(FeaturedNews.com) – The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is banning a soda additive they “no longer consider safe.”
On Tuesday, the FDA announced it had revoked the regulation allowing brominated vegetable oil (BVO) to be added to food products, stating that the additive “is no longer considered safe.”
BVO is typically used in beverages to stop the citrus flavoring from splitting and floating to the top.
To support its reason, the FDA highlighted studies the National Institutes of Health conducted, which uncovered the “potential for adverse health effects in humans.”
The new rule will become effective on August 2, 2024.
Last fall, the FDA initially proposed banning the use of BVO in food and pointed to studies uncovering that it is toxic to the thyroid.
Products with BVO may include “brominated vegetable oil” or any specific oil, like “brominated soybean oil,” in its ingredient list.
However, the FDA explained most beverage makers had reformulated their recipes, replacing BVO with a different ingredient, noting that only a “few” beverages in the U.S. still include the additive.
In a statement after the agency announced its BVO ban, Deputy Commission for the FDA’s Human Food program, Jim Jones, explained the agency’s commitment to reassessing Its “original determination of safety” to ensure they hold up over time.
Jones added that removing the remaining “authorized use of BVO” was the result of a “thorough review of current science and research findings” that had raised the agency’s safety concerns.
Jones also promised the agency would continue monitoring “emerging evidence on the chemicals” they are targeting for reassessment, adding that where “science no longer supports” the authorized use, the FDA would “take action to protect public health.”
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