By Dr. Mercola
You probably know you’re better off avoiding artificial
flavorings in your foods. But what about natural flavors? Aren’t
they … natural?
Not necessarily. Both artificial and natural flavors
can be made in laboratories, and natural flavors are not
necessarily healthier than artificial ones. They may also be
far from what you expect …
Now please understand this is not some type of
massive food scandal. The use of this product is relatively
uncommon but I thought it would serve as a good example of
the many ingredients you have no idea are being used in your
food. This is yet another example of how your food is
perverted and manipulated -- especially when the word
“natural” is used.
Vanilla-Flavored Processed Foods May Contain Anal Secretions
From Beaver Butts…
Anal secretions from beavers, which beavers use to mark their
territory, smell, ironically, like vanilla. These secretions,
called castoreum, may be used as vanilla flavoring in baked
goods, pudding, chewing gum and more.1
Here’s the rub … you certainly won’t see ‘beaver anal
secretions’ on your food labels, and you probably won’t see
‘castoreum’ either. All that has to be listed is vanilla
natural flavor, because, after all, beaver anal secretions
are natural.
It’s clearly absurd that food manufacturers can describe
secretions from beaver anal glands as natural vanilla flavor.
This isn’t a huge health issue, especially because beavers are
not a bred animal, and the total consumption of castoreum is
thought to be around just 250 pounds a year.2
Still, there’s no denying it’s deceptive, as most people
would not knowingly buy such a product, especially when vanilla
flavor can be extracted from other sources, like coniferous
trees and vanilla beans (imagine that!). In case you were
wondering, there are actually quite a few foods that could,
theoretically, contain castoreum, including:
Alcoholic beverages |
Baked goods |
Chewing gum |
Frozen dairy |
Puddings and gelatin |
Gravies |
Hard candy and soft candy |
Meat products |
Non-alcoholic beverages |
Many Natural Flavors are Created in a Laboratory
Most people assume that a natural flavor describes something
like strawberries, garlic or chili pepper used to naturally
season food. In reality, most natural flavors are created in a
laboratory, just like artificial flavors. The only difference is
that natural flavors must be sourced from a natural product,
whereas artificial flavors do not. According to the Code of
Federal Regulations:3
“The term natural flavor or natural flavoring means
the essential oil, oleoresin, essence or extractive, protein
hydrolysate, distillate, or any product of roasting, heating
or enzymolysis,
These contain 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.”
As you can see, in the end natural flavors often bare little
resemblance to the natural product from which they came. Many
times the resulting chemical may even be identical to those
created synthetically to make artificial flavors, yet it will
likely be more expensive. Today reported:4
“Both artificial and natural flavors are made by
“flavorists” in a laboratory by blending either “natural”
chemicals or “synthetic” chemicals to create flavorings.
Gary Reineccius, a professor in the department of food
science and nutrition at the University of Minnesota, says
that the distinction between natural and artificial
flavorings is based on the source of these often identical
chemicals. In fact, he says, “artificial flavorings are
simpler in composition and potentially safer because only
safety-tested components are utilized.
“Another difference,” says Reineccius, “is cost. The
search for natural sources of chemicals often requires that
a manufacturer go to great lengths to obtain a given
chemical…. This natural chemical is identical to the version
made in an organic chemist’s laboratory, yet it is much more
expensive than the synthetic alternative.” End result: We
shoppers wind up paying the price for natural flavorings,
and according to Reineccius, these are in fact no better in
quality, nor are they safer, than their cost-effective
artificial counterparts.”
What Else Could be in Your Natural Flavors?
The biotech company Senomyx creates novel flavor-enhancing
compounds for the processed food industry in order to make foods
and beverages that taste good while reducing sugar and salt
content. The synthetically engineered flavor enhancers work by
triggering taste receptors on your tongue, effectively tricking
your taste buds into sensing sweetness, saltiness, or
“coolness.”
To accomplish this, Senomyx has developed patented “flavor
enhancing” compounds using "proprietary taste receptor-based
assay systems." It’s a taste testing system that provides
scientists with biochemical responses and electronic readouts
when a flavor ingredient interacts with their patented receptor,
letting researchers know whether or not they’ve “hit the mark”
in terms of flavor.
Customers include Pepsi Co., Ajinomoto Co. (the maker of aspartame
and meat glue), Nestlé and others, and, since these compounds
(whatever they are) are used in such minute quantities, they
don’t have to be listed on the label. They’ll simply fall under
the generic category of artificial and/or natural flavors,
adding yet one more questionable compound to the U.S. food
supply …
The Word ‘Natural’ is Meaningless on Food Labels
It’s not only natural flavors that are deceiving … the term
“all natural” anywhere on food packaging means
virtually nothing. This is because there's no standard
definition for the term "all natural" when used on processed
foods, which leaves it wide open for ‘creative’ interpretation.
The term is only regulated on meat and poultry, for which an
item labeled "natural" may not contain any:
- Artificial flavors
- Colors
- Chemical preservatives
But in the processed food arena, a "natural" product can be
virtually anything; it can be genetically modified, full of
pesticides, made with corn syrup, additives, preservatives and
artificial ingredients ... so please avoid using this as a
measure by which to find healthy foods. Unfortunately, surveys
reveal that, contrary to reality, the majority of consumers
believe the “natural”
label equates to “almost organic,” and many believe the
“all-natural” label means a product is better than
organic! Industry is well aware of this powerful deceitful
word-association, and they use it to their benefit to make
health-conscious consumers believe their inherently
unnatural food products are healthier than they actually
are.
Nature Provides the Best Flavors
When choosing what to eat, I highly recommend you focus your
meals on real food, and remember "food" equals "live nutrients."
Nutrients, in turn, feed your cells, optimize your health and
sustain life. To help you along, I’ve created a free optimized
nutrition plan, which takes you step-by-step from the
beginner’s through the advanced level.
When you eat real foods as opposed to processed "food
products," you don't need artificial or natural
lab-created flavors or flavor enhancers, because real foods
taste delicious. The fact that processed foods taste good is the
culmination of a profitable science of artificial and natural
flavors, enhancers and additives, without which most processed
food would taste and look like shredded cardboard. Remember,
both artificial and natural flavors are trying to simulate the
flavors that nature readily provides!
Real food naturally has vibrant colors, rich textures, and is
authentically flavorful. For times when you want to add some
oomph to your meals, nature has provided
herbs and spices, which are not only incredibly tasty but
also will make your real food even healthier and full of truly
natural flavor.
© Copyright 1997-2013 Dr. Joseph Mercola. All Rights Reserved.