Natural & Artificial Flavors: How Are They Different?

Commercial drink formulations contain an array of ingredients, but the building blocks include natural and artificial flavors. Although flavor compounds are the smallest component of a product, they are not to be overlooked—after all, it's the flavor that consumers crave!

Flavor additives are responsible for much of a drink's sensory profile. They allow consumers to enjoy unique flavors they may not otherwise be able to experience in their original form and help beverage companies deliver consistent, high-quality products.

In the US, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates which ingredients are allowed in consumer goods such as beverages. The Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) provides guidelines for natural and artificial flavors. Despite being a common addition to most beverage formulations, non-experts sometimes struggle to understand these additives.

A single flavor can consist of 50 to 100 different compounds derived from natural and/or artificial sources. Because flavor is one of the most important contributions to a drink, there are a few key things you should know about how it's defined.

Natural Flavors

"Natural" is a term that many people tend to associate with wellness and sustainability; in reality, it simply means "from nature." When applied to the world of flavor science, it has a slightly more complicated definition.

According to the CFR, a natural flavor (or natural flavoring) refers to "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."

That sounds like a mouthful (and it is), but put simply, a natural flavor is a substance derived from a natural source (through plant or animal matter) whose function is for flavor, not nutrition. There are three forms of a natural flavor. Let's use lemon as an example:

1. Natural Lemon Flavor — FTNF is the acronym for "from the named food," meaning all the flavor ingredients used must be derived from the natural named source (in this case, lemon).
2. Natural Lemon Flavor WONF — WONF is shorthand for "with only (or other) natural flavors," meaning the flavor must contain any amount of a natural derivative from lemon. All other flavor ingredients used must be natural but do not necessarily have to come from lemon.
3. Natural Lemon-Type Flavor or Natural Flavor For Lemon — All flavor ingredients used must be natural but do not need to come from the named food. This flexibility allows flavorists to create a flavor using natural compounds that are more readily available in other sources. For example, citral can be extracted from lemongrass to make this Natural Lemon-Type Flavor. Fanciful names can also be used, followed by the declaration-"Lemon Slice Surprise" (A Natural Flavor).

Artificial Flavors

As with "natural," there are common misconceptions about "artificial." Some people have negative associations with artificial flavors in terms of health. But that's not necessarily true when it comes to flavor science.

Any flavorist will tell you that the same compounds found in one source can be found naturally in other sources—sometimes in much higher amounts or more efficiently extracted forms.

Do you like vanilla ice cream? Well, odds are you are enjoying an artificial flavor. There are simply not enough vanilla beans in the world to meet the flavor's high demand. Luckily, the compound that gives vanilla its signature profile (vanillin) can be synthetically derived from other sources like paper pulp. Chemically speaking, the vanillin extracted through either source is exactly the same, but you're guaranteed to see a difference in cost and availability.

Where does the CFR stand on the matter? Well, an artificial flavor (or artificial flavoring) refers to "any substance, the function of which is to impart flavor, which is not derived from a spice, fruit or fruit juice, vegetable or vegetable juice, edible yeast, herb, bark, bud, root, leaf or similar plant material, meat, fish, poultry, eggs, dairy products, or fermentation products thereof."

Simply put, artificial flavors are additives designed to mimic the taste of natural ingredients. Made with synthetically derived raw materials, an artificial flavor structurally mirrors the natural compound, offering manufacturers a cost-efficient way to achieve a specific profile.

Hybrid Flavors

Take a look at the ingredients label on the back of your favorite drink. You may read "natural and artificial flavors" and wonder where those fit into the definitions we've discussed.

There are two common hybridizations of artificial and natural flavors stipulated by the CFR. Let's return to our lemon example to explain what they mean:

1. Natural & Artificial Lemon Flavor—This flavor classification requires the use of a natural derivative from lemon. However, no amounts of lemon are currently required for the flavor to be considered natural.
2. Natural & Artificial Lemon-Type Flavor or Natural & Artificial Flavor For Lemon — This flavor classification requires it to contain any amount of a natural component, but not necessarily from lemon.

Many modern drink flavors are achieved through a combination of natural and artificial flavors. Natural flavors are often used to establish a product's basic profile, which is then modified and enhanced by artificial flavors. Together, they ensure the product's long-term flavor stability and quality.

Flavor FAQ'S

Do you still have questions? Don't worry - here are answers to the 3 most common questions we get about flavors:

1. Can I find specific flavor ingredients in my beverage?

The FDA does not require flavor companies to disclose the individual ingredients of their flavors as long as they've been deemed Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS).

Again, a single flavor can contain 50 to 100 compounds, which would make a list too lengthy for a package to cover. Instead, the FDA allows a label to simply disclose whether artificial and/or natural flavors have been used in the product. This also serves to protect the flavor's proprietary formula.

1. Are Natural Flavors "better" for us than Artificial Flavors?

Natural and artificial flavors are composed of the same molecules, so structurally, they are the same. The same can be said of their nutritional value. There is no difference between natural and artificial flavors, whose functions are for taste, not nutrition.

Both natural and artificial flavors are responsible for making food and beverages enticing. Ultimately, a product's source of nutrition has nothing to do with the flavor additives that are included, so judging a product's nutritional value on whether it does or does not contain natural and/or artificial flavors is not accurate.

1. Do Natural Flavors taste better than Artificial Flavors?

There is a common misconception that artificial flavors will taste "chemically" or "harsh" and not be true to a food's natural flavor. This is no longer true. Flavor science has come a long way in recent years.

Drawing on the combined benefits of artificial and natural flavors, we flavorists can now create any type of flavor profile you can imagine. Without the label telling you so, it is unlikely the average consumer would be able to taste the difference!

Flavor and aroma invoke powerful sensory experiences that can only be appreciated individually. They are not something you can see or touch but something you must experience yourself. A flavorist's role is to recreate those experiences at the molecular level, allowing consumers to enjoy their favorite flavors and taste new profiles that would otherwise be rare. Beyond all of the complex regulatory definitions, that's the true magic of flavor development, something we can all raise a glass to!