Did You Know? – Natural Flavor

You may have seen on any number of food labels the term “natural flavor” in the list of ingredients But do you know what this term actually means? You might be surprised.

What are natural flavors?

Research has shown that when “natural” appears on food packaging, people tend to form positive opinions about the product, including how healthy it is. However, since the FDA hasn’t officially defined this term, it can be used to describe almost any type of food.

One of the worst types of “natural flavors” on the market are naturally-occurring glutamate by-products—which is just another way of saying MSG. These chemical by-products are excitotoxins, a type of harmful chemical which tricks our brain into overeating while creating addiction.

The term “natural” refers to where the distilled flavors are extracted from, but it stops there. That term doesn’t take into consideration the wide range of compounds (sometimes upwards of a hundred) that can then be added, like very non-natural sounding chemicals methyl cyclopentenolone, diacetyl, methyl methoxy pyrazine, and benzaldehyde, plus emulsifiers, solvents, and preservatives. Here’s why: As long as these added chemicals fall under a category called “generally recognized as safe,” or GRAS, they’re A-ok to include, even in “natural” flavors. This gives brands about 3,000 chemical food additives to play with.  Whatever mysterious mixture that’s been brewed up to enhance the taste of a food can appear on a label simply as “natural flavor”, a carte blanche term that means…well, your guess is as good as ours.

According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Code of Federal Regulations, natural flavors are created from substances extracted from these plant or animal sources:

• spices
• fruit or fruit juice
• vegetables or vegetable juice
• edible yeast, herbs, bark, buds, root leaves, or plant material
• dairy products, including fermented products
• meat, poultry, or seafood
• eggs

These flavors can be obtained by heating or roasting the animal or plant material. In addition, manufacturers are increasingly using enzymes to extract flavor compounds from plant sources to help meet the demand for natural flavors. Natural flavors are meant to enhance flavor, not necessarily to contribute nutritional value to a food or beverage. These flavorings are extremely common in foods and beverages. In fact, research suggests they are the fourth most common ingredient on food labels

Natural flavors are complex mixtures created by specially trained food chemists known as flavorists. However, members of the Flavor and Extract Manufacturers Association (FEMA), a trade group that evaluates the safety of flavor additives in the United States, have been criticized by nutrition experts and public interest groups for not disclosing safety data on natural flavors. In most cases, natural flavors appear safe for human consumption when consumed occasionally in processed foods (.

However, given the number of chemicals that may be part of a natural flavor mixture, adverse reactions may be possible.For people who have food allergies or follow special diets, it’s very important to investigate what substances a natural flavoring contains.

If you have allergies and want to dine out, ask for ingredients lists. Although restaurants aren’t legally required to provide this information, many do so to attract and retain customers.

Should you consume natural flavors?

The original source of natural flavors must be plant or animal material. However, natural flavors can be highly processed and contain many chemical additives.

In fact, in some cases natural flavors aren’t much different from artificial flavors in terms of chemical composition and health effects. From a health and safety standpoint, try to focus on choosing fresh or frozen whole foods whenever possible. Food manufacturers are only required to list flavors on  ingredients lists, not to reveal the original sources or chemical mixtures of these flavors. To find out where the natural flavors in a food product come from and what chemicals they contain, you can contact the food company by phone or email to ask them directly.

According to the Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit research organization, these mixtures can contain more than 100 different chemicals in addition to their original flavor source, including preservatives, solvents, and other substances. These are defined as “incidental additives”.

However, food manufacturers aren’t required to disclose whether these additives come from natural or synthetic sources. As long as the original flavoring source comes from plant or animal material, it’s classified as a natural flavor. What’s more, because the term “natural” has no official definition, flavors sourced from genetically modified crops can also be labeled as natural.

Ingredients classified as natural flavors

There are hundreds of natural flavors created by food chemists. Here are a few that are commonly found in foods and beverages:

• Amyl acetate. This compound can be distilled from bananas in order to provide banana-like flavor in baked goods.
• Citral. Also known as geranial, citral is extracted from lemongrass, lemon, orange, and pimento. It is used in citrus-flavored beverages and sweets.
• Benzaldehyde. This chemical is extracted from almonds, cinnamon oil, and other ingredients. It is frequently used to give foods an almond flavor and aroma.
• Castoreum. A somewhat surprising and unsettling source, this slightly sweet substance is found in the anal secretions of beavers. It is sometimes used as a substitute for vanilla, although this is rare due to its high cost.

Other natural flavors include:

• Linden ether: honey flavor
• Massoia lactone: coconut flavor
• Acetoin: butter flavor

All these flavors can also be produced using lab-created chemicals, in which case they would be listed as artificial flavors. You may also have noticed that most of the time, ingredients labels indicate that the food is made with natural and artificial flavors.

Should you choose natural flavors over artificial flavors?

It may seem healthier to choose foods that contain natural flavors and avoid those with artificial flavors. However, in terms of chemical composition, the two are remarkably similar. The chemicals in a particular flavor may be naturally derived or synthetic. In fact, artificial flavors sometimes contain fewer chemicals than natural flavors.

Some advocacy groups, such as the American Council on Science and Health, have argued that artificial flavors are actually safer because they are produced under tightly controlled laboratory conditions. Artificial flavors are also less expensive to produce, which makes them more appealing to food manufacturers.

In addition, people who are vegetarian or vegan may unknowingly be ingesting animal-derived natural flavors in processed foods. Overall, natural flavors don’t appear to be any healthier than artificial flavors.

Are natural flavors safe?

Because natural flavor mixtures often contain many different chemicals, some people may experience adverse reactions. For this reason, it’s very important to be aware of the ingredients in the natural flavors you consume, especially if you have any food allergies or dietary restrictions.

Thank you healthline.com for the majority of info shared here.

Eating used to seem so much simpler. But as life became more complicated and difficult, more and more of us have gotten away from having ‘kitchen gardens’ and growing at least some of our own food. Instead we have opted in our busy lives for the simplicity of prepared and processed foods. In return we have sacrificed in some cases our health and well being for the sake of ease.

So now you know about “natural flavor” All of this is just good “food for thought”.