FDA bans food additive found in citrusy sports drinks and sodas

return2ozma@lemmy.world to News@lemmy.world – 195 points – FDA bans food additive found in citrusy sports drinks and sodas
nbcnews.com

The FDA said it had concluded that BVO was not safe for use after the results of studies, it conducted in collaboration with the National Institutes of Health, found the potential for adverse effects in humans.

The agency had first proposed to revoke the regulation in November 2023. According to the Center for Science in the Public Interest, BVO was banned in the UK in 1970, followed by India in 1990, the EU in 2008 and Japan in 2010.

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The Food and Drug Administration said on Tuesday it would revoke the regulation that authorized the use of brominated vegetable oil in food items, effective Aug. 2, as it was no longer safe.

BVO is a chemical ingredient containing bromine, which is found in fire retardants. Small quantities of BVO are used legally in some citrus-flavored drinks in the United States to keep the flavor evenly distributed.

The FDA said it had concluded that BVO was not safe for use after the results of studies, it conducted in collaboration with the National Institutes of Health, found the potential for adverse effects in humans.

The agency had first proposed to revoke the regulation in November 2023. According to the Center for Science in the Public Interest, BVO was banned in the UK in 1970, followed by India in 1990, the EU in 2008 and Japan in 2010.

In 1970, the FDA had concluded that its use in food was not generally recognized as safe because of toxicity concerns. After this, the agency began regulating BVO as a food additive, while simultaneously conducting safety studies.

“The FDA’s new regulation to not allow BVO as a food additive is a terrific positive in the right direction,” said Michael Ashley Schulman, chief investment officer at Running Point Capital Advisors.

As per FDA rules, whenever a company was using the ingredient in any product, it was necessary to list it on the label.

Over time, many beverage makers have replaced BVO with an alternative ingredient, according to the FDA. “Today, few beverages in the U.S. contain BVO,” it said.

PepsiCo and Coca-Cola have removed BVO from their drinks such as Gatorade and Fanta, respectively.

“Sun Drop, manufactured by Keurig Dr Pepper, still uses BVO ... This is probably the biggest national brand that still uses it,” said CFRA Research’s Arun Sundaram.

Keurig Dr Pepper did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

followed by India in 1990

India, a country considerably more blasé about safety standards than the US, had already banned it a generation ago. Terrifying negligence on behalf of the FDA. How much money could this have possibly saved the megacorps?

no longer safe

It used to be safe?

Considered safe. Considerations are influenced by adequate research, ideally.

Lead used to be considered safe in paint, asbestos used to be considered safe for napkins, cigarettes used to be considered safe to smoke, cocaine used to be considered safe to drink, etc.

I am just waiting for the next "asbestos" to come to light in home construction. I am betting on drywall sooner or later being considered hazmat to disturb. Plastics are emerging as a bigger problem, so we will see how that all pans out.

Lead used to be considered safe in paint

It's worse than that. Ancient Romans knew that lead could poison you and no one ever forgot. They all kept using it anyway because lead was cheap.

The Romans even knew about asbestos, there were recommendations to not buy slaves from the asbestos mines because of the poor health associated.

Oddly enough, they still wiped their faces with the stuff because those napkins and towels could be cleaned by throwing them in fire.

Okay but that is a very cool way to clean napkins

Lead is still used as a gasoline additive for some applications. It was only banned for sale for on road vehicles in the 90s. Prior to 1975 just about every car on the road was spewing it from the tail pipe.

Then we put it in gasoline knowing damn well that the poisionous lead would spew out the exhaust, it took us decades to reverse that decison as well and it only really happened when engine knocking had been resolved.

Even now, it's legal in aviation fuel.

At least its not idling in the school parking lot anymore where children are closer to the exhausts and less aware of the risks.

the article left out the word, “considered”

or the FDA did

Everything that the FDA doesn't declare as "known" or "proven" safe within defined limits are "considered" safe or may be allowable to a defined limit. It is their cute little scapegoat should a substance they allow be proven unsafe and then they would face a greater risk of lawsuit had they determined it was known or proven safe.

Again, the FDA was late to the game. Even India has banned this stuff decades ago.

I always find this a little funny... Like I always hear complaints how the FDA is overbearing and stuff... And I'm like, they're barely doing their job. They're so woefully backed that even if they make a ruling, they act super slow or are unable to enforce. That said... Lots of moves happening from them after the baby formula stuff. It'll be interesting how the next year or two goes

I always find this a little funny... Like I always hear complaints how the FDA is overbearing and stuff

It's big corpos who'd love to continue using these additives that launch these claims via proxy into the public. Similar to how McDonald's made sure people think the US is a country of frivolous lawsuits because they were ordered to cover a woman's medical costs after a jury found them guilty. Purposeful misrepresentation of facts

While I don't doubt nor deny this happens (looking at you 3M), but I will say from experience, a lot of the bigger corps push themselves to exceed food safety standards. Well at least, in my experience in the food biz ... Granted I'm more in the luxurious sector. But yeah, since 2008 we've been well beyond what is being asked... Mostly for perception, but overall for financial reasons. In general a food safety incident costs about 10 mil (average anyway). Like we've been testing for heavy metals well before I started ... And now that's a big thing being tested for and such. The FDA sets a pretty low bar... Most of their actions tend to be reactionary.

