Mystery Ingredients
Most ‘natural flavor’ formulas aren’t actually made up of flavor compounds.

Up to 90% of natural flavor formulations consist of solvents like propylene glycol (also found in antifreeze), preservatives like BHA, emulsifiers like polysorbate 80, all legally hidden from label scrutiny.

If they could call it a “lemon”, they would.

Legal Loopholes
The FDA's definition requires only that the original source be plant or animal-based; after extraction, distillation, fermentation, and chemical modification, the end product bears no resemblance to anything found in nature.

Even genetically modified organisms can hide within, as GMO-derived compounds still qualify as "natural" under current regulations.

MSG-like compounds appear as "hydrolyzed vegetable protein," triggering headaches and anxiety in sensitive individuals without ever listing MSG.

Even organic “natural flavors” are still lab-formulated chemical mixtures, with companies still allowed to hide the specific ingredients in any blend.

Misleading Names
"Natural strawberry flavor" doesn’t need to contain a single molecule from strawberries. Instead, chemists might combine compounds from corn, beets, and wood chips to achieve that familiar taste.

McDonald’s “natural beef flavor” contains zero beef (it’s wheat and milk extracts). Passionfruit flavor might be made from grapefruit compounds, and, while rarely used anymore, vanilla and raspberry natural flavors were made from FDA-approved castoreum (beaver anal gland secretions).