Gatorade to remove controversial ingredient
NEW YORK (AP) - PepsiCo Inc. is removing a controversial ingredient from its Gatorade sports drink in response to customer complaints.
Molly Carter, a spokeswoman for the company, said Friday that the removal of brominated vegetable oil was in the works over the past year after the company began "hearing rumblings" from consumers about the ingredient. She said it wasn't a reaction to a recent petition on Change.org by a Mississippi teenager.
The ingredient is also used in other drinks, including some flavors of Powerade made by rival Coca-Cola Co. The Atlanta-based company did not say whether it would remove the ingredient from Powerade as well but noted that it takes customer concerns into account when looking for ways to improve its drinks.
Ingredients in food and drinks have come under greater scrutiny in recent years, helped by the ability of consumers to mobilize online. The petition on Change.org noted that brominated vegetable oil has been patented as a flame retardant and is banned in Japan and the European Union. It had more than 200,000 supporters Friday.
For Gatorade, Carter said the ingredient is used as an "emulsifier," meaning it distributes flavoring evenly so that it doesn't collect at the surface. She said it was used only in select varieties including orange and "citrus cooler." Other drinks that use brominated vegetable oil, or BVO, include Coca-Cola's Fanta and PepsiCo's Mountain Dew. A spokesman for competitor Dr Pepper Snapple Group was not available to comment on whether the ingredient is used in any of its drinks.
Carter noted that the ingredient is not banned by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and that PepsiCo's decision wasn't the result of any health or safety concerns. She said it was specifically a response to concerns expressed by Gatorade customers. The company's decision was first reported by the trade journal Beverage Digest.
Pulin Mondi, a spokesman for Change.org, said the move reflects the "shift in power we're seeing between businesses and their customers."
PepsiCo, based in Purchase, N.Y., is replacing the BVO in Gatorade with an ingredient called sucrose acetate isobutyrate, which Carter said will maintain the flavor and taste of the drinks.
Although Americans have been drinking less soda since 1998, sports drinks have remained a growth area for PepsiCo and Coca-Cola. Gatorade remains the dominant player with about 69 percent of the market, while Powerade has 30 percent, according to Beverage Digest.
Molly Carter, a spokeswoman for the company, said Friday that the removal of brominated vegetable oil was in the works over the past year after the company began "hearing rumblings" from consumers about the ingredient. She said it wasn't a reaction to a recent petition on Change.org by a Mississippi teenager.
The ingredient is also used in other drinks, including some flavors of Powerade made by rival Coca-Cola Co. The Atlanta-based company did not say whether it would remove the ingredient from Powerade as well but noted that it takes customer concerns into account when looking for ways to improve its drinks.
Ingredients in food and drinks have come under greater scrutiny in recent years, helped by the ability of consumers to mobilize online. The petition on Change.org noted that brominated vegetable oil has been patented as a flame retardant and is banned in Japan and the European Union. It had more than 200,000 supporters Friday.
For Gatorade, Carter said the ingredient is used as an "emulsifier," meaning it distributes flavoring evenly so that it doesn't collect at the surface. She said it was used only in select varieties including orange and "citrus cooler." Other drinks that use brominated vegetable oil, or BVO, include Coca-Cola's Fanta and PepsiCo's Mountain Dew. A spokesman for competitor Dr Pepper Snapple Group was not available to comment on whether the ingredient is used in any of its drinks.
Carter noted that the ingredient is not banned by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and that PepsiCo's decision wasn't the result of any health or safety concerns. She said it was specifically a response to concerns expressed by Gatorade customers. The company's decision was first reported by the trade journal Beverage Digest.
Pulin Mondi, a spokesman for Change.org, said the move reflects the "shift in power we're seeing between businesses and their customers."
PepsiCo, based in Purchase, N.Y., is replacing the BVO in Gatorade with an ingredient called sucrose acetate isobutyrate, which Carter said will maintain the flavor and taste of the drinks.
Although Americans have been drinking less soda since 1998, sports drinks have remained a growth area for PepsiCo and Coca-Cola. Gatorade remains the dominant player with about 69 percent of the market, while Powerade has 30 percent, according to Beverage Digest.
I have to say I'm impressed. Still doesn't make it safe but much better. Signing petitions online really makes a difference. Our voices were heard and we have a lot of work to do on the GMO's, corn, and soy issues. I have hope and will continue to do my part. We all need to continue to educate ourselves on what we are eating. I can hardly find anything in a regular grocery store that I want to eat. Trader Joe's (less expensive), PCC (more expensive) and of course buying locally organic is where it's at.
