Is Your Favorite Soda Harming Your Health? FDA’s Latest Move Revealed
The FDA has proposed to ban the use of brominated vegetable oil (BVO), an ingredient commonly found in citrus-flavored sodas in the United States. Recent toxicology studies have raised concerns about its safety, prompting the FDA to take action.
BVO has been used since the 1930s as an emulsifying agent to distribute citrus flavor evenly in sodas. However, studies suggest that BVO can accumulate in fat tissues and interfere with iodine’s function in the thyroid. Many countries, including India, Japan, and those in the European Union, have already banned BVO. California also passed legislation in 2022 to outlaw BVO by 2027.
While the FDA initially classified BVO as generally recognized as safe (GRAS) in the 1950s, concerns about its toxicity led to a reevaluation in the following decades. Although data on the long-term effects of BVO has been challenging to collect, recent studies have provided evidence of its risks.
PepsiCo and Coca-Cola Co. have been removing BVO from their products over the past decade, and many other beverage makers have followed suit.
The FDA’s proposal reflects a broader trend of reevaluating food additives for safety. James Jones, FDA deputy commissioner for human foods, stated that the agency is also considering reviewing regulations on food coloring agents that may cause cancer in humans or animals.
The final decision on the reclassification of BVO will undergo a lengthy review process. However, with suitable alternatives already in use, the ban on BVO is not likely to be a significant loss.
Source: Is Your Favorite Soda Harming Your Health? FDA’s Latest Move Revealed
Alzheimer’s Breakthrough: Could This Protein Hold the Key to Slowing Down the Disease
Alzheimer’s Breakthrough: Could This Protein Hold the Key to Slowing Down the Disease
In experiments on mice, a team led by University of Colorado pharmacologist Tyler Martinez found that blocking a protein called murine double-minute 2 (Mdm2) prevented the destruction of dendritic spines and synapses, essential for brain cell communication.
This degeneration is triggered by amyloid-beta accumulation, which is linked to brain clogging in Alzheimer’s. Deactivating Mdm2 halted amyloid-beta’s damaging effects.