What Really Are In Natural Flavors?
The Nutrition Labeling Loophole
I used to drink Starbucks’ iced chai with peppermint syrup on a daily basis, but half the time I would end up arguing with the baristas that I didn’t want a $7 cup of ice with a shot of chai. Finally, after one particularly embittered battle with a stubborn barista, I looked at the ingredients wondering if I could make my own peppermint chai tea. It was then that I had to face my poison. “Natural flavors” appear all over the labeling including twice on the box of chai concentrate. For those who are unaware of this industry trick, “natural flavors” is code for “all the stuff we don’t want to tell you because you would be horrified.” So, what actually are in natural flavors?
The FDA’s definition of natural flavors is broad enough as to be a regulatory catch-all, meaning natural flavors encompass anything a company wants to hide. The FDA’s definition reads, “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.” Translated, this definition states that food manufacturers can use a wide array of chemical processes to produce flavoring chemicals from the base stock of the original food.
Note that there is nothing in the FDA’s definition of natural flavors about the chemical composition of the end flavoring ingredient, only the raw materials and processes. This means that, at a molecular level, there is no difference between natural and artificial flavors. Natural flavors are as artificial as they come. The only difference between natural and artificial flavors is that Natural flavors start as food while artificial flavors start as petroleum products. By the end of processing, they end up as the same flavoring chemicals with no difference in their molecular structures. The difference is in the raw material, not the end product.
Further, the Frankenstein food flavors that end up under the term “natural flavors” often have nothing to do with the original flavor that is being replicated. One famous example is McDonald’s natural beef flavor, derived from wheat and milk, no meat included.
Are these flavors dangerous? As it turns out, most commonly used natural flavors appear to be safe, but yes, some natural flavors are dangerous as shown by various toxicology studies. Unfortunately, due to trade secrets and a lack of intensive 3rd party studies, many natural flavors have gone without major scientific scrutiny. A few examples of well known natural flavors include:
Monosodium glutamate [MSG] is considered safe for consumption by the FDA and the latest scientific studies still confirm this position, showing no clear link between MSG and a host of reported symptoms such as numbness, sweating, headache, and chest pains. However, a link has been studied between MSG and high blood pressure, finding MSG does increase blood pressure, particularly in women.
MSG chemical structure
Carrageenan [CGN], used as a thickener in some drinks and as an exterior coating on meat (making it an incidental additive instead of a natural flavor), is defined by the FDA as “refined hydrocolloid that is prepared by aqueous extraction from specific red seaweeds,” and is one of the few additives that requires labeling. CGN was considered by the FDA as “Generally Recognized As Safe” [GRAS], and as such, did not require specific labeling until 2018. However, CGN has been under renewed scrutiny after the International Agency for Research in Cancer (IARC, a branch of the World Health Organization) upgraded CGN to a 2B possible human carcinogen based on animal studies. A class 2B substance means that the scientific evidence is currently inconclusive, but provides a troubling picture, in this case, increased tumor rates in rats. Animal studies also found CGN caused gut inflammation in guinea pigs, with these results replicated in cell studies. CGN was approved for use by the FDA in 1961 as a GRAS additive and consumed by the public without being identified as a possible source of inflammation and cancer until 2018 (57 years). The FDA could be forgiven for working with the best available data at the time, except that the studies that prompted IARC to upgrade the classification of CGN began coming out in the 1960’s. That is to say, the safety of many common additives and natural flavors, including those placed on the FDA’s GRAS list, are unknown or underreported.
Common chemical structures of carrageenan
Citral is used for lemon flavoring in some drinks and is a known skin irritant. This natural flavor causes itchy skin and rashes, but go ahead and drink it. For reference, the OH group on the end of citral’s chemical structure is indicative of a caustic material which could explain the skin irritation. As it turns out, citral’s pH is at a 4 which is similar in strength to tomato juice while vinegar is more acidic with a pH of around 2.5. With this in mind, citral may very well be safe for consumption as long as you don’t get stomach pains or heartburn from acidic foods. Unfortunately, while there are some scientific papers about citral’s effects in animal and in vitro studies, studies of the actual effects of citral on the human body remain scarce.
Citral chemical structure
Castoreum, also known as Beaver Goo, is an anal secretion used by male beavers to mark their territory. Because of their bark and leaf diets, beaver goo generally has a vanilla like scent and was commonly used as a vanilla natural flavor. Part of the FDA’s GRAS list, castoreum does not need to be labeled on food packaging, but due to rising costs of sourcing the raw material and kosher and vegan dietary choices, castoreum is rarely used in foods anymore. Strangely, castoreum could potentially have health benefits according to rumors about its use to treat seizures and epilepsy by the famous alchemist, Paracelsus, or to treat sleep disorders in eastern medicine. However, no scientific studies are currently available regarding these supposed health benefits.
Castoreum chemical structure
Adding to the problem of natural flavors hiding ingredients, organic natural flavors only need to be 95% organic. This means 5% of the composition of organic products may be from non-organic sources that are slathered in pesticides and herbicides. This 5% may also be “natural” extracts from genetically modified crops, also known as GMO foods.
This 5% sounds small but may be more dangerous than is currently understood. Prompted by IARC’s upgrade of the herbicide glyphosate (Round Up) to a class 2A probable carcinogen, the National Institute of Health [NIH] published a meta review of health studies on the herbicide looking at Round Up’s link to cancer. According to the NIH, due to complex biological mechanisms, glyphosate may be carcinogenic at even lower doses than currently considered “safe” in the US or in the EU. For reference, the US EPA regulates the maximum safe dosage of glyphosate to be 1.75 mg/kg/day (that is mg of Round Up per 1 kg of body mass per day) and the EU limits to 0.3 mg/kg/day.
In addition to the natural flavors loophole, there are a whole category of additives that do not need to be labeled at all as they do not provide any nutrient nor flavor content to the product (with a handful of exceptions such as carrageenan). Incidental additives, which are exempt from food labeling requirements, include preservatives, thickeners, emulsifiers, and solvents. There is one saving grace here that organic incidental additives are required to be produced without the use synthetic solvents nor the addition of certain chemicals such as propylene glycol (used for consistency in salad dressings and a component in anti-freeze, considered GRAS by the FDA). Products “made with organic ingredients” are not held to the same standards. While it is considered a best practice to include additives on labels, these additives are granted explicit exemption from labeling requirements in FDA regulations.
To be fair, some companies use the natural flavors loophole to hide trade secrets from competitors, not to hide terrifying truths from their customers. However, even in this more innocuous type of case, natural flavor labeling still obfuscates the truth, nullifies the purpose of nutrition labels, and prevents us from making informed decisions about our health.
This is why Chai Hous uses only natural ingredients, which means no natural flavors, because there’s nothing natural about natural flavors. Additionally, Chai Hous uses no preservatives, no emulsifiers, and no other incidental additives. While our modern food chain prevents us from avoiding all exposure to potentially harmful chemicals and additives, we can limit our exposure by being aware of what we consume and choosing products that don’t hide behind the smoke screen of natural flavors.
About the Author
As a chemical engineer, Spencer Lane, Chai Hous’ Chief Brewing Officer, is fascinated with the chemistry of health. Researching what causes sickness led him to understand how nutrition plays a critical role in every day health. Based on his research on chai spices, he feels he has discovered the alchemical elixir of life, or, as a sci fi fan, the Spice. “The most precious substance in the universe is the spice mélange… The spice extends life.” – Frank Herbert, Dune