Food flavouring

Food flavours come under 3 categories: natural, synthetic, (ie: with no counterpart in nature) or ‘nature identical’. Complex mixtures made up of many components, flavourings are difficult to define as a single substance and therefore carry no food additive code numbers (as seen on ingredient lists and Nutritional panels on food items). Many flavours are extracted from herbs or spices, or then synthesized. Even if a flavour is natural it must be in the ingredient list of a product. While some are “healthier” than others, all flavours make food more palatable, maintaining uniformity and often restoring what is ‘lost’ during processing.