Brominated vegetable oil

Careful control of the type of oil used allows bromination of it to produce BVO with a specific density of 1.33 g/mL, which is 33% greater than water (1 g/mL). As a result, it can be mixed with less-dense flavoring agents such as citrus oil to produce an oil which matches the density of water or other products. The droplets containing BVO remain suspended in the water rather than separating and floating to the surface.

Alternative food additives used for the same purpose include sucrose acetate isobutyrate (SAIB, E444) and glycerol ester of wood rosin (ester gum, E445).

Similar iodinated oils have been used as contrast agents and for goiter prophylaxis in populations with low dietary iodine intake.

File:BVOstructure.png, linolenoate, and oleate esters.]]

Brominated vegetable oil has the CAS number 8016-94-2 and the EC number 232-416-5.{{Cite web |title=EC Inventory |url=https://echa.europa.eu/information-on-chemicals/ec-inventory/-/dislist/details/232-416-5 |access-date=2023-11-04 |website=echa.europa.eu |language=en-GB}}

In the United States, BVO was designated in 1958 as generally recognized as safe (GRAS), but this was withdrawn by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1970.Food additives. Brominated vegetable oils; removal from list of substances generally recognized as safe. Federal Register (1970), 35(18), 1049 The U.S. Code of Federal Regulations imposed restrictions on the use of BVO as a food additive in the United States, limiting the concentration to 15 ppm,{{Cite journal |author=D.L. Turner |year=1972 |title=Determination of brominated vegetable oil concentrations in soft drinks using a specific ion electrode |journal=Journal of Food Science |volume=37 |issue=5 |pages=791–792 |doi=10.1111/j.1365-2621.1972.tb02754.x}} the amount of free fatty acids to 2.5 percent, and the iodine value to 16.{{cite web |title=Code of Federal Regulations, Title 21—Food and Drugs, Chapter I—Food and Drug Administration, Department of Health and Human Services, Subchapter B—Food for Human Consumption, Part 180—Food Additives Permitted in Food or in Contact with Food on an Interim Basis Pending Additional Study |url=https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfcfr/CFRSearch.cfm?fr=180.30 |access-date=2007-09-17 |work=Title 21 of the Code of Federal Regulations}}

BVO was one of four substances that the FDA has defined as "interim" food additives;{{cite web |date=26 August 2021 |title=Food Additive Status List |url=https://www.fda.gov/Food/IngredientsPackagingLabeling/FoodAdditivesIngredients/ucm091048.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130321053934/http://www.fda.gov/Food/IngredientsPackagingLabeling/FoodAdditivesIngredients/ucm091048.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=March 21, 2013 |publisher=Food and Drug Administration}}{{cite book |author1=Institute of Medicine (US) Food Forum |url=http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=9453&page=31 |title=Enhancing the Regulatory Decision-Making Approval Process for Direct Food Ingredient Technologies |publisher=The National Academies Press |year=1999 |isbn=978-0-309-06486-6 |doi=10.17226/9453 |pmid=25077191}} the other three were acrylonitrile copolymers, mannitol, and saccharin.{{cite book |author1=Institute of Medicine (US) Food Forum |url=http://books.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=9453&page=31 |title=Enhancing the Regulatory Decision-Making Approval Process for Direct Food Ingredient Technologies |publisher=Institute of Medicine |year=1999 |isbn=978-0-309-06486-6 |pages=31 |doi=10.17226/9453 |pmid=25077191 |accessdate=2007-09-17}}

