What are the "Natural Flavors" in the product ingredient lists?

The term natural flavors is a US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) term for food ingredients that are generally determined to be safe. This is a rather long listing of items that manufacturers are not required to detail in the ingredients lists. To get some idea of what these items are we pulled some information from the FDA definition and they are:

"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. Natural flavors, include the natural essence or extractives obtained from plants." source: US FDA - Food Labeling

It is probably best for you to contact the manufacturer if you wish to obtain more information on what is being listed on a products ingredients list.

Related Topics: Artificial Flavors | Other Spices