Squirt is generally safe to drink for most people. It’s a standard carbonated soft drink approved for sale in the U.S., and none of its current ingredients are banned or flagged as dangerous by the FDA. That said, there are a few specific concerns worth knowing about, from its sugar content to a lesser-known interaction risk with certain medications.
What’s Actually in Squirt
A 12-ounce can of regular Squirt contains 160 calories and 38 grams of sugar, which is comparable to other mainstream sodas like Sprite or Mountain Dew. The sweetener in most formulations is high fructose corn syrup, though some versions use cane sugar. Beyond that, the ingredient list is relatively short: carbonated water, less than 2% grapefruit juice concentrate, natural flavors, citric acid, and a few stabilizers.
The stabilizers include modified corn starch, ester gum (glycerol ester of wood rosin), and acacia gum. These are used to keep citrus oils evenly distributed in the liquid so they don’t float to the top. Ester gum is FDA-approved for use in beverages at concentrations up to 100 parts per million, and it’s common across citrus-flavored sodas.
Squirt also contains sodium benzoate as a preservative and calcium disodium EDTA to protect flavor. Both are widely used in the food industry and considered safe at the levels found in soft drinks.
The BVO Question
If you’ve seen older articles warning about Squirt containing brominated vegetable oil (BVO), that’s no longer relevant. The FDA revoked its approval of BVO in food on July 3, 2024, concluding that BVO posed potential adverse health effects in humans based on studies conducted with the National Institutes of Health. Companies were given one year to reformulate and deplete existing inventory. BVO is no longer permitted in any U.S. food product, and Squirt’s current ingredient list does not include it.
Grapefruit and Medication Interactions
This is probably the most important safety question for a specific group of people. Real grapefruit juice contains compounds called furanocoumarins that interfere with how your body processes dozens of common medications, including cholesterol drugs (statins), blood pressure medications, and certain anti-anxiety pills. These compounds block an enzyme in your gut, which can cause the medication to build up to dangerously high levels in your bloodstream.
Squirt contains less than 1% juice. That’s a trace amount, and it’s far less than drinking actual grapefruit juice. For most people on these medications, the tiny amount of grapefruit in Squirt is unlikely to cause a meaningful interaction. Still, if your pharmacist has specifically told you to avoid grapefruit, it’s worth mentioning Squirt to them so you can get a clear answer for your situation.
Sugar Content in Context
The bigger everyday health concern with Squirt is the same one that applies to all regular sodas: sugar. At 38 grams per can, a single Squirt delivers nearly all of the daily added sugar limit recommended by the American Heart Association (36 grams for men, 25 grams for women). Drinking one occasionally is not a health risk. Drinking multiple cans daily over months and years contributes to weight gain, insulin resistance, tooth decay, and increased risk of type 2 diabetes and heart disease.
Squirt Zero Sugar
The zero-sugar version replaces all that sugar with two artificial sweeteners: aspartame and acesulfame potassium. Both are FDA-approved and have been studied extensively over decades. Aspartame is safe for the general population at normal consumption levels, though people with a rare genetic condition called phenylketonuria (PKU) need to avoid it because their bodies can’t process one of its components. Squirt Zero Sugar is also calorie-free, making it a reasonable swap if sugar intake is your main concern.
Caffeine Varies by Version
Regular Squirt and Diet Squirt are caffeine-free, which makes them unusual among sodas and a decent option if you’re sensitive to caffeine or drinking one later in the day. However, not all Squirt varieties follow this rule. Ruby Red Squirt, both regular and diet, contains caffeine. Squirt Citrus Power, introduced in 2008, is also caffeinated. If avoiding caffeine matters to you, check the label on flavored varieties before assuming they’re all the same.