Brominated vegetable oil in soft drinks – an underrated source of human organobromine intake

In North America brominated vegetable oil (BVO) is frequently used as a clouding agent for soft drinks. BVO containing soft drinks have a market share of about 15% in the USA. In our study we analysed several soft drinks from North America for BVO and calculated exposures from our results and consumption data. Based on a mean content of 8 ppm in BVO-containing soft drinks, the average daily human intake of BVO exceeds the intake of other organobromine compounds, e.g., polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), by >4000 times for adults and >1000 times for children. By comparing the patterns of the brominated fatty acids (BFA) in the soft drinks, we were able to distinguish three BVO products used by three soft drink manufacturers. The analysis also revealed that the predominant BFAs in BVO are the Br2-18:0 (bromination product of oleic acid) and Br4-18:0 (bromination product of linoleic acid).