Brominated vegetable oil (BVO) is vegetable oil that has had atoms of the element bromine bonded to it. Brominated vegetable oil is used as an emulsifier in citrus-flavored soft drinks to help natural fat-soluble citrus flavors stay suspended in the drink and to produce a cloudy appearance. BVO has been used by the soft drink industry since 1931.[1]
The addition of bromine increases the density of the oil, and the amount of bromine is carefully controlled to achieve a density that is the same as the water in the drink. As a result, the BVO remains suspended in the water instead of forming separate layers.
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In one case, a man who drank eight liters of Ruby-Red Squirt daily had a reaction that caused his skin color to turn red and produced lesions diagnosed as bromoderma. The excessive quantities together with the fact that the man had a higher than normal sensitivity to bromine made this an unusual case.[2] A similar case reported that a man who consumed two to four liters of a cola containing BVO on a daily basis experienced memory loss, tremors, fatigue, loss of muscle coordination, headache, ptosis of the right eyelid as well as elevated serum chloride.[3] In the two months it took to correctly diagnose the problem, the patient also lost the ability to walk. Eventually bromism was diagnosed and hemodialysis was prescribed which resulted in a reversal of the disorder.[4]
The U.S. Code of Federal Regulations imposes the following restrictions on the use of BVO as a food additive in the United States:[5]
(a) The additive complies with specifications prescribed in the "Food Chemicals Codex," 3d Ed. (1981), pp. 40-41, which is incorporated by reference, except that free fatty acids (as oleic) shall not exceed 2.5 percent and iodine value shall not exceed 16. Copies of the material incorporated by reference may be obtained from the National Academy Press, 2101 Constitution Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20418, or may be examined at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). For information on the availability of this material at NARA, call 202-741-6030, or go to: http://www.archives.gov/federal_register/code_of_federal_regulations/ibr_locations.html.(b) The additive is used on an interim basis as a stabilizer for flavoring oils used in fruit-flavored beverages, for which any applicable standards of identity do not preclude such use, in an amount not to exceed 15 parts per million in the finished beverage, pending the outcome of additional toxicological studies on which periodic reports at 6-month intervals are to be furnished and final results submitted to the Food and Drug Administration promptly after completion of the studies.
[42 FR 14636, Mar. 15, 1977, as amended at 49 FR 5610, Feb. 14, 1984]
BVO is one of four substances that the Food and Drug Administration has defined as interim food additives;[6] the other three are acrylonitrile copolymers, mannitol, and saccharin.[7]
Standards for soft drinks in India prohibit the use of BVO. Usage of BVO has been banned in India since 1988.[8]
European Union - BVO is not on the Current EU approved additives list[9]