United States of America Revokes the Use of Brominated Vegetable Oil in Food

On 3^rd July 2024, the Food Drug Administration published a final rule on the “Revocation of Authorization for Use of Brominated Vegetable Oil (BVO) in Food”.

The key points are summarized as follows:

• Revokes the authorization for the use of BVO as a food ingredient intended to stabilize flavoring oils in fruit-flavored beverages for use up to 15 ppm;
• There are no authorizations for other uses of BVO in food;
• BVO is traditionally made from oils like corn, cottonseed, and olive, and nowadays from Soybean oil with the labeling "brominated soybean oil" on food packaging;
• BVO is primarily used to prevent the separation of citrus-flavored soft drinks during distribution by acting as an emulsifier;
• The dietary exposure to BVO is not considered Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) due to “the potential for adverse health effects in humans.”

The effective date of the final rule is August 2, 2024.

To view the complete regulation, check out the Food News Monitoring System and stay up-to-date with the latest regulatory information.