The U.S. Food and Drug Administration this week banned the use of brominated vegetable oil, an ingredient once commonly added to citrus-flavoured carbonated drinks. It joins a growing list of nations that have done so, though Canada is not yet among them.

The substance, also known as BVO, has been added to carbonated drinks since the 1930s to ensure that citrus flavouring agents remain suspended in the liquid and don’t float to the top.