The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday proposed banning the use of brominated vegetable oil, a food ingredient once widely used in popular drinks like Gatorade and Mountain Dew that has been slowly phased out due to its link to potential health risks, including damage to the liver, heart and brain. Brominated vegetable oil is a food additive primarily used in fruit-flavored sports drinks and sodas to keep ingredients from separating.
On Thursday, the FDA said it concluded that brominated vegetable oil was no longer safe to use after studies in rodents found that the ingredient is toxic to the thyroid, a gland that plays a key role in regulating blood pressure, heart rate and metabolism. Previous studies have also shown that it could potentially be harmful to the liver, heart and cause neurological problems.