Your Soda Might Contain Flame Retardant Ingredients

It is disturbing sometime when you stop and think about the ingredients in your favorite food or beverage. Some people are staunchly opposed to drinking anything with high fructose corn syrup, yes I'm talking about you BJ Kelley. Well, what about brominated vegetable oil? Sounds harmless enough, until you find out that it is patented as a flame retardant.

Brominated vegetable oil is BANNED in Japan and European countries, but is listed as an ingredient in about 10% of the soft drinks in the US. The soft drinks in question are Mountain Dew, Fanta Orange, and in certain flavors of Powerade and Gatorade.

So, what could the purpose of brominated vegetable oil be in these soft drinks? According the the Coca-Cola nutrition portion of their website, "Brominated Vegetable Oils are used as stabilizers to prevent the citrus flavoring oils from floating to the surface in beverages. Brominated Vegetable Oil may be derived from soybean or corn."

Next time you're thinking about what you want to drink, I'm sure you'll think twice before you "do the Dew."

Tree Hugger