Ingredient Index · E443

Is BVO banned in Europe?

Banned in EU

Yes: brominated vegetable oil has never been authorized in EU food, and the US finally agreed: the FDA revoked its authorization in July 2024, with compliance required from August 2025.

E-number: E443CAS: 8016-94-2 Also seen as: Brominated Vegetable Oil, E443

What the EU does

BVO holds no authorization under Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008, the EU's positive-list system, and in that system, no listing means no legal use. European citrus sodas have been cloudy-but-bromine-free for decades, stabilized with alternatives like glycerol ester of wood rosin (E445).

The concern is bioaccumulation: bromine from BVO builds up in fatty tissue, and case reports plus animal studies pointed to thyroid and neurological effects at high exposure.

Citation Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008 (E443 not authorized)

What the US does

Now banned, after a 54-year delay that became the textbook case of FDA inertia. BVO was pulled from the GRAS list in 1970 but allowed to persist on an "interim" basis (at up to 15 ppm in citrus drinks) for over half a century. In July 2024 the FDA revoked the authorization outright, citing its own new toxicology studies; the rule took effect August 2, 2024, with a one-year compliance window ending August 2, 2025.

The market had mostly moved first. PepsiCo dropped BVO from Gatorade in 2013 and Mountain Dew by 2020; Coca-Cola reformulated Powerade. The 2024 rule swept up the regional sodas and store brands that hadn't bothered.

Citation FDA final rule revoking 21 CFR 180.30 (July 2024, effective August 2024)

Products that commonly contain it

BVO kept citrus flavor oils suspended in soda. Before the phase-out it appeared in:

Mountain Dew (until ~2020)
Gatorade citrus flavors (until 2013)
Sun Drop and regional citrus sodas
Store-brand orange and citrus soft drinks
Some pre-mixed citrus cocktail beverages

What to look for on a label

Post-deadline, BVO should be gone from US shelves, but old stock and imports linger:

"Brominated vegetable oil" or "BVO" in the ingredient list
"Glycerol ester of wood rosin" or "ester gum", the legal replacement, not a concern
Check long-dated warehouse-store inventory and imported sodas

Or skip the squinting: paste the whole ingredient list into our checker and it flags everything in our database. Nothing you paste leaves your browser.

Frequently asked questions

Is BVO banned in Europe?

Effectively yes. Brominated vegetable oil has never been authorized as a food additive under Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008, which in the EU's positive-list system means it cannot be used at all.

Is BVO banned in the United States?

Yes. The FDA revoked its authorization in July 2024, effective August 2, 2024, with compliance required by August 2, 2025. Before that it had been permitted "on an interim basis" since 1970.

Does Mountain Dew still contain BVO?

No. PepsiCo removed BVO from Mountain Dew by around 2020, years before the FDA ban, and from Gatorade back in 2013.

Why was BVO a concern?

Bromine from BVO accumulates in fatty tissue. FDA-commissioned studies and earlier case reports linked high exposure to thyroid and neurological effects, which is what the agency cited when it revoked authorization.

Related ingredients

Primary sources

Last reviewed June 10, 2026 · How we assign statuses