Food and beverage buyers tend to search for artificial flavor-free items when it comes to ingredients for food and beverages, but what are your knowledge regarding natural versus artificial flavors?
The FDA has specific labelling regulations and polices in place for both natural and artificial flavors. Natural sources include plant or fruit juices, edible yeast, bark roots buds and herbs while artificial flavors come from synthetic sources.
Preservatives
Artificial flavors have become an indispensable component of modern food industry, adding both taste and sensory experience to a variety of foods, while acting as preservatives that extend shelf life. Yet some consumers may remain wary about artificial flavoring compounds.
Even though natural flavors are preferred by many consumers, they may not always be affordable or suitable for mass manufacturing. Producing them typically involves costly distillation, extraction and fermentation processes which take time and resources – not to mention weather and pest considerations!
Artificial flavors, on the other hand, can be produced more precisely using chemical methods and offer consistent results. Furthermore, artificial flavors tend to be cost-effective and versatile compared to their natural counterparts – helping manufacturers develop innovative products not possible using only natural flavors alone. Such adaptability is crucial for maintaining food and beverage production quality and consistency.
Colorants
Colorants add freshness and appeal to food and beverages while conveying safety messages that help build trust between producers and consumers. While natural colors may not always suit every application, they offer cost-efficient alternatives to synthetic ingredients.
Natural colorants offer several advantages over their synthetic counterparts, including their versatility of source extraction. Natural sources may include plants, microorganisms and animals/insects for colorants such as saffron, peppercorns and red beet, while microorganisms produce pigments such as yellow-orange-red hues from carotenoids pigments.
Natural flavorings may vary more in taste due to volatile raw materials, creating issues for manufacturers who require consistency in their products. Conversely, artificial flavors provide consistent and precise taste experiences while being more stable than their natural counterparts – these flavors are usually regulated by FSSAI and adhere to stringent safety protocols.
Artificial sweeteners
Many people turn to artificial sweeteners in lieu of sugar to control calories, improve certain health conditions, or manage certain weight-related issues. Unfortunately, artificial sweeteners may have negative consequences on our bodies: insulin resistance, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and even certain forms of cancer have all been associated with their use.
Natural and artificial flavors are created either organically by nature or synthetically by man. Natural flavors come from extracting flavor compounds from spices, fruits, vegetable juices, herbs, bark buds roots or similar plant material as well as meat or dairy products to create their final products. These flavor compounds are then blended together into the final product.
Limonene adds orange flavor, acetone has the taste of alcohol, pyrazine and ketone produce bitter or medicinal tastes, while cinnamic aldehyde imparts cinnamon flavor. Unfortunately, none of these compounds are heat stable and can become bitter or sour upon heating, interfering with healthy bacteria in your gut and leading to bloating, cramps or diarrhea as a result.
Chemicals
Artificial flavor extracts often contain simpler chemical components than their natural counterparts due to the complexity of extraction processes for natural flavors, which often involve damaging plants and increasing environmental costs for manufacturers.
Artificial flavorings differ by being carefully created using specific chemical compounds such as limonene (orange flavor), diacetyl (butter flavor) and methyl anthranilate (grape flavor). This allows for greater consistency of taste across large-scale manufacturing.
Artificial flavorings may actually be safer for consumers than their natural counterparts, as they undergo stringent safety testing before being approved for use in food products. Furthermore, many artificial flavorings are vegan as they don’t contain animal products. Unfortunately, many consumers associate artificial ingredients with poor health; therefore it is important to read labels carefully and select only those which meet your criteria before purchasing anything with artificial ingredients. But don’t let that deter you; artificial ingredients still have plenty of advantages!
