FDA to Ban Brominated Vegetable Oil

The FDA said Tuesday that, effective August 2, it would no longer allow brominated vegetable oil (BVO) in food and beverage items. The additive is often used as a stabilizer to keep fruit flavoring evenly distributed throughout the product.

Food and beverage businesses have until August 2025 to comply to allow companies time to “reformulate, relabel, and deplete the inventory of BVO-containing products before the FDA begins enforcing the final rule,” said FDA.

After reviewing studies about the chemical conducted in collaboration with the National Institutes of Health, the FDA determined that it could cause adverse health effects in humans.

Last year, California signed the California Food Safety Act into law, banning four food additives permitted in foods by the FDA, including BVO. In response, the ruling inspired the FDA to take a more proactive approach to evaluating food safety and to consider banning the additives, said attorney Jeni Lamb Rogers in an SFA webinar about the topic.

The FDA contends that, as of today, few beverages manufactured in the U.S. contain BVO.