Enlarge / Tops of citrus sodas at a manufacturing plant. (credit: Getty | Vincent Mundy) After more than five decades of limbo, the Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday revoked the authorization of brominated vegetable oil (BVO) in food, banning an additive long known to have toxic effects that is already banned in Europe, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and California. BVO—simply vegetable oil that is modified with bromine—has been used in foods since the 1920s.