Every one of the two packaged foods that I have come across when walking down the supermarket aisle has had this one common label smartly printed across it. Consists of ‘natural flavourings’.
This makes one wonder: what exactly does the label ‘natural flavours’ mean, anyway?
Brace yourself for the shocking truth. Since I am a big advocate for eating healthy, I had to get this truth out to my readers. But first let’s get down to the exact meaning the term actually holds according to FDA.
Natural flavourings could be anything extracted from flowers, herbs, meat to even tree barks and can only be deemed ‘natural’ as long as its derived solely from a natural source. A simple example could be that flavourings used in a fruit yogurt, should only be from fruits. This “essence” can then be put through a number of processes, ranging from oxidation to boiling and so forth, so as to change the flavour as per the desired taste.
The ‘natural flavours’ label somewhat gives the consumers a sense of belief that what they are purchasing is very healthy and organic that is helping keeping off the pounds. But what you did not know is that the food manufacturers have been taking full advantage of this very belief, and have been tricking us into consuming lethal chemical concoctions in the name of natural flavoured food.
The food industry allows synthetic and dangerous chemicals such as MSG and HVP to be defined as natural, and companies are being permitted to do so by none other than the FDA itself. We are unknowingly being fed MSG, which is proven to cause brain lesions, neurodegenerative disease and obesity. In the name of natural flavouring, even ground meat is secretly being mixed into vegan or vegetarian products. Hundreds of chemicals are used to mimic natural flavouring, and it’s amusing that the flavourings alone can contain more ingredients than the actual food itself.
As long as the chemicals in the color or flavour additives used can be labelled as GRAS (generally recognized as safe), the FDA doesn’t require the company to disclose the ingredients, which enables the companies to maintain the secrecy.
The companies have contorted this rule and are successfully feeding us genetically modified, pesticide laden, MSG, Aspartame injected food that are responsible for causing number of diseases and disorders, at our discretion.
According to manufacturer safety data sheets, these chemicals cause eye irritation, eye burns, corneal damage
severe damage to digestive tract and even life threatening anaphylaxis.
Food labelling should be transparent and ingredients should be clearly listed so that the consumers can decide for themselves if the ingredients are safe and natural enough to be eaten. Labels that doesn’t disclose the chemicals and potential allergens will always be considered controversial no matter how much the manufacturer claims it to be ‘natural’.
The modern supermarket is proving to be a minefield for all health conscious people. My advice is to steer clear from any food with ‘natural flavour’ and instead opt for healthy organic, non processed and whole natural food.