Coca-Cola to Stop Using Controversial Chemical in Powerade

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By Stan Schroeder2014-05-05 13:57:43 UTC

Coca-Cola will stop using brominated vegetable oil, a harmful chemical linked to a flame retardant, in its Powerade sports drinks.

A representative for Coca-Cola confirmed the news on Sunday, without revealing details about the change.

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PepsiCo also removed the ingredient from Gatorade last year following a Change.org petition.

Sarah Kavanagh, the teen who began the petition to remove it from Gatorade, recently created a similar petition for Powerade.

As of Monday morning, the petition had almost 60,000 signatures.

But it’s not just sports drinks; brominated vegetable oil is found in a number of sodas in the United States, including Mountain Dew, Fresca and all flavors of Squirt.

According to WedMD, brominated vegetable oil can build up in the body and cause toxic effects; high levels of bromine can also cause skin breakouts known as halogen acne.

Brominated vegetable oil is banned in Europe and Japan.

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Topics: brominated vegetable oil, Business, coca cola, Powerade

Image: AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press