I learned recently that some flavors of Gatorade contain brominated vegetable oil (BVO), which is used to keep citrus flavor oils evenly distributed in the drink (they would naturally rise to the surface). BVO is also used in citrus-flavored soft drinks such as Mountain Dew, Powerade, Pineapple and Orange Fanta, Sun Drop, Squirt, and Fresca.
The brominated vegetable oil “typically” comes from soy beans. I’m concerned about the word “typically”, and I wonder if other oils are sometimes used, like peanut, canola, sunflower, cottonseed, or corn oil.
If you are allergic to soy, there is enough allergen in these products to cause an allergic reaction. I know of one soy allergic child who went into anaphylactic shock from Gatorade due to the soybean oil.
UPDATE 10 July 2013: I revisited Gatorade’s website today, and this is what they now say:
“Is BVO (Brominated vegetable oil) in Gatorade?Brominated vegetable oil, also known as BVO, is widely used by beverage makers to help keep flavoring oils well-blended. Since oil does not mix well with water, emulsifiers help dissolve and keep the flavor oils evenly distributed throughout the beverage.We constantly evaluate Gatorade’s products and formulas to ensure they meet the high standards our consumers expect. While our products are safe, we are removing BVO from Gatorade Thirst Quencher because we know that some consumers have a negative perception of BVO in Gatorade, despite being permitted for use in North American and Latin American countries. As part of this process, we began working on an alternative ingredient to BVO for the few Gatorade flavors that contain BVO more than a year ago. We identified a replacement ingredient and plan to have reformulated flavors of Gatorade with absolutely no change to the products’ taste or functionality on store shelves in the next few months.”
I was surprised to learn that Gatorade is lactose free, gluten free, and sulphite free. Gatorade does contain corn syrup.
UPDATE RE DAIRY ALLERGY–> All flavors of Gatorade Recover 03 drinks, which are designed as post-workout drinks with added protein, contain dairy in the form of whey protein. From the Gatorade web site: “Milk proteins such as whey and casein are high quality proteins that have been shown numerous times through research to deliver a muscle recovery benefit. We selected the specific whey protein in Gatorade Recover 03 because it is a high quality protein, capable of delivering the muscle recovery benefit and because it allowed us to deliver a refreshing, great-tasting beverage.”