Last fall, California passed “The Food Safety Act,” one of the myriad rules and regulations Sacramento generates while it fails to resolve immigration, crime, and infrastructure issues. The rules banned four chemicals from foods, including brominated vegetable oils (BVOs).
The legislation, also known as Assembly Bill 418 (AB 418), specifically prohibits the sale of food containing red dye 3, potassium bromate, brominated vegetable oil, and propylparaben. California Assemblyman Jesse Gabriel (D-46), the original author of AB 418, and Governor Newsom cited the EU’s ban of the four chemicals in their reasoning for introducing and signing the bill into law, respectively.Studies have suggested the additives may be linked to serious health harms, such as cancer, reproductive issues, and childhood behavioral and developmental problems.
BVO is mainly used in fruit-flavored drinks to keep flavor oils in suspension and give the product a cloudy appearance. Now, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is following California’s example and banning the use of this substance.
The rule takes effect next month, and manufacturers have another year to reformulate, relabel, and deplete their inventories of BVO-containing products before the agency starts enforcing its ban.
However, many beverage makers have already removed the ingredient from their formulations due to data collected in 1970.
The FDA announced its ban eight months after the agency proposed it, citing studies on animals that showed the ingredient may have adverse health effects in humans.The FDA determined in 1970 that BVO was not generally recognized as safe, with many beverage makers in the ensuing decades swapping out the ingredient with alternatives. As things stand, few beverages in the U.S. today contain BVO, according to the agency.A spokesperson for Keurig Dr Pepper told CBS MoneyWatch in November that the beverage maker was reformulating its Sun Drop soda to no longer include the ingredient.
BVO was banned in the United Kingdom in 1970, followed by the European Union in 2008. Over a decade ago, some of the bigger names in beverage-making removed the substance from their products.
PepsiCo agreed in 2013 to remove BVO from Gatorade, and in 2014 both Coca-Cola and PepsiCo announced they would remove the ingredient from all their beverages.
While the ingredient remained in Mountain Dew for a few years after 2014, USA TODAY confirmed in a 2020 fact check that PepsiCo no longer uses the ingredient in the drink.
Given the limited number of beverages in this country using the ingredient, one has to wonder just exactly how effective this bureaucracy is and what its priorities are.
In April, House Committee on Oversight and Accountability Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) oversaw a hearing entitled “Oversight of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.” In his remarks, the congressman expressed concern about the agency’s ability to prioritize safety and incentivize innovation.
. . . FDA is charged with regulatory oversight of the food and drug industries.Industries that ensure Americans have food on the table by innovating safer and more stable crops.Industries that provide Americans new medications to treat debilitating diseases.Industries that create cutting-edge medical devices that can keep your heart pumping or help replace a knee.These industries are vital to keep Americans safe, healthy, and happy.These industries provide millions of jobs and nearly $3 trillion in economic value.Congress must ensure the FDA is prioritizing safety and effectiveness but also incentivizing innovation.Unfortunately, the FDA under President Biden is suffering from dysfunction and is failing to do the bare minimum to carry out its core mission—make certain our nation’s food and drug products are safe and effective.
If only the FDA could perhaps ensure that infant formulas were safe and plentiful and that cold medications worked as they should!
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