PepsiCo to drop ‘BVO’ ingredient from all drinks including Mountain Dew

NEW YORK, N.Y. – PepsiCo has joined Coca-Cola in saying it's working to remove a controversial ingredient from all its drinks, including Mountain Dew.

The company had announced last year that it was removing the ingredient from Gatorade. Then on Monday, Coca-Cola said it is dropping the ingredient from all its drinks, including Powerade.

Brominated vegetable oil was the target of petitions by a Mississippi teenager who wanted it out of Gatorade and Powerade. The petition noted that the ingredient has been patented as a flame retardant and isn't approved for use in Japan and the European Union.

Coca-Cola and PepsiCo have stood by the safety of the ingredient, which is used to distribute flavours more evenly in fruit-flavoured drinks. But their decisions reflect the pressure companies are facing as over the ingredients they use.