Can the ingredient "natural flavor" be a chemical?

Question

I try to eat all-natural, organic foods, but i can't help but wonder if the ingredient "natural flavor" is really natural. My Kashi Autumn Wheat cereal has only three ingredients: organic wheat, organic evaporated cane juice, and natural flavor.
Why are they so ambiguous with their terminology? Are they trying to hide some potentially dangerous chemical food additive by terming it as "natural flavor"????

Answer 1

Sure! EVERYTHING is made up of chemicals -- including you!

The FDA does not allow them to mislabel 'dangerous' chemicals (or to even use them if they're dangerous - lol); they say natural flavor because the formula is proprietary, so they don't want to give away the recipe.

If the flavoring is synthetic, it would say "Artificial Flavors"

Kashi Autumn Wheat cereal is labeled as USDA ORGANIC, so it contains at least 95–99% organic ingredients (by weight). The remaining ingredients are not available organically but have been approved by the NOP. These products may display the USDA Organic seal.

Answer 2

Usually it is something innocuous, but not always. A famous example was McDonald's using "natural flavor" in their French Fries, and it turned out to be a beef power (which freaked out vegetarians and prompted a lawsuit). A natural flavor can't be a "chemical" that is artificially created, and is usually some sort of extract from a plant or animal. I am always a bit suspicious that it is something that sounds (or is) unpleasant, but I don't think you have to worry about any dangerous chemical food additives being snuck in - as long as it is a product made in the USA or the EU. If it is from China or other countries in the developing world, the standards are different and the monitoring is also sub-par (on both their side and ours). So if you see "natural flavor" on a foreign (non-EU) product, you may wish to avoid it.

Answer 3

basically the all natural is really different for each person. one likes no additives or preservatives, one wants no sugar, the third wants no food coloring. if it were "all natural" we'd probably all have our own chickens and cows and fields of crops and veggies and bake our own bread, etc when companies are mass-producing to sell more they you try to cut costs by using cheaper materials and sometimes they aren't healthy - like using fake or artificial things. i always read labels and don't put much stock in "all natural" labels. for example: all natural 100% orange juice. if it really was all natural it would spoil in a few days max - so if the "sell by" date is 10 days or 2 weeks it must have something in it, even though it isn't listed, right ? there are a lot of products on the market that we actually eat/drink and really cause damage over time - food coloring and monosodium glutomate that i am convinced may be major contributors to cancer. somethings like toothpaste don't really matter to me because you don't eat them - the main thing there is a good-pleasant taste and that it cleans your teeth. in short - to a point it is just a marketing trick but we need to read labels, ask questions and use common sense.

Answer 4

"Natural flavor" is usually code for sugar - sucrose from cane sugar. Because it comes from sugar cane, the sugar companies got it classified as a natural flavor.

Answer 5

I occasionally wonder the same thing. I havent been able to find the answer, unfortunately. Sorry I cant help much!

=]

Answer 6

They don't want to give away trade secrets so other companies can copy the recipe.