You May Be Drinking Flame Retardant and Not Even Know It

When was the last time you checked the ingredients on your favorite soda.  Sometimes since the words are scientific we don't think much about it.  It tastes good and that is all that matters.  However, if you are drinking citrus drinks or energy drinks you are consuming a ingredient used in flame retardants.

Brominated Vegetable Oil is the ingredient.

According to Treehugger:

What brominated vegetable oil (BVO) does to soda is, Coca-Cola explains, "prevent the citrus flavoring oils from floating to the surface in beverages." The fruit flavors that are mixed into a drink would otherwise settle out. What BVO does when it's acting as a flame retardant is not much different: It slows down the chemical reactions that cause a fire.

So what products might we find BVO in, according to Food Democracy those products include:

Soft drinks such as Mountain Dew, Gatorade, Powerade, some Gatorade, Pineapple and Orange Fanta, Orange Crush, Sun Drop, Squirt and Fresca, BVO can also be found in some bakery products and brands of pasta.

This product is banned in over 100 countries. So why is it found in our products.  Well the answer is simple, the FDA regulates what levels of this ingredient can be in our food and drink.

So if you are afraid of ingesting this ingredient, you might want to find another beverage of choice.

I guess that is why I usually stick to tea and water.