July 2 (Reuters) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration

said on Tuesday it would revoke the regulation that authorized

the use of brominated vegetable oil in food items, effective

Aug. 2, as it was no longer safe.

BVO is a chemical ingredient containing bromine, which is

found in fire retardants. Small quantities of BVO are used

legally in some citrus-flavored drinks in the United States to

keep the flavor evenly distributed.

The health regulator said it had concluded that the

ingredient was not safe for use after the results of studies, it

conducted in collaboration with the National Institutes of

Health, found the potential for adverse effects in humans.

The FDA had first proposed to revoke the regulation for the

use of BVO in November last year.

The ingredient has been under scrutiny for several years. In

the late 1950s and early 1960s, it was generally recognized as

safe (GRAS) by the FDA. But in 1970, the agency concluded that

the use of BVO in food was not GRAS because of toxicity

concerns.

From 1970 onwards, the FDA began regulating BVO as a food

additive, while simultaneously conducting safety studies.

As per FDA rules, whenever a company was using the

ingredient in any product, it was necessary to list it on the

label, either as "brominated vegetable oil" or as the specific

oil that had been brominated.

Over time, many beverage makers have reformulated their

products to replace BVO with an alternative ingredient,

according to the FDA. "Today, few beverages in the U.S. contain

BVO," the regulator said.

Companies such as PepsiCo ( PEP ) and Coca-Cola have

already removed the controversial ingredient from their drinks

such as Gatorade and Fanta, respectively.