You probably remember the rumors. For years, people whispered that Mountain Dew contained the same stuff used to keep carpets from catching fire. It sounded like an urban legend, right? Something kids told each other to sound edgy while chugging a neon-green soda during a Halo marathon. But here’s the thing: it wasn't a myth. Brominated Vegetable Oil, or BVO, was a staple in the Mountain Dew recipe for decades.
It’s gone now. Mostly.
The story of BVO in Mountain Dew is a weird mix of food science, public pressure, and a very slow-moving FDA. If you've ever wondered why your soda doesn't taste quite the same as it did in 2005, or why the government suddenly decided a 90-year-old ingredient was a problem, you’re in the right place. We’re digging into the chemistry, the health scares, and the eventual ban that changed the citrus soda landscape forever.
Why was BVO in Mountain Dew anyway?
It sounds gross, but BVO served a very specific purpose. Citrus oils—the stuff that gives Mountain Dew its orange and lemon-lime kick—don't naturally mix with water. They’re oils. They want to float on top.
If PepsiCo just dumped orange oil into carbonated water, you’d have a layer of grease at the neck of the bottle. Not exactly the "Mtn Dew" aesthetic. To fix this, chemists used bromine. By bonding bromine atoms to vegetable oil, they created a substance that was heavier than water. This "weighted" the citrus oils, allowing them to remain suspended throughout the drink. That cloudy, uniform look of a classic Dew? That was the BVO doing its job.
It was cheap. It was effective. It worked perfectly for nearly a century.
The chemistry of "flame retardant" soda
Let’s address the elephant in the room. Is BVO actually a flame retardant? Well, yes and no. Brominated chemicals are indeed used in plastics and electronics to slow down fires. However, the BVO in your soda wasn't the exact same formulation as what’s in your sofa cushion. But because they share the same base element—bromine—the comparison stuck.
Bromine is heavy. It's intense. In the human body, it doesn't just pass through like a vitamin. It hangs around. And that's where the trouble started.
The Health Concerns That Started the Panic
For a long time, the FDA considered BVO "Generally Recognized as Safe" (GRAS). But in 1970, they yanked that status. They moved it to an "interim" list, basically saying, "We think it's okay for now, but we need more data." That "interim" status lasted for over fifty years. Talk about government efficiency.
The real red flags started popping up in medical journals, not just on conspiracy blogs. There were documented cases—extreme ones, granted—of people overdoing it on brominated sodas. One man reportedly drank two to four liters of soda containing BVO every single day. He ended up in the hospital with bromism. We're talking skin lesions, memory loss, and nerve issues. His body had basically become saturated with bromine.
What the science actually says
Most of us aren't drinking four liters of Dew a day. But researchers began to worry about cumulative effects. Studies on rats showed that BVO could build up in fatty tissues. Even worse, some data suggested it could damage the heart and liver over long periods of exposure.
Dr. Sarah Evans, a researcher at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, has been vocal about how these types of additives can interfere with the endocrine system. The thyroid, in particular, is sensitive to bromine because it looks a lot like iodine to the body. If your thyroid starts grabbing bromine instead of iodine, your metabolism can go haywire. It’s a slow-burn health risk, not an immediate poison.
The Sarah Kavanagh Petition and the Power of the Internet
In 2012, a teenager named Sarah Kavanagh was reading the label on a bottle of Gatorade. She saw "Brominated Vegetable Oil" and Googled it. What she found freaked her out enough to start a Change.org petition.
It went viral.
Suddenly, PepsiCo was staring down the barrel of a PR nightmare. Thousands of people were demanding to know why their sports drinks and sodas contained a chemical banned in Europe and Japan. Within a year, PepsiCo announced they would remove BVO from Gatorade. But Mountain Dew? That took a lot longer.
Mountain Dew is a more complex formula than Gatorade. Changing the "weighting agent" in a carbonated soda without ruining the flavor or the mouthfeel is a massive logistical hurdle. It took years of tinkering in the lab to find a replacement—usually sucrose acetate isobutyrate (SAIB) or glycerol ester of rosin.
