FDA Warns: Remove This Popular Item From Washington Kitchens

FDA Warns: Remove This Item From Washington Kitchens

Last week (Thursday, November 2nd) the Food and Drug Administration, (the FDA) made a chilling announcement.

The results from the FDA and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) Division of Translational Toxicology (formerly the Division of the National Toxicology Program) study showed that brominated vegetable oil provides toxic effects on the thyroid.

Your thyroid is an important gland that produces hormones - that play a key role in regulating:

* Blood pressure

* Body temperature

* Heart rate

* Metabolism

* The reaction to other hormones in your body.

‘The FDA proposed to revoke the regulation authorizing the use of brominated vegetable oil (BVO) in food. The FDA conducted studies that clearly show adverse health effects in animals at levels more closely approximating real-world exposure. Therefore, the FDA can no longer conclude that this use of BVO in food is safe.’ -FDA.gov

 

Brominated vegetable oil was once widely used in popular drinks like Gatorade and Mountain Dew.

Brominated vegetable oil was used regularly in diet sodas but also in Gatorade and Mountain Dew. Coca-Cola and Gatorade stopped using the product between 2013 and 2014.

Today, few beverages in the U.S. contain BVO. -FDA

However, and this is important for you to know - similar products may still have brominated vegetable oil in products such as Food Lion brand sodas, Sun Drop brand sodas, and Walmart’s "Great Value" brand sodas. 

What Is Brominated Vegetable Oil Used For?

According to the FDA's proposed banning of brominated vegetable oil, it is used as a primary additive for citrus/fruit-flavored sports drinks and sodas. BVO was added to help keep ingredients from separating.

What makes brominated vegetable oil so dangerous?

There are concerns that bromine accumulates in fatty tissue in the body and causes harmful effects - damage to the brain, heart, and liver.

'BVO is an organobromine compound, and others, notably flame retardants, can build up in food chains and affect development in birds and animals.'  -Ian D. Rae "Global Environment"

In 2012 German scientists found:

* Several US soft drinks (Gatorade, Mountain Dew, & Fanta to name a few) contained BVO at around 8 parts per million. The average adult drinker received thousands of times more organobromine from the drinks than from other sources, including Bromine from flame retardants that leak into the day-to-day environment.

Where can you find brominated vegetable oil?

• citrus-flavored soda.
• citrus-flavored sports drinks.
• energy drinks.
• fruit-flavored syrups.
• baked goods.

(INFO: Michigan State University)

Check the product labels to see if any similar items listed above are in your home for Brominated Vegetable Oil.

Encouraging News

The recent news of how toxic Brominated vegetable oil is on our thyroid (and our health in general) - is an excellent example of the university research groups using new studies to inform the FDA - who then act quickly - to keep our foods and beverages safe.

Info: FDA.gov, Michigan State University, Rae, Ian D."Global Environment"