Looking at the back of the soda can you’re drinking, you’ll find a long list of ingredients you probably haven’t heard of. But one Walmart shopper points to a familiar but unexpected one—vegetable oil—in their beverage.
In a video with over 12,000 views, TikToker Emily (@emilypowser17) shares a clip of the back of a Great Value Mountain Lightning can, Walmart’s generic version of Mountain Dew.
On the ingredients list, she points to vegetable oil—one of the last ingredients in the beverage.
On-screen text reads, “Someone tell me why Walmart’s soda got vegetable oil in it?”
Viewers discuss the unexpected ingredient
Commenters echo Emily’s confusion, discussing why soda would contain vegetable oil.
“Gotta get vegetables in them somehow,” one joked.
“So your car can run on it,” another suggested.
“I think that makes it healthy to drink right… right?” a third asked, to which another replied, “It basically makes it a salad.”
Others suggested that Walmart’s generic brand soda may include vegetable oil to mimic the original ingredients of Mountain Dew.
“Mtn dew has vegetable oil in it for decades,” a commenter said.
“All Mt dew and it’s knock-offs have it,” another wrote.
Why is there vegetable oil in soda?
Some sodas—particularly those flavored with citrus—may contain brominated vegetable oil, or BVO. This ingredient prevents the citrus flavoring from separating and messing up the texture of the beverage, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
However, the addition of BVO in soda may change.
According to a report by Today, the FDA banned BVO in Aug. 2024, noting that the additive was no longer safe to consume. The report points to research that BVO may increase the risk of hypothyroidism and nervous system damage, which led to the ban.
Companies must eliminate the ingredient from their products within a year of the ban going into effect. While name-brand Mountain Dew has since eliminated the ingredient from its formulations, generic brands may take longer to follow suit.
In the comments, viewers point out the potential danger of drinking products with BVO.
“It’s brominated vegetable oil, and it’s much much worse than vegetable oil,” one wrote.
“Gatorade is very famous for using this as well, very bad to consume,” another said.
In a TikTok direct message to the Daily Dot, Emily added her two cents, writing, “I think it’s crazy how long it’s been in soda.”
@emilypowser17 What’s the need for this? #greatvalue #walmart #soda #mtndew #drpepper #vegetableoil ♬ original sound – Kardashian clips 🎬
The Daily Dot reached out to Emily via TikTok direct message and comment. We also contacted Walmart via media form for further information.
Internet culture is chaotic—but we’ll break it down for you in one daily email. Sign up for the Daily Dot’s web_crawlr newsletter here. You’ll get the best (and worst) of the internet straight into your inbox.