An online petition at Change.org asking PepsiCo to stop adding BVO to Gatorade and other products collected over 200,000 signatures by January 2013.{{cite news |last=Strom |first=Stephanie |date=13 December 2012 |title=Another look at a drink ingredient, Brominated Vegetable OIl |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/13/business/another-look-at-a-drink-ingredient-brominated-vegetable-oil.html?adxnnl=1&pagewanted=all&adxnnlx=1356247075-ofsnEpX9vqp4LrvhH2hbxg |accessdate=23 December 2012 |work=New York Times}} The petition pointed out that since Gatorade is sold in countries where BVO is not approved, there was already an existing formulation without this ingredient. PepsiCo announced in January 2013 that it would no longer use BVO in Gatorade.{{cite news |author=Stephanie Strom |date=January 25, 2013 |title=PepsiCo Will Halt Use of Additive in Gatorade |url=http://dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/01/25/gatorade-listens-to-a-teen-and-changes-its-formula/ |accessdate=2013-01-26 |newspaper=The New York Times |format=blog by NYT journalist}}{{cite web |title=Gatorade to remove controversial ingredient |url=https://finance.yahoo.com/news/gatorade-remove-controversial-ingredient-172531703--finance.html |accessdate=2013-01-26 |publisher=AP}} On May 5, 2014, Coca-Cola and PepsiCo said they would remove BVO from their products.{{cite news |last=Choi |first=Candice |date=May 5, 2014 |title=Coke, Pepsi dropping 'BVO' from all drinks |url=http://bigstory.ap.org/article/mtn-dew-latest-drop-controversial-ingredient |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140508062252/http://bigstory.ap.org/article/mtn-dew-latest-drop-controversial-ingredient |archive-date=2014-05-08 |accessdate= |publisher=Associated Press}} As of early 2020, both companies have stopped using BVO in all their products.{{Cite web |date=2021-01-13 |title=Watch for This Harmful Chemical in Your Soda {{!}} Environmental Working Group |url=https://www.ewg.org/news-insights/news/2021/01/watch-harmful-chemical-your-soda |access-date=2023-11-17 |website=www.ewg.org |language=en}}

In October 2023, California Governor Gavin Newsom approved a law that would ban the manufacture, sale, and distribution of brominated vegetable oil, along with three other additives (potassium bromate, propylparaben, and Red 3), becoming the first state to ban food additives that were otherwise approved by the FDA.{{Cite web |date=2023-09-12 |title=California Legislature passes first bill in U.S. to ban food additives, including red dye No. 3 |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/california-legislature-passes-first-bill-us-banning-food-additives-red-rcna104644 |access-date=2024-09-03 |website=NBC News |language=en}}{{Cite news |last=Cimons |first=Marlene |date=October 11, 2023 |title=California isn’t banning Skittles, but four additives will be removed |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2023/10/11/california-skittles-ban-chemicals-food/ |access-date=August 17, 2024 |work=The Washington Post}}

In July 2024, the FDA revoked regulations allowing the use of BVO in food,{{cite web |date=July 2, 2024 |title=FDA Revokes Regulation Allowing the Use of Brominated Vegetable Oil |url=https://www.fda.gov/food/cfsan-constituent-updates/fda-revokes-regulation-allowing-use-brominated-vegetable-oil-bvo-food |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240702183532/https://www.fda.gov/food/cfsan-constituent-updates/fda-revokes-regulation-allowing-use-brominated-vegetable-oil-bvo-food |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 2, 2024 |access-date=2024-07-02 |website=U.S. Food and Drug Administration |ref={{sfnref | U.S. Food and Drug Administration}}}} following a proposal made in November 2023.{{Cite web |last=Rogers |first=Kristen |date=2023-11-02 |title=FDA proposes ban on additive found in sodas |url=https://www.cnn.com/2023/11/02/health/brominated-vegetable-oil-ban-fda-proposal-wellness/index.html |access-date=2023-11-03 |website=CNN |language=en}} The agency concluded that the intended use of BVO in food is no longer considered safe after the results of studies conducted in collaboration with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) found the potential for adverse health effects in humans, including headaches and nervous system damage. The final rule banning BVO took effect August 2, 2024, and beverage companies have one year to reformulate their products to comply with the final rule.{{Cite web |date=2024-07-03 |title=Revocation of Authorization for Use of Brominated Vegetable Oil in Food |url=https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2024/07/03/2024-14300/revocation-of-authorization-for-use-of-brominated-vegetable-oil-in-food |access-date=2024-09-03 |website=Federal Register |language=en}}

Canada has banned the use of brominated vegetable oil since August 30, 2024. The decision follows a proposal made in May 2024{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2024-05-21 |title=Proposal to remove brominated vegetable oil from the List of permitted food additives with other accepted uses |url=https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/food-nutrition/public-involvement-partnerships/proposal-remove-brominated-vegetable-oil-list-permitted-food-additives-other-accepted-uses.html |access-date=2024-08-17 |website=Government of Canada}} citing mounting health concerns. This additive was previously permitted in drinks with a limit of 15 ppm in beverages with citrus or spruce oils.{{Cite web |last=Canada |first=Health |date=2024-08-30 |title=Modification to the List of permitted food additives with other accepted uses to remove brominated vegetable oil |url=https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/food-nutrition/public-involvement-partnerships/modification-list-permitted-food-additives-other-accepted-uses-remove-brominated-vegetable-oil.html |access-date=2024-11-17 |website=www.canada.ca}} Beverage companies have one year from that date to reformulate and relabel any affected products.

