The move follows a proposal by the FDA last November to
revoke the registration of the modified vegetable oil in the wake of recent
toxicology studies that make its continued use difficult to support.
The ban could be a sign of more things to come, although a
final call on the FDA’s reclassification of the ingredient still needs to go
through a lengthy review process that will take time to complete.
The FDA hints that it is reviewing regulations that
authorize the use of certain food additives, with a view to automatically
prohibit the approval of any food colouring agents found to cause cancer in
humans or animals, making for a more nimble bureaucratic process.
Announcing the proposal, FDA deputy commissioner for
human foods, James Jones, said: “The
proposed action is an example of how the agency monitors emerging evidence and,
as needed, conducts scientific research to investigate safety related
questions, and takes regulatory action when the science does not support the
continued safe use of additives in foods.”
BVO has been used as an emulsifying agent since the 1930s to
ensure citrus flavouring agents don’t float to the top of soft drinks.
From animal studies, scientists imply the compound can
slowly build up in fat tissues, leading to iodine deficiency disorders. India,
Japan, and the EU nations have already banned BVO, and it was outlawed in
California in October 2022, with legislation due to take effect in 2027.
When questions were raised over its possible toxicity, the
FDA temporarily limited its use to
relatively small concentrations of no more than 15 parts per million
exclusively in citrus-flavored drinks.
Data on the risks posed by even these small amounts of BVO
over time hasn’t been easy to collect, relying heavily on long-term studies
that re-evaluate health effects in a significantly sized sample of people. Yet
the evidence has been slowly mounting.
A UK study in the 1970s found bromine was building up in
human tissues, with animal studies linking high concentrations of BVO with
heart and behavioural problems.
It’s taken time and several further studies, but on the back
of more recent animal studies based on relative concentrations of BVO humans
are likely to ingest, the FDA is finally convinced there is sufficient evidence
to ban its use altogether.
Most major soda-drink companies are fortunately ahead of the
game. PepsiCo and Coca-Cola Co. have been phasing the ingredient out of their
products over the past decade.
“Over the years, many beverage makers reformulated their
products to replace BVO with an alternative ingredient, and today, few
beverages in the US contain BVO,” said Jones.
With suitable alternatives to BVO already being used to make
citrus drinks around the world taste tangy down to the very last drop, the
ingredient isn’t likely to be missed.
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