“Natural flavourings” sound reassuring.
They suggest something simple. Clean. Close to nature.
But when you see natural flavourings on a label, what does it actually mean? And more importantly, should you be concerned?
What Are Natural Flavourings?
In the UK and EU, natural flavourings are defined as flavouring substances derived from natural sources such as:
- Plants
- Animals
- Microorganisms
However – and this is the important part – they are not used in their original form.
Instead they are extracted, processed, chemically altered and recombined, to create specific flavours.
So while the source may be natural, the final ingredient is often far removed from anything you would ever use in your kitchen.
What Could Natural Flavourings Actually Be?
“Natural flavourings” is an umbrella term, meaning that it can include a number of things and doesn’t tell you exactly what’s inside.
Some of the things included in this umbrella term are:
- Extracted compounds from fruits or vegetables
- Fermented ingredients
- Enzyme-treated substances
- Concentrated flavour isolates
- By-products from food processing
This means that as long as a source is technically natural, it can be labelled that way.
This also allows companies to include flavourings that may not even be derived from the source of their name.
For example “natural strawberry flavour” is often not derived from strawberries. Of course it can be, but companies often use cheaper sources to create the same strawberry flavours, such as bark and bacteria.
So that strawberry flavoured filling you’re eating may not even contain a trace of a real strawberry.
Why This Matters
The problem with a catch-all term like this is that there is a lack of transparency. With no actual list of clear ingredients how can we know what we are putting into our bodies?
High Processing
Even though the source of these flavourings may be natural, the processing can be very extensive, turning them into an ultra-processed ingredient.
The processing often involves things such as solvents, heat treatment, chemical reactions and fractionation, which is a separation process to divide a mixture into purified fractions.
Palatability
Natural flavourings are often used to enhance taste, replace flavours that have been lost during processing and to make food more appealing.
This makes foods hyper palatable.
Hyper palatable foods make us want more and more, meaning that we tend to over eat them. Think Pringles.
This in turn can also increase our cravings for the food that is bad for us. including increasing cancer risk, diabetes and increasing our body weight.
Hyper palatable foods also primarily trigger the brain’s reward system, causing a surge in dopamine, similar to that of addictive drugs. This creates intense pleasure and overrides fullness signals.
These flavourings can make our food genuinely addictive and difficult to stop eating.
Where Can You Find Them
Natural flavourings are a very common additive. They can be found in foods such as:
- Flavoured yogurts
- Cereals
- Protein bars
- Plant-based products
- Sauces and dressings
- Snacks
- Crisps
- Soft drinks
Even products marketed as ‘healthy’ or ‘natural’ often contain them, so be sure to check the label.
Are They Harmful?
While natural flavours are approved by food agencies, this doesn’t necessarily mean that they are good.
Natural flavourings are a relatively recent food additive and as such it is unlikely that we will know if there are any health risks from consuming them for a few decades.
However, we do know that a main reason that companies add these to our foods is so that we can’t stop eating them.
This genuinely makes it difficult for us to stop eating these ultra-processed foods. As such more and more people are becoming obese, all because they are essentially addicted to food, and it is down to the companies that produce these addictive foods.
Obesity increases our risk of multiple illnesses including diabetes, cancer, heart problems, skeletal issues and more!
The only way to solve this is to remove these addictive flavourings from our diet.
How to Avoid Them
Completely removing these additives from our diets is very difficult. This is because they are everywhere, and avoiding them is often impractical in our modern lives, so some people may prefer to reduce them rather than avoid them completely. However, it is not impossible.
Here are some practical tips to help you to avoid these flavourings:
- Choose foods with clear, recognisable ingredients (always read the label)
- Opt for plain versions (e.g. plain yogurt instead of flavoured)
- Add flavours yourself by chopping in some added fruits, herbs and spices
- Cook from scratch when you can (batch cooking can help with this)
Natural flavourings sound simple, but they’re anything but.
They are vague, highly processed and widely used in ultra-processed foods.
Understanding what the term really means can help you to make more informed choices about what you consume.
Because when it comes to food, we should know exactly what we are putting into our bodies.
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