United States – FDA has recently implemented an outright prohibition on the use of a specific soda additive, which will begin next month, on account of health risks.
New Regulation
On Tuesday, the FDA explained that it disqualified the regulation permitting BVO in the food as it “is no longer considered safe.” The agency mentioned that the NIH raised the possibility of actual health consequences in the tests involving humans, as reported by The Hills.
The rule will become operative on Aug. 2.
BVO is used in sodas to prevent the citrus flavoring from floating to the top of the soda through separation. The FDA first suggested removing BVO from food late last year, stating that the ingredient is toxic to the thyroid.
Industry Response
The ingredient list may read “brominated vegetable oil” or, even more specifically, “brominated soybean oil. ” The FDA has indicated that many soft drink producers have reformulated their product away from BVO and that only a few beverages in the US market continue to contain the additive.
Commitment to Safety Reassessment
Jim Jones, the deputy commissioner for the FDA’s Human Foods program, claimed that the FDA “committed to conducting reassessments to ensure that our original determinations of safety have held up over time.”
“The removal of the only authorized use of BVO from the food supply was based on a thorough review of current science and research findings that raised safety concerns,” he said, as reported by The Hills.
“We will continue to monitor emerging evidence on the chemicals we have targeted for reassessment, and in cases such as this, where the science no longer supports continued authorized use, we will take action to protect public health,” he added.