BVO (Brominated Vegetable Oil): FDA's 2024 Ban and What Replaced It

What is brominated vegetable oil?

Brominated vegetable oil is a food additive made by reacting vegetable oil — usually soybean or corn oil — with bromine. The resulting compound is denser than water, which makes it useful as an emulsifier in citrus-flavored beverages: it keeps flavor oils evenly distributed in the liquid rather than floating to the surface.

BVO was used at low concentrations — typically 8 parts per million or less — in sodas and sports drinks. Its only practical function was cosmetic and textural: without an emulsifier, citrus-flavor oils separate visibly in the bottle.

The FDA first authorized BVO in 1958. In 1970, it removed BVO from its GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe) list and placed it on an interim list of approved additives pending additional safety review. That interim status persisted for 54 years — until the 2024 revocation. See our analysis of the FDA GRAS loophole for context on how additives remain authorized for decades under interim review.

The science behind the ban

Bromine is a halogen. Brominated compounds — including the bromine in BVO — are lipophilic, meaning they preferentially accumulate in fat tissue rather than being rapidly excreted. Animal studies that informed the FDA's review showed that chronic BVO exposure caused thyroid hormone disruption and neurological effects at doses that, while higher than typical human consumption, raised questions about a margin of safety narrow enough to justify continued use.

Human case reports from the 1970s and 1980s documented bromine toxicity — a condition called bromism — in individuals who consumed very large quantities of BVO-containing sodas daily over extended periods. These were extreme cases, not representative of typical consumption, but they established a plausible mechanism of harm.

The FDA's 2024 final rule cited updated toxicological data showing that BVO metabolites accumulate in multiple tissues and that the margin between the dose that caused adverse effects in animals and the estimated human intake was insufficient to maintain confidence in its safety. The agency concluded that BVO is no longer safe for use as a food additive under the conditions of its intended use.

Which drinks contained BVO — and when they removed it

BVO was most commonly associated with citrus-flavored sodas and sports drinks. The two highest-profile products to carry it were Gatorade (removed 2013) and Mountain Dew (removed 2020). Both companies acted ahead of regulatory deadlines in response to consumer pressure and ingredient-transparency campaigns.

By the time the FDA issued its 2024 final rule, the majority of US beverage manufacturers had already transitioned away from BVO. The practical impact of the ban on the retail market was therefore more limited than it would have been a decade earlier.

What replaced BVO?

The beverage industry settled on two primary alternatives. The first is sucrose acetate isobutyrate (SAIB), a synthetic ester approved by the FDA at up to 300 ppm in beverages. The second is glycerol ester of wood rosin (also called ester gum), a natural resin derivative approved at up to 100 ppm. Both perform the same emulsification function as BVO without brominated compounds.

Neither replacement has been the subject of significant safety concerns at approved use levels, though both remain on the FDA approved additives list rather than having GRAS designation — a distinction worth noting. For a broader look at additives currently under scrutiny, see our full list of additives rated Avoid.

The California connection and the broader regulatory trend

California's AB 418, signed by Governor Newsom in October 2023, banned BVO along with three other additives — red dye No. 3, potassium bromate, and propylparaben — from food products sold in the state starting January 2027. BVO's federal ban arrived before that state deadline, making the California provision effectively redundant for BVO.

The California legislation was notable because it applied the European precautionary approach — banning substances approved in the US but not in the EU — to a major US state market. The FDA subsequently acted on BVO and red dye No. 3 at the federal level. For more on this regulatory pattern, see our article on the EU precautionary principle and how it compares to the US approach.

BVO was never authorized in the European Union. EFSA's food additive framework did not include brominated vegetable oil, and it does not appear in the EU's approved additives register. See the full list of additives banned in Europe but previously permitted in the US.

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