Brominated vegetable oil (BVO) in food: ingestion safety
High risk(People-specific data is limited; this page draws from human adult context.) Bioaccumulation of bromine in fatty tissues with documented organ toxicity in animal studies. FDA banned from food in 2024.
What is brominated vegetable oil (bvo)?
Brominated vegetable oil (BVO) is a food additive (revoked), emulsifier, density adjuster.
The IUPAC name is brominated triglycerides (mixture — no single IUPAC name).
Also known as: Brominated vegetable oil, BVO, brominated soybean oil, brominated cottonseed oil.
- IUPAC name
- brominated triglycerides (mixture — no single IUPAC name)
- CAS number
- 8016-94-2
Risk for people
High riskBioaccumulation of bromine in fatty tissues with documented organ toxicity in animal studies. FDA banned from food in 2024.
BVO was used for decades as a density adjuster in citrus-flavored beverages. Bromine from BVO accumulates in fatty tissues including the heart, liver, and brain. Animal studies demonstrated heart lesions, fatty liver changes, thyroid disruption, and behavioral alterations. The FDA revoked GRAS status effective August 2, 2024, citing new toxicology data showing adverse effects on the heart at lower doses than previously assessed. Historically banned in EU, Japan, and India decades earlier.
Symptoms of exposure
- Headaches and fatigue (per case reports of heavy BVO beverage consumption)
- Memory loss and cognitive changes (per animal studies and case reports)
- Skin lesions / bromoderma (per clinical literature, with chronic bromine exposure)
- Organ damage — heart, liver, thyroid (per FDA toxicology review, animal studies)
Regulatory consensus
5 regulatory and scientific bodies have classified Brominated vegetable oil (BVO). The classifications differ — that's the data.
| Agency | Year | Classification | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| US FDA | 2024 | BANNED — GRAS status revoked | FDA revoked 21 CFR 180.30 effective August 2, 2024. Companies given one year to reformulate. Based on new toxicology studies showing heart damage in animals at lower doses than previous assessments. |
| EU | — | BANNED | Never approved for use in food in the European Union |
| Japan | — | BANNED | Banned from food use in Japan |
| India | — | BANNED | Banned from food use in India under FSSAI regulations |
| WHO/JECFA | — | ADI discontinued | JECFA discontinued the acceptable daily intake, effectively withdrawing safety endorsement |
Regulators apply different standards of evidence — animal-data weighting, exposure-pattern assumptions, epidemiological power thresholds — which is why two scientific bodies can review the same data and reach different conclusions. The disagreement is the data.
Where you encounter brominated vegetable oil (bvo)
- citrus-flavored beverages (historically — most reformulated or banned)
- Mountain Dew (removed prior to FDA ban)
- Sun Drop (historically)
- some Gatorade formulations (historically)
- generic citrus sodas (historically)
- some imported beverages (may still contain BVO in countries without bans)
Safer alternatives
Lower-risk approaches that achieve a similar outcome to Brominated vegetable oil (BVO):
- Sucrose acetate isobutyrate (SAIB)
- Glycerol ester of rosin
Frequently asked questions
What products contain brominated vegetable oil (bvo)?
Brominated vegetable oil (BVO) appears in: citrus-flavored beverages (historically — most reformulated or banned); Mountain Dew (removed prior to FDA ban); Sun Drop (historically).
Why do regulators disagree about brominated vegetable oil (bvo)?
Brominated vegetable oil (BVO) has been classified by 5 agencies including US FDA, EU, Japan, India, WHO/JECFA, with differing conclusions. Regulators apply different standards of evidence (animal data weighting, exposure-pattern assumptions, epidemiological power thresholds), which is why two scientific bodies can review the same data and reach different conclusions. See the regulatory consensus table on this page for the full picture.
See Brominated vegetable oil (BVO) in the food app
Look up products containing brominated vegetable oil (bvo), compare to alternatives, and explore the full data record.
Open in food View raw API dataReference data, not professional advice. Aggregates publicly available regulatory and scientific data; not a substitute for veterinary, medical, legal, or regulatory advice. Why we built ALETHEIA →