The FDA Finally Drops the Hammer
Even after PepsiCo and Coca-Cola (which used BVO in Fresca and some Fanta flavors) started phasing it out, the FDA didn't officially ban it. Not until recently.
In 2023, the FDA proposed a formal rule to revoke the use of BVO in all food and beverages. They cited new toxicology studies—conducted in collaboration with the National Institutes of Health (NIH)—that showed clear evidence of thyroid toxicity in animals at levels that mimicked human consumption.
The ruling was a "better late than never" moment for food safety advocates. By the time the ban was finalized, most major brands had already moved on. But the ban ensured that smaller, off-brand "mountain" sodas or regional citrus drinks would also have to clean up their act.
Is the New Mountain Dew Formula Safe?
If you pick up a bottle of Mtn Dew today, you won’t see BVO on the label. Instead, you'll likely see Glycerol Ester of Wood Rosin.
Does that sound better? Maybe not. It’s literally harvested from pine tree stumps. But from a toxicological standpoint, it’s much safer. It doesn't accumulate in your tissues the way bromine does. It passes through your system.
Honestly, the biggest health risk in a Mountain Dew isn't the weighting agent anymore. It’s the sugar. A 20-ounce bottle packs about 77 grams of the stuff. That’s more than two days' worth of recommended added sugar for most adults. Bromine might be gone, but the metabolic spike is still very much alive.
How to spot BVO in the wild
While the big players have transitioned, it’s still worth being a label-reader. BVO can occasionally hide in:
- Discount or "store-brand" citrus sodas.
- Regional fruit punches.
- Certain "cloudy" cocktail mixers or syrups.
- Smaller beverage startups that haven't updated their formulas to comply with the new FDA stance.
Always look for "Brominated Vegetable Oil" or "BVO" near the end of the ingredient list. If you see it, maybe put the bottle back. There are plenty of options now that don't rely on 1920s flame-retardant chemistry to keep your soda looking pretty.
Real-world steps for the conscious drinker
The saga of BVO in Mountain Dew is a reminder that "FDA approved" doesn't always mean "perfectly safe forever." Science evolves. Our food should, too. If you’re trying to move away from these kinds of additives, here’s how to handle it without losing your mind.
First, check your favorites. Most major citrus drinks (Sun Drop, Squirt, Starry) have already ditched BVO. If you’re a die-hard fan of a specific regional brand, check their website or look at the physical bottle. Manufacturers are legally required to list it if it’s in there.
💡 You might also like: Why Fairview Mail Order Pharmacy is Still the Smartest Way to Manage Your Meds
Second, understand the "cloudy" factor. If a drink is perfectly clear, it doesn't need a weighting agent like BVO. The cloudier the citrus drink, the more likely it uses an emulsifier. Seek out brands that use SAIB or Ester Gum (the wood rosin stuff) as safer alternatives.
Third, use this as a prompt to evaluate other additives. BVO isn't the only controversial ingredient out there. Red 40, Yellow 5, and various artificial sweeteners are still under the microscope. You don't have to go "full organic" overnight, but being aware of what’s in your fridge is the first step toward better long-term health.
The removal of BVO is a win for consumer advocacy. It proved that enough people asking "Why is this in here?" can actually change the formula of one of the world's most popular drinks. Mountain Dew is still the same caffeine-heavy, citrus-flavored icon it’s always been—just with a little less baggage from the chemical plant.
Actionable Insights for Consumers:
- Audit Your Pantry: Check the labels of any lingering soda cans or mixers purchased from smaller, local distributors or international grocers where regulations might differ.
- Prioritize Transparency: Support beverage brands that voluntarily removed BVO years ago (like Gatorade and mainstream Pepsi products) as they showed a quicker response to consumer safety concerns.
- Watch the Sugar: Recognize that while BVO was a chemical concern, the 70g+ of sugar in citrus sodas remains the primary driver of health issues like insulin resistance and dental erosion.
- Stay Updated on FDA Changes: Use the FDA's "Advisory" pages to stay informed on other ingredients currently under "interim" review, such as certain synthetic flavorings or dyes.