Again, not saying I disagree, just stating my one point of data from my anecdotal experience.

a lot of the bigger corps

The problem is we as the public don't know which ones do and which ones don't. And even if we did, it's nigh impossible to keep track of which products are from which company.

Trying to keep myself out of trouble... But I have in one way or another have dealt with most big corps. The ones that scare me the most are the mom and pop shops that lack the infrastructure for a regulatory group. Like a team dedicated on keeping up with all the various changes both locally and globally since... As you mentioned products do ship and it's hard to track where things come from. And I think that's why I tend to trust these larger entities (now anyway). They have to deal with global regulations and not just the FDA stuff. That said, the FDA just ruled out a mandate on traceability standards for 2026. But to your point, I'm not sure how public this will be as it seems like it would lay out a companies supply chain and customer base...which are considered trade secrets.

I guess time will tell.

I wanna be clear, I'm not really a fanboi, it's just something I'm surrounded by with my current role and wanted to share my experiences while not sharing anything that would get me in trouble.... I need that check y'all 🥺

No no, I mean, I get your point about how most corps do try to keep up with regulations. But some bad apples certainly spoil the batch. Even within corps I'm sure there are differences from one dept to another.

India doesn’t have the Robert’s court.

The FDA means nothing. Agencies are pointless now. The whole thing is a joke.

Cue the lawsuit to be able to continue using it.

Yes, weren't the implications from the Chevron case that the FDA wouldn't be able to ban ingredients anymore? I thought the government departments were all basically stripped of powers and could only make recommendations to Congress.

Got to go read, now, and figure out what I misunderstood...

They can continue operating until the courts stop them. Chevron deference is in reference to court cases, not specific regulatory authority. So the Chevron doctrine was that courts should defer to the regulatory agency in most cases. With it gone, courts can generally rule against specific regulations without fear of being over turned on appeal.

The real danger is SCOTUS in another case in the last few days completely removed something called standing in relation to these regulations. It used to be that you could only challenge a new rule or regulation right after it was made. Now you can challenge it when the damage occurs. That sounds better but in reality it's worse. Because corporations can act as people in court, all you have to do is incorporate a new corporation in a friendly court district. For example, the second you create a "alcohol distribution" corporation you are subject to those regulations. Some of them are a hundred years old. You can now claim damage has occurred and sue to block the enforcement of those regulations.

Before Chevron was removed though the courts would have most likely ruled against you because the agency was deferred to in most cases. Now the court can take this shell company's case and rule however it wants.

The FDA knew it wasn't safe in 1970.

Okay new rule. If it's not naturally grown and simply processed, (squeezing an orange) it has to go to the FDA for FDA led testing and cannot be distributed until then.

If that's already the case then we need to see some criminal prosecutions. I'm getting really fucking tired of these captured regulators.

Oranges aren't squeezed anyway. They're separated into tanks of raw components and then mixed so OJ always tastes the same.

Great, now lets ban teflon next.

Just banning PTFE outright isn't gonna go well, it just has way too many useful applications. As a lubricant for example (tho fully enclosed uses there are def preferred obviously), or for uses where the fact that it's practically non-reactive is very much important. Phasing out PTFE coatings for non stick pans&things like that? Sure, that we can do. Basically.... reduce it's use to applications where it actually makes sense to do so&where there is no such thing as a practical "just use something else that doesn't share the same environmental issues!"

I'm aware there are legitimate uses for it, I meant around foodstuff since it's not something that should be anywhere near it. I probably should've specified better. 😅

I feel the same way about diamonds. They are fantastic for tools and abrasives, but everyone wearing it should be hit over the head with a teflon pan.

Eh, if it's lab grown or some family heirloom then I don't think there's any harm. With lab grown you're getting virtually the same thing as natural ones for cheaper, and without it being harvested by a child slave at gun point.

I could find these drinks two after digging in to 2 differnet articles :

  1. Sun Drop, made by Keurig Dr Pepper  2. Great Value Orangette orange soda ( Walmart brand )

Half asleep, read that as "Great Value Orange Vinaigrette Soda". Was shocked at the depth of Walmart's depravity.

Wait, does this mean Sunny D will have to be made from real oranges from now on?!

Small quantities of BVO are used legally in some citrus-flavored drinks in the United States to keep the flavor evenly distributed.

No, you'll just have to shake it before drinking.

Whew. I can't imagine any Sunny D consumer being satisfied with a real orange flavor.

Now where am I gonna get my bromine

You're going to have to drink indoor pool water like the rest of us. It has all the bromine you'll need, and more!

Also annoying that articles like these never list the full list of affected beverages. We can't have a negative taint against our dear corporations!