By Christine Saad
American consumers are surrounded by the terms “natural” and “natural flavors” on the ingredient lists of the majority of processed foods. Many consumers are unaware of what mixture of chemicals are used to create the addicting and tasty foods they love. Alarmingly, representations on product labels are often the only source of information consumers can use to make decisions concerning whether to buy and use such products.
It is clear that consumers are willing to pay a premium for healthy food in support of a movement toward healthier living through the food they consume. These consumers rely heavily on the claim that the product they purchase contains “natural” ingredients or flavors. In fact, the word “natural” is estimated to help sell $40-billion dollars’ worth of food in the United States each year. While consumers may feel good about taking precautionary steps to protect their health by avoiding artificial flavors, they may be disturbed by the truth about the cleanliness of “natural” food. In 2015, the Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) initiated a notification of request for comments on use of the term “natural”, an attempt to promulgate regulations may be underway. If binding regulations are on the horizon, it is critical to understand where “natural flavors” arise in the market.
Recently, on January 29, 2019, a class action lawsuit was filed against National Beverage Corporation for its LaCroix sparkling water. Plaintiffs alleged the corporation knowingly and intentionally misrepresented the true nature and quality of the LaCroix Product by claim the product is “all natural” and “100% natural” when in fact it is not. LaCroix sparkling waters list two ingredients: carbonated water and natural flavor. Plaintiffs allege the waters are manufactured using non-natural flavorings and synthetic compounds. The case is still pending, but this class action exemplifies the need for clear and honest ingredient labels, and transparency about what “natural” really means for consumers.
There is a dramatic difference in food labeling when it comes to “natural” versus “natural flavors.” Even with research, many consumers would not recognize the difference between the two. The label “natural” lacks a formal definition and thus allows manufacturers to apply the term inconsistently. The FDA has not set legally binding regulations for the term “natural,” but it has for “natural flavors.” Although the term “natural flavors” is federally regulated, it is deeply misunderstood by consumers. “Natural flavors” are among the most common food ingredients listed on food labels, but they are far from what a reasonable consumer might expect. In reality, “natural flavors” can contain both artificial and synthetic chemicals.
In the United States, consumers are surrounded by processed food that contains “natural flavors.” Consumers are drawn to how food tastes, which is largely determined by the chemicals in the processed food. The mixture of chemicals is classified as “flavor” on the packaging labels of processed food. Due to the high consumption of processed food in the United States, flavoring has become a highly profitable business. The annual sales of the fragrance and flavor industry is estimated at $24 billion.
“Natural flavors” are essentially anything you extract form a plant or animal source; in contrast to artificial flavors, which are chemicals originating in a laboratory. Despite being derived from a single natural source, the finalized flavor consumed is a mixture of chemicals obtained by applying physical separation methods to natural sources, a long and complex process. These “natural flavor” mixtures can contain as many as 250 chemically identified constituents, some of which are artificial and synthetic. See 21 C.F.R. § 101.22(a)(3) (2018).
The term natural flavor or natural flavoring means 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 listed in 182.10, 182.20, 182.40, and 182.50 and part 184 of this chapter, and the substances listed in 172.510 of this chapter.
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The future of the food industry will always depend on consumers. Although current laws and regulations allow food companies and flavor factories to determine what ingredients and chemicals will be used in processed food, consumers can make a difference by advocating for the truth. Consumers should be able to walk into a grocery store and trust that processed food labeled as “natural flavor” is actually natural and clean.
Moving forward, consumers need to educate themselves and demand full and honest disclosure from the food industry on the flavors included in all products. Everyone deserves the right to healthy food, and not just those privileged in being able to buy healthy food and research its ingredients. Consumers have the ability to change the food industry by making a statement and refusing to purchase food with misleading labels and hidden ingredients.
Allowing the term “natural flavor” with a “natural” claim depends on the type of regulation the FDA sets for the term “natural.” The FDA has maintained silence on the “natural” issue since its November 2015 call for comments on natural claims. FDA Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb said in March 2018 that there was a lack of clarify around the term and there will be more on this issue soon. In the meantime, manufacturers should insist that suppliers share the formulations of their natural flavors because they are ultimately responsible for ensuring their labeling is not false or misleading. Until there is clarity, it is up to the consumers to demand the truth.
Christine Saad is a 2L staff member who interned at the Brockton Juvenile Court and has interests in health law, criminal law, and business law. As a staff member, she is working on a Spring 2019 case comment about glyphosate, the most widely used herbicide in the world and potential human carcinogen.
Sources
https://www.femaflavor.org/about
https://www.ewg.org/foodscores/content/natural-vs-artificial-flavors
https://www.foodnavigator-usa.com/Article/2018/10/05/LaCroix-maker-National-Beverage-Corp-slams-lawsuit-challenging-its-all-natural-claims
https://foodbabe.com/natural-flavors-really-bad-must-watch/
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this blog are the views of the author alone and do not represent the views of JHBL or Suffolk University Law School.