E-numbers / Thickeners & emulsifiers / E443
also: BVO · Brominated soybean oil · Brominated vegetable oils
Vegetable oil chemically bonded with bromine, used to keep citrus flavours suspended in drinks. Not permitted in UK or EU food.
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Bromine accumulates in body fat, the liver, heart and brain tissue with repeated exposure.
Why it’s worth knowing. Bromine accumulates in body fat, the liver, heart and brain tissue with repeated exposure. Animal studies show thyroid hormone disruption and changes to thyroid gland structure. High intake has been linked to neurological effects including headaches, memory loss and impaired coordination. It is not on the UK list of approved food additives, so you will not normally see this E number on a UK label.
Brominated vegetable oil (BVO) is a vegetable oil, typically soybean or cottonseed oil, that has been reacted with bromine gas to add bromine atoms to the fat molecules. The resulting compound is denser than water, which is what makes it useful as a weighting agent. It is classified as E443 but has never been assigned an approved use in the UK or EU food system.
BVO acts as a density-equalising emulsifier. Citrus-flavoured oils used in drinks are lighter than water and float to the surface; BVO's higher density counteracts this, keeping the flavour oil evenly suspended throughout the drink so it does not separate during storage or shipping.
Historically used in citrus-flavoured soft drinks and fruit-flavoured sports drinks in the United States, such as some Mountain Dew, Powerade and Fresca formulations before reformulation. BVO has not been permitted in UK or EU products for decades. On a US label it would appear as 'brominated vegetable oil' in the ingredients list. UK-manufactured or UK-imported products compliant with UK food law will not contain it.
Unlike most food additives that are rapidly metabolised and excreted, bromine from BVO accumulates in fatty tissue throughout the body, including fat deposits around organs, the liver, heart and brain. This bioaccumulation means exposure is not dose-limited to what is consumed on any single occasion. The higher and more prolonged the intake, the greater the tissue burden.
BVO leaves residues of brominated triglycerides in body fat and fatty tissue in the liver, heart and brain after repeated consumption.
Case reports from the 1970s documented clinical bromine toxicity (bromism) in heavy consumers of BVO-containing drinks, with symptoms including headaches, nausea, memory loss and impaired coordination.
Animal studies conducted in collaboration with the US National Institutes of Health found that BVO exposure produced elevated bromide levels in blood, raised concentrations of brominated triglycerides in heart and lung tissue, and measurable changes to thyroid hormone levels and thyroid gland structure. Thyroid hormones regulate metabolism and are critical to brain development, particularly in early life.
Rat studies showed increased blood bromide, elevated brominated triglycerides in tissues, and thyroid hormone level changes alongside structural changes to the thyroid gland.
The FDA cited thyroid effects as the key toxicological basis for revoking BVO's authorisation in July 2024, concluding the existing evidence no longer supported a finding of safety.
BVO was removed from permitted use in the UK in the 1970s and was not included in the EU's harmonised list of approved food additives when Regulation 1333/2008 was finalised. The US was an outlier in retaining authorisation until 2024. The eventual FDA ban brought US rules into alignment with the position the UK and EU had already held for decades.
Brominated vegetable oil is not included on the UK FSA list of approved food additives and E numbers, and has not been a permitted food additive in the UK since the 1970s.
BVO is not an authorised food additive under EU Regulation 1333/2008 (Annex II) and therefore is not permitted in food products placed on the EU market.
The FDA finalised the revocation of BVO's food additive authorisation in July 2024, effective August 2024, with a one-year compliance period ending August 2025.
BVO is not permitted in UK or EU food, so UK-purchased products will not contain it. If buying imported products from the US (particularly older stock or grey-market imports), check the ingredients list for 'brominated vegetable oil'. People with thyroid conditions have additional reason to avoid products containing it. Pregnant women and young children are most vulnerable to thyroid-disrupting compounds given the role of thyroid hormones in fetal and infant brain development.
This is not a case of a weak or contested signal. The UK and EU prohibited BVO decades ago on the basis of accumulation and toxicity concerns. The FDA's 2024 ban, prompted by NIH animal data showing thyroid effects, closed the longest-running regulatory gap between UK/EU and US food safety rules. For UK shoppers, the practical concern is minimal because BVO-containing products are not legally sold here. The open question is whether decades of low-level BVO exposure in countries that permitted it longer produced meaningful harm in humans. No large-scale human epidemiological study has directly measured this.
Yes. Brominated vegetable oil has not been a permitted food additive in the UK since the 1970s. It does not appear on the UK FSA's approved additives and E numbers list, and no UK-manufactured product may legally contain it.
The FDA had placed BVO on an 'interim' permitted list in 1970 after removing it from GRAS status, but that interim status was never resolved. It remained in limbo for over 50 years while the UK and EU moved to outright prohibition. An NIH animal study showing thyroid hormone changes and tissue accumulation, combined with California's 2023 food safety law, finally prompted the FDA to issue a full revocation in 2024.
In the UK and EU, no food product may legally contain BVO. In the US it was used historically in some citrus-flavoured soft drinks and sports drinks, including certain Mountain Dew, Powerade and Fresca varieties. US manufacturers had until August 2025 to remove it and reformulate.
BVO is derived from vegetable oils, so it would technically be plant-based. However, the question is moot for UK shoppers since no legally sold UK food product contains it.
Last reviewed: 20 June 2026
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