dew to Sun Drop.
From Food Additive to Health Concern: The Case Against BVO
The very thing that made BVO effective—the bromine—was also the source of its downfall. As scientists and consumers began to scrutinize ingredient lists more closely, the presence of a halogen element more commonly associated with industrial chemicals raised major red flags.
The Bromine Connection The primary concern with BVO is bromine itself. Bromine is a member of the halogen family on the periodic table, alongside fluorine, chlorine, and iodine. While our bodies need iodine for proper thyroid function, they have no known biological need for bromine. In fact, its presence can be disruptive. The most startling connection for consumers was learning that specific forms of bromine are used in brominated flame retardants (BFRs), chemicals applied to furniture and electronics to reduce flammability. While the chemical structures are different, the idea of ingesting an element also used in flame retardants was, understandably, deeply unsettling.
Accumulation in the Body and “Bromism” Unlike essential nutrients that are processed and used by the body, studies showed that bromine from BVO could build up, or bioaccumulate, in the body’s fatty tissues. Over time, this accumulation could lead to health problems. In rare but well-documented medical cases, extreme consumption of BVO-containing sodas (multiple liters per day) led to a severe condition called “bromism.” Patients presented with symptoms including debilitating headaches, fatigue, memory loss, loss of muscle coordination, and painful skin lesions known as bromoderma [1]. While these cases were extreme, they provided clear evidence of the potential toxicity of bromine when consumed in large quantities.
Thyroid Disruption Perhaps the most significant health risk for the general population is BVO’s potential to interfere with the thyroid gland. Because bromine is chemically similar to iodine, it can compete with iodine for absorption by the thyroid. A healthy thyroid needs adequate iodine to produce hormones that regulate metabolism, growth, and development. If bromine is taking up space where iodine should be, it can disrupt this critical function, potentially leading to hypothyroidism and other thyroid-related issues [2].
The Final Straw: How BVO Got Banned in 2023
The removal of BVO was not an overnight decision but the culmination of over a decade of pressure. The process started with consumer-led campaigns in the early 2010s. A viral online petition garnered hundreds of thousands of signatures, pressuring major beverage companies to act. In response, industry giants like PepsiCo and Coca-Cola announced they would voluntarily phase out BVO from popular drinks like Gatorade and Powerade. However, the ingredient remained in many other products, and the FDA had not yet taken a formal regulatory stance. The tipping point finally arrived in 2023 with two back-to-back, decisive events.
- The California Food Safety Act: In October 2023, California passed its groundbreaking law banning four chemical additives, including BVO [3]. This effectively put the entire food industry on notice that it was time to find a replacement.
- The FDA’s Proposed Rule: One month later, in November 2023, the FDA delivered the final blow. The agency announced its formal proposal to revoke the authorization for BVO in all food products. In its statement, the FDA cited studies, including its own recent research conducted in collaboration with the National Institutes of Health, that demonstrated the potential for adverse health effects. The agency concluded that the use of BVO is “no longer considered safe” [4].
Checking the Label: Which Drinks Used BVO?
While many popular brands are now BVO-free, it has been a staple in the industry for so long that consumers should still be aware, especially with smaller or store-brand products. Historically, some of the well-known beverages that contained BVO include:
- Mountain Dew
- Sun Drop
- Squirt
- Fanta Orange
- Fresca
- Various store-brand and generic sodas (Orange, Lemon-Lime, Grapefruit, etc.)
Thankfully, due to the recent regulatory action, companies are now racing to reformulate any remaining products that contain BVO. The industry standard has shifted, and a BVO-free formula is the new expectation.
Conclusion: A Win for a Cleaner Drink
The story of Brominated Vegetable Oil is a case study in how our understanding of food safety evolves. An ingredient once seen as a clever technical solution was ultimately revealed to be an unnecessary health risk. The FDA’s decision in 2023, spurred by scientific research, consumer advocacy, and state legislation, marks a major victory for public health and transparency. The next time you enjoy a citrus soda, you can be more confident that its flavor and stability are achieved without an ingredient linked to flame retardants and thyroid disruption. The removal of BVO from the American food supply is proof that our regulatory system, though often slow, can be pushed to make common-sense changes that benefit everyone.
References
1.U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). “FDA Proposes to Ban Brominated Vegetable Oil (BVO).” https://www.fda.gov/food/cfsan-constituent-updates/fda-proposes-ban-brominated-vegetable-oil-bvo
2.U.S. National Library of Medicine. “Bromism.” In StatPearls. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK431050/
3.National Institutes of Health (NIH). “Iodine: Fact Sheet for Health Professionals.” https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Iodine-HealthProfessional/
4.AP News. (2023). “California governor signs bill banning food additives linked to health problems.” https://apnews.com/article/california-food-additives-ban-4-ingredients-f5f4a0815e61f2f01f055627252272e2
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