I really dislike gatorade but it helps a lot with restless leg syndrome.
Now if they would just do away with billions of plastic bottles.
And replaced by . . . ?
 @ETSubmariner "PepsiCo, based in Purchase, N.Y., is replacing the BVO in Gatorade with an ingredient called sucrose acetate isobutyrate, which Carter said will maintain the flavor and taste of the drinks." - It's in the second last paragraph, all you had to do was read!
 @PrairieDawn  @ETSubmariner What exactly is that?
I gave up soda. It wasn't easy to do, and I still miss it. But all the genetically modified ingredients and chemicals just became too much, this is just further reinforcement I made the right decision.
 @Dredd57 Ironic, i gave up water for that same reason.
Meanwhile powdered coffee creamer is still a volatile and flammable substance, but that hasn't stopped people from dumping it into their coffee by the metric ton. If people knew what was really in the stuff they eat and drink on a daily basis, they'd stroke out from sheer horror.
 @Mikeftm I like Almond or Coconut milk in my coffee. Took getting used to it but way healthier. I gave up dairy which isn't easy. Check out Frankensteer and FED UP! on Netflix. There are lot's of documentaries on our food. Watch and learn.
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@Mikeftm Any carbohydrate reduced to a fine powder can ignite easily, like flour. Grain silos can explode from static electricity setting off the dust that's been churned up!
 @nodozr  @MikeftmCould it be that the that GMO dust is causing us health problems and is the cause of the flu. Research it, you might find it interesting to say the least.
 @Mikeftm Why would they do that? The Human body is amazing. Whenever i find out i consumed bad nutrients i smile for the knowledge that my body endured it.....this time. Then again, i walk around knowing everything costs something, you must always pay somehow. Even the bad words you speak, so it's not as frightening to me. If i get sick or hurt i always remember it's because i didn't pay attention to something or slipped somewhere when i should have been on the look out, nothing to cause horror there =).
 @Mikeftm Not to mention the soy typically comes from genetically modified crops. Whatever happened to putting regular sugar and regular cream in coffee?
 @Dredd57  @Mikeftm Some people have dairy allergies and others are lactose intolerant is why people use non-dairy creamer in their coffee.
 @domino  @Dredd57  @Mikeftm Coconut or Almond milk work for me.
 @Dredd57  @Mikeftm Pft, if you are going there why not go all the way with it and say "What happened to making your own cream and sugar?"
 @Glenn Gordon doesn't hide )  @Dredd57  @Mikeftm I live in the city. How can I do that. I'm assuming one needs a farm.
whoever thought this stuff was safe to drink in the first place
@ballardanian -- the problem is that MANY food safe items have multiple uses.
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"The petition on Change.org noted that brominated vegetable oil has been patented as a flame retardant"
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There are many food safe items used for odd and sometimes even disgusting 'alternate purposes'.
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It's only a problem when some nut job latches onto one of them and throws a hissy fit that then goes viral.
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It's the same with 'vaccines causing autism' and all kinds of other discredited panics.
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The actual facts are quite often far, far different from the hysteria that gets fanned up.
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In fact, the history of this one shows that MASSIVELY EXCESSIVE intake is the only way that any problems show up.
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 @FormerMarineSgt  @ballardanian I totally disagree. Many other countries like Europe simply won't allow GMO foods or chemicals that our FDA considers safe.
There is good reason. We are what we eat and there are many studies to back it.
 @ballardanian People who have faith in others to be good individuals like they themselves are.
I'm going to grow my own food. Nothing available in grocery stores is safe anymore.
 @Vince Watch out Monsanto will be checking you out to make sure you aren't using their G.M seeds!
 @PrairieDawn  @Vince Monsanto will end up doing what is necessary if we the people stand up to them. We have power and technology has now made our voices easily heard.
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 @Vince Not even man, be careful, seeds are also modified.
 @Glenn Gordon doesn't hide )  @Vince seeds have always been modified. That's why we have disease resistant strains, bigger producers, and other things. It's called selective breeding and it's been around since prehistory.
 @chandler  @Glenn Gordon doesn't hide )  @Vince Not true, Monsanto is buffing up strains of mold 5000x normal to combat pests. The only selective breeding is of that. Besides this, if you've ever seen the electrical output of a wild plant versus one of these "modified" plants you might just rethink what you eat.