In the European Union, BVO has been banned from use since 2008{{Cite web |title=BVO: The FDA finally bans brominated vegetable oil |url=https://www.cspinet.org/cspi-news/bvo-fda-finally-bans-brominated-vegetable-oil |access-date=2024-11-17 |website=Center for Science in the Public Interest |language=en}} (it was originally banned in the UK and several other European countries in 1970).{{Cite book |last1=Friberg |first1=Stig |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2XvHZtRRA7sC&dq=%22+In+1970,+the+United+Kingdom+and+several+other+European+countries+withdrew+their+permission+for+the+use+of+BVO%22&pg=PA488 |title=Food Emulsions |last2=Larsson |first2=Kare |last3=Sjoblom |first3=Johan |date=2003-11-04 |publisher=CRC Press |isbn=978-0-203-91322-2 |language=en}} Any BVO-containing products that may slip through the regulations are pulled from shelves upon discovery.{{Cite web|title=Banned emulsifier in soft drink|url=https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/E-8-2015-013572_EN.html|access-date=2020-06-18|website=www.europarl.europa.eu|language=en}} In the EU, beverage companies commonly use glycerol ester of wood rosin or locust bean gum as an alternative to BVO.

In India, standards for soft drinks have prohibited the use of BVO since 1990.

In Japan, the use of BVO as a food additive has been banned since 2010.

There are case reports of adverse effects associated with excessive consumption of BVO-containing products. One case reported that a man who consumed two to four liters of a soda containing BVO on a daily basis experienced memory loss, tremors, fatigue, loss of muscle coordination, headache, and ptosis of the right eyelid, as well as elevated serum chloride.{{cite journal | doi=10.3109/15563659709001219 | author=Horowitz BZ | title=Bromism from excessive cola consumption | journal=Journal of Toxicology: Clinical Toxicology | volume=35 | issue=3 | year=1997 | pages=315–320 | pmid=9140329}} In the two months it took to correctly diagnose the problem, the patient also lost the ability to walk. Eventually, bromism was diagnosed and hemodialysis was prescribed which resulted in a reversal of the disorder.{{cite web |url=http://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/1999/jul/29/what-brominated-vegetable-oil-and-why-do-soda-comp/ |title=Straight from the Hip: What is Brominated Vegetable Oil? |author=Matthew Alice |publisher=San Diego Reader |date=1999-07-29 |accessdate=2007-09-17 }}

{{reflist|2}}

• [http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=soda-chemical-cloudy-health-history Brominated Battle: Soda Chemical Has Cloudy Health History]
• [http://www.inchem.org/documents/jecfa/jecmono/v48aje02.htm WHO/Food and Agriculture Organization 1970 report]
• [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=6665731&itool=iconabstr&query_hl=6&itool=pubmed_docsum Behavioral and reproductive effects of chronic developmental exposure to brominated vegetable oil in rats]
• [http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/fcn/fcnNavigation.cfm?filter=brominated&sortColumn=&rpt=eafusListing FDA Everything Added to Food in the United States (EAFUS) entry for brominated vegetable oil] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160601203255/http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/fcn/fcnNavigation.cfm?filter=brominated&sortColumn=&rpt=eafusListing |date=2016-06-01 }}
• [https://mobil.bfr.bund.de/cm/343/gesundheitliche-bewertung-von-erfrischungsgetraenken-mit-zugesetzten-bromierten-pflanzenoelen.pdf Gesundheitliche Bewertung von Erfrischungsgetränken mit zugesetzten bromierten Pflanzenölen. Stellungnahme Nr. 023/2014 des Bundesinstituts für Risikobewertung vom 4. Juli 2014]

Category:Food emulsifiers

Category:Vegetable oils

Category:Bromine