Dive Summary:
- PepsiCo Inc. announced that it is removing the ingredient brominated vegetable oil from Gatorade in response to customer complaints, though Molly Carter, a spokewoman for the company denied that the move was prompted by a recent petition on Change.org.
- Brominated vegetable oil is used as an emulsifier to keep flavoring distributed and appears on ingredient lists for Coca-Cola's Powerade, Fanta and PepsiCo's Mountain Dew, though it is also used as a a flame retardant and has been banned in Japan and the European Union.
- PepsiCo plans to replace the ingredient in Gatorade with sucrose acetate isobutyrate.
From the article:
"... Carter noted that the ingredient is not banned by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and that the decision wasn't the result of any health or safety concerns. She said it was to address concerns expressed specifically by Gatorade customers.
PepsiCo is replacing BVO in Gatorade with an ingredient called sucrose acetate isobutyrate, which will maintain the flavor and taste of the drinks. ..."