Did you know that the drink Gatorade contains an ingredient that is also used in fire retardants? Yikes!
That ingredient is brominated vegetable oil (BVO). It is a chemical containing bromine, which is used in fire retardants.
But now PepsiCo Inc is removing the chemical following concerns from consumers and an online petition by a Mississippi teenager.
The company says the change is not a response to the petition, although the 15-year-old girl is claiming victory.
BVO-free drinks will roll out across the United States in the next couple of months. She said the move to replace BVO has been in the works for some time, and has nothing to do with the petition by Sarah Kavanagh, the 15-year-old girl from Hattiesburg, Mississippi.
Kavanagh started a petition on Change.org, asking PepsiCo to remove BVO from Gatorade. It received more than 200,000 signatures.
Health advocates applauded the company’s move. “Kudos to PepsiCo for doing the responsible thing on its own and not waiting for the F.D.A. to force it to,” said Michael Jacobson, executive director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest.
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