So you're standing in the freezer section at the supermarket and you just can’t decide. Do I get the strawberry ice cream with natural flavoring and real strawberries, or do I go for the artificially flavored but low-fat ice cream? To many of us the healthier choice would be to go with the all-natural jam-packed strawberry dessert. Natural it is always better, but when it comes to flavorings choosing natural over artificial can be difficult. We rarely ever ask ourselves where this natural stuff comes from. Many people don’t know about the countless natural products that are regularly labeled and/or include the expression “natural flavors”, stating that there are other ingredients (so to speak) being added to these products. The label "natural flavors" is misleading. Food corporations are portraying the ingredients in their products as something they are not. “Natural flavorings” are everywhere, but if we take a closer look we can see that these flavorings are not as natural as we’ve been led to believe.
The natural flavorings that are used not only in our desserts but our everyday meals go through a very unnatural process before being added to our food. But what exactly is it, and where does it come from? The FDA’s definition of a natural flavor is, “the essential oil, oleoresin, essence or extractive, protein hydrolysate, distillate, or any product of roasting, heating or enzymolysis, which contains the flavoring constituents derived from a spice, fruit or fruit juice, vegetable or vegetable juice, edible yeast, herb, bark, bud, root, leaf or similar plant material, meat, seafood, poultry, eggs, dairy products, or fermentation products thereof, whose significant function in food is flavoring rather than nutritional.” All this means is that the flavoring itself is not natural, but extracts from a natural source were used as the base of the flavoring. Ultimately, it is all about the flavoring used in a particular product is “natural” because it originated from a natural source or material, but that does not include the chemicals that are added to these flavors after being extracted from organic ingredients. Many often think that the obvious way of avoiding the chemicals in flavorings is by buying organic – but don’t be fooled, there are countless organic food products that have “natural flavors” added to them, too. Natural flavors are prepared by merging “natural” chemicals to create a very distinct fruit and/or vegetable taste. Personally, I believed if something was naturally flavored chemicals, additives, and preservatives were left out, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. There are hundreds of components that are put into making these “natural flavorings”. It has been proven that there is little essential difference in the chemical arrangements of natural and artificial flavorings. A finding such as this only makes us question how natural flavorings do differ to those which are in fact artificial.
So long as consumers prefer to see the phrase “natural flavors” on a label, producers will continue to use those words whether or not their products are in fact natural. But what IS the difference between the all-natural and the potentially unhealthy flavorings? While both types of flavorings are made by trained professionals called “flavorists” who blends the appropriate amount of chemicals to get that very specific taste-bud-stimulating, there is a slight difference between the constructing of artificial and natural flavorings. Natural is said to be organic, but when it comes to flavorings in particular, that is not so true. Though artificial flavorings are simpler in composition and are likely to be more accurate, many times that is not so. What people do not know is that in spite of the sound of the expression “natural flavoring”, natural flavors are not any better for us than the artificial ones. Although many synthesized flavors are derived from petroleum, there are various flavors that are used to create artificial flavorings can be found in natural as well, which ultimately makes these specific flavors natural in their own way. The only important difference between artificial and natural flavorings that producers and consumers care about is the price.
Though there are few food producers, like the NIRC (Natural Ingredient Resource Center) who do try to incorporate truth in the food labeling, the majority of producers are deliberately misleading their oh so loyal consumers. But can this be considered lying, or is it our own fault for misconceiving? The government plays a big role when it comes to giving food organizations a helping hand in deceiving people. Technically, the law doesn’t require corporations to make the ingredients in their flavorings known, so that these companies can maintain their “trade-secret” flavors used for their products. This only makes it easier for companies to hide the long list of chemicals that are incorporated when making a lot of “naturally flavored” food products. According to Heather B. of Health and Wellness, “The FDA doesn't require manufacturers to list color or flavor additives on ingredients left, as long as they are recognized as safe”. Something like this many seem small and insignificant to many, but if we look a little closer it is quite a big deal. Today, there are labeling laws that allow flavoring corporations to protect themselves by using unclear terms such as “natural flavors” and “artificial flavors” to categorize their ingredients. The only way consumers know what is in these foods being advertised as “natural”, is by the labels used to define the ingredients that are incorporated in the products.
In the end, it is impossible to tell from a label what is in natural flavors without the company specifying it on the label, or calling the company and finding out what the flavors are really made of. But let’s be honest, how many of us are going to set time aside to question the ingredients in our food? Very few. The differences between artificial and natural flavors are for the most part arbitrary. A product should not be advertised based more on how the flavor in it was made, rather than on what it actually contains.
Works Cited
B., Heather. "Artificial and Natural Flavorings: Avoid Them All!" Associated Content from Yahoo! - Associatedcontent.com. 15 May 2007. Web. Nov. 2010. <http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/232164/artificial_and_natural_flavorings_avoid.html>.
Reineccius, Gary. "What Is the Difference between Artificial and Natural Flavors?: Scientific American." Science News, Articles and Information | Scientific American. 29 July 2002. Web. Nov. 2010. <http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=what-is-the-difference-be-2002-07-29>.
"Chemical World! - Natural Flavors V.s Artificial Flavors." Chemical World! - Home. Web. Nov. 2010. <http://www.zchemicals.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=25&Itemid=27>.
Geppert, Amy. "What's the Difference Between Artificial and Natural Flavors? | Popular Science." Popular Science | New Technology, Science News, The Future Now. 29 Dec. 2008. Web. Nov. 2010. <http://www.popsci.com/node/30562>.
Schlosser, Eric. "Why The Fries Taste Good." Fast Food Nation: the Dark Side of the All-American Meal. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2001. Print.
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