Now what is the next course of action? Well, recently the FDA changed BVO's safety status from "generally considered safe" to "questionable." Hopefully, this change will lead to more studies being performed on the harmful effects of the substance, and maybe eventually lead to a ban altogether. Until then, however, I recommend looking at the ingredient list of the juices and sodas you drink, or better yet, avoid drinking extremely processed liquids altogether.
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| An illustration depicting the dangers of drinks containing BVO |
For more information, go to one or more of these websites:
http://news.yahoo.com/brominated-vegetable-oil-gatorade-075517827--finance.html
ReplyDeleteThis article discusses brominated vegetable oil, specifically in the orange-flavored Gatorade. Although Gatorade eliminated the use of brominated vegetable oil in the production of most flavors, it remains to be in the orange flavor. The current owner of Gatorade said “While our products are safe, we are making this change because we know that some consumers have a negative perception of BVO in Gatorade," emphasizing that the oil causes no known harmful effects. Clearly scientific evidence suggests otherwise, as you said it causes developmental problems and is possibly carcinogenic. Although the idea of flame retardants being used in our drinks does not sound appetizing, the FDA did state that the drinks contain much less bromine than flame retardants and it “is considered safe for use in limited quantities in fruit-flavored drinks.” The article then addresses the issues regarding the FDA and regulation of chemicals similar to brominated vegetable oil. At the end of the day, the FDA simply does not have enough time to investigate each artificial chemical used in food production. I can see where they are coming from, but I would still like to see some action taken with companies using these harmful chemicals! Interesting post, Rebecca!
http://www.beveragedaily.com/Regulation-Safety/PepsiCo-cuts-flame-retardant-BVO-from-US-Gatorade-but-not-Mountain-Dew
ReplyDeleteIt's great the Pepsi recognized the consumer's concerns. As the article above said, its weird that there is a patented flame retardant in a drink that is supposed to be good for you and hydrate your body. They are now looking at using sucrose acetate isobutyrate. It is weird that they have been looking for an alternative for so long when BVO is banned in other countries so I feel like they should already have a simple solution. The other thing that concerns me is that according to the article, Pepsi recognized the concern of the consumers that there was a problem with using BVO in their drinks, however they only took it out of one of their drinks offered. They are still using it as an active ingredient in Mountain Dew. This concerns me because they have a solution for Gatorade so why wouldn't they use the same the ingredient in Mountain Dew if BVO is used for the same purpose in both drinks. There would be no harmful effects towards the consumer if they began incorporating SAIB into their products instead of BVO. I feel like there is something Pepsi isn't telling us. Great post, Rebecca.
http://www.snopes.com/food/warnings/bvo.asp
ReplyDeleteSo as to play devil's advocate, I've found an article that disagrees with you /somewhat/. I do actually agree that this should not be sold as it does increase bromine accumulation in the body, and as is described in the above article, bromine toxicity is awful: "In 2003, doctors treated a man who developed swollen hands with oozing sores. They diagnosed a rare case of the skin condition bromoderma after blood tests revealed his bromine was about twice normal limits. The man admitted drinking about 8 liters of Ruby Red Squirt, which contains BVO, each day. " It's pretty screwed up that that can happen, and this is just further evidence that the FDA is a corporate mockery of most other countries' regulatory agencies on food.
Now, the article I linked to, aside from giving you support, also notes that with normal consumption brominated vegetable oil is not dangerous and will be handled easily by the body. However, I think the FDA should at least place warnings on the drinks. This won't be great for profits, I would guess, but the FDA should be concerned with consumer health and that alone.