Natural Grocers Issues Statement Supporting FDA’s Ban of BVO in Foods
Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage Inc. has issued a company statement supporting the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) recent revocation of the rule allowing the use of brominated vegetable oil (BVO) in food due to concerns about the chemical's adverse health effects.
BVO is a vegetable oil that is modified with bromine. The FDA has regulated BVO as a food additive since the agency removed it from the codified list of Generally Recognized As Safe or “GRAS” substances in 1970. As authorized, it was used in small amounts to keep the citrus flavoring from floating to the top in some beverages, and manufacturers were required to list BVO, or the specific BVO such as brominated soybean oil, in the ingredients list if it was used. According to FDA, few beverages in the United States contain BVO.
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On July 3, the agency issued a final rule to revoke the regulation allowing the use of BVO in food after the results of studies conducted in collaboration with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) found the potential for adverse health effects in humans, including thyroid problems.
Natural Grocers touts that it has never carried products containing BVO in its stores.
"We have prioritized quality products, nutrition education and consumer transparency since our parents founded this company in 1955," noted Heather Isely, EVP of Natural Grocers. "While all of us at Natural Grocers appreciate the fact that the FDA has revoked the use of brominated vegetable oil in food products, we knew it was a problematic ingredient from the start. Its only purpose was to impact the functionality of the food, not to benefit consumers by being an ingredient that was good for our health and well-being.”
The organic and natural grocer claims that chemically modified fats, such as BVO, are often used by the food industry to increase the shelf life of products and to aid in the production of highly processed junk foods and commercial soft drinks, increasing the manufacturer's bottom line at the expense of consumer health.
According to Natural Grocers, grocery retailers have a responsibility to vet the products that they sell in their stores, to protect the health of their shoppers.
In its company statement, Natural Grocers wrote: “Grocery stores play a pivotal position in the food chain, a system that is essential to our health and well-being. Grocery purveyors, whether online and/or brick- and mortar-stores, are the gatekeepers — the marketplace that helps to determine how our food is produced. What is offered for sale drives how our food is grown, processed and what food additives are added to it.
As your neighborhood grocer, we choose to positively impact the way the food in this nation is grown and raised. Others may choose to blindly ride the wave of whatever shortcut is trending. We choose to be responsible for the impact our food choices make every step of the way, from the beginning of every product story to your grocery basket to, eventually, your kitchen table. Others may choose to think it's not their responsibility and sell products that do not represent the most nutritionally sound, environmentally responsible products.
We feel differently.”
FDA’s rule concerning BVO takes effect on Aug. 2. The compliance date for this rule is one year after the effective date to provide the opportunity for manufacturers to reformulate, relabel and deplete the inventory of BVO-containing products before the FDA begins enforcing the final rule.
Meanwhile, the products sold by Natural Grocers must meet strict quality guidelines and may not contain artificial colors, flavors, preservatives or sweeteners, or partially hydrogenated or hydrogenated oils.
A family-operated specialty grocer with 168 stores in 21 states, Lakewood, Colo.-based Natural Grocers is No. 95 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2024 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America.
