Companies are eliminating artificial flavors from their products because consumers believe them to be healthier – but is this really the case?
To qualify as natural, flavors must come from plant or animal material – though the FDA doesn’t mandate companies disclose this source (3).
Ingredients
At first glance, selecting products with natural flavors instead of artificial ones may appear healthier; however, this doesn’t always translate to being healthier for our planet. Natural flavorings often come from ingredients extracted from whole food or animal sources which must then be processed using chemicals that could potentially damage the ecosystem – an example is strawberry jam, where extracting fruit produces the signature banana flavor using these methods could prove costly in terms of environmental cost.
Manufacturers need to add other chemicals for flavor additives to meet Food Safety regulations. These may include solvents, emulsifiers and preservatives which make the product safe to store and consume. Therefore, one way of going artificial flavors-free is finding products certified Non-GMO Project verifiable by this certification, which ensures that no GMO microorganisms were used during their manufacturing.
Origins
Flavor industry veterans have long understood its value; helping manufacturers produce safe, affordable food products while keeping essential medicines stable and effective on store shelves.
Natural flavors are created using ingredients found in nature, such as spices, fruit or fruit juices, edible yeast, vegetables or vegetable juices, bark buds roots leaves other plant material and animals (Wagner 2021). For flavor substances to qualify as natural they must come directly from plants or animals but chemical reproduction methods can also be employed (Wagner 2021).
Vanillin is an example of a natural compound that can both be synthetically synthesized and extracted from plants, so its inclusion on an ingredients list doesn’t always translate to being “all natural.”
Health Concerns
Reasons for opting for natural flavors range from placing value on their origin and environment, as well as wanting transparency in our food supply chains.
Natural flavors come from many foods and sources, such as spices, fruits or fruit juices, vegetables, herbs, bark buds roots leaves or similar plant materials as well as meat products. Although their sources differ, they all contain chemical compounds similar to artificial ones.
However, natural flavors pose more of a problem due to their limited nutritional value than their synthetic origins. Consumers could be fooled into thinking a product with natural strawberry flavor is healthier than another with artificial strawberry flavor when in fact they’re both the same thing. Furthermore, some food manufacturers don’t list components of natural flavors on ingredient lists which could pose concerns for those with various dietary restrictions.
Alternatives
Natural and artificial flavors differ mainly in that natural ones are obtained by using substances with taste-altering qualities, such as spices, fruits or fruit juices, vegetables or vegetable juices, edible yeast, herbs (bark buds roots leaves etc), meat seafood poultry eggs or dairy products; while artificial ones are created synthetically to mimic the chemical makeup of natural ingredients.
Food manufacturers opt to incorporate artificial flavors in their products for various reasons, including cost efficiency and more affordable production of large batches compared to natural ingredients.
Consumers looking for products free from artificial flavors can reach out directly to companies and express their preferences by calling or writing. By sharing their concerns with them, customers may encourage these firms to adapt their policies and begin advertising these items as such.
