Coke to drop controversial ingredient from all beverages

Associated Press

NEW YORK

Coca-Cola says it will drop a controversial ingredient from all its drinks that contain it, not just Powerade.

The Atlanta-based company says brominated vegetable oil still is being used in some flavors of Fanta and Fresca, as well as several citrus-flavored fountain drinks. The change will apply to its drinks globally, meaning Canada and Latin America are phasing out the ingredient as well.

A spokesman for Coca-Cola, Josh Gold, noted that the ingredient is not used in many countries.

Brominated vegetable oil, or BVO, had been the target of petitions on Change.org by a Mississippi teenager, Sarah Kavanagh, who wanted it out of Gatorade and Powerade. The Food and Drug Administration says the ingredient is used as a stabilizer for flavoring oils in fruit-flavored drinks. But Kavanagh’s petition noted that it has been patented as a flame retardant and isn’t approved for use in Japan or the European Union.

The Associated Press reported Sunday that Coca-Cola is dropping BVO from Powerade, after a similar move by PepsiCo’s Gatorade last year.

On Monday, Coca-Cola said in a statement that all its drinks are safe and comply with regulations in the countries where they’re sold. It noted that BVO is used to improve the stability of its drinks and prevent certain ingredients from separating.

In coming months, however, the company said it would phase out BVO in the U.S. by the end of the year to be consistent with the ingredients it uses around the world.