I don’t know about you, but I’m getting pretty tired of hearing about all the toxic stuff that’s in our food. A while back I wrote about how artificial food dyes in are found in our food. A report, issued by the Center for Science in the Public Interest, showed food dyes—used in everything from M&Ms and Fruit Loops to Kraft Mac n Cheese—pose risks of cancer, hyperactivity in children, and allergies, and concluded that synthetic food dye should be banned. But it’s not.
The piece that I find very disturbing is that artificial dyes are used in the US, but not in other countries. Why? Because other countries seem to get it, while the US continues to place cost before the likely health dangers to a human being.
BVO in soda
The US continues to make headlines, this time for allowing another questionable synthetic chemical in soda. Mountain Dew, Fanta Orange and other citrus-flavored drinks have an added synthetic chemical called brominated vegetable oil, or BVO. BVO has been patented as a flame retardant and many of our children (and adults) are drinking it.
Which sodas contain BVO?
According to Environmental Health News the following drinks contain BVO:
- Mountain Dew
- Squirt
- Fanta Orange
- Sunkist Pineapple
- Gatorade Thirst Quencher Orange
- Powerade Strawberry Lemonade
- Fresca Original Citrus
Why is it in soda?
BVO is used in citrus flavored soda to keep the fruity flavors mixed in. It gives the soda a cloudy appearance. BVO isn’t a new addition to soda-it’s been added for decades.
What are the risks of BVO?
In the United States, 85 percent of kids drink a beverage containing sugar or artificial sweetener at least once per week.
