❋ Detoxcellence

Brominated Vegetable Oil (Citrus Sodas)

A flavour stabiliser in some citrus-flavoured soft drinks.

57Moderate burden · out of 100
Cleaner swapSparkling water with fresh citrus, or any soda not listing BVO

How this score is built

  1. 100Start
  2. 77Chemical hazard 5 × 4.6−23
  3. 70.2Everyday exposure 2 × 3.4−6.8
  4. 57Persistence 5 × 2.6−13, then rounded to 57
  5. ModerateThe band57 sits in 40–59.

What each input rests on

The three ratings behind the score, and the studies each rests on
InputRatingEvidence
Chemical hazard5/10

  • In a 90-day feeding study, rats given 0.1% and 0.5% BVO in their diet developed thyroid follicular cell hypertrophy, with raised TSH at the highest dose; the authors name the thyroid as a potential target organ.

    Toxicological evaluation of brominated vegetable oil in Sprague Dawley rats · Food Chem Toxicol 2022

    DOI 10.1016/j.fct.2022.113137 · PMID 35588981 · Abstract · read 2026-10-09

Everyday exposure2/10unsourced input
Persistence5/10

Ratings are editorial. A study listed here supports the rating; it did not compute it. How the index is built

What this means for you

BVO kept citrus flavouring from separating out, at up to 15 parts per million. In July 2024 the US regulator revoked the authorisation after studies run with the NIH found the potential for adverse effects in humans; bromine accumulates in fat. Most drinks makers had already reformulated.

Evidence strength: moderate

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Lower-exposure choices

89
Cruciferous VegetablesMinimal · Food
86
Filtered Black CoffeeMinimal · Food
79
Small Oily Fish (Sardines)Low · Food
75
Organic StrawberriesLow · Food

All 50 food entries, highest burden first →