Brominated Vegetable Oil
brominated vegetable oil, BVO, brominated soybean oil, brominated soy bean oil, brominated oil
What it is
A brominated oil formerly used in some beverages to keep citrus-flavour oils dispersed and stable.
Why BOTIA flags it
Brominated vegetable oil can leave lipid-bound bromine that accumulates in body tissues and is released only slowly. JECFA found this accumulation in animals and humans and could not establish an ADI because no long-term no-effect level was available; higher-dose animal studies also reported cardiac lesions. More recent U.S. studies found the thyroid to be another target organ at higher exposures.
BOTIA CAN
- Detect brominated vegetable oil, BVO and explicitly named brominated oils when they are printed in the ingredient list.
- Explain the current U.S. regulatory status and the historical technological use without extrapolating it to every jurisdiction.
BOTIA CANNOT
- Determine whether an unlabeled product contains BVO.
- Infer the amount present, past exposure or an individual health effect from the ingredient name alone.