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What is meant by "Natural Flavors."


pzMimi

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I keeps seeing "Natural Flavors" as an ingredient on labels that are compliant up until I reach that item. (I see it on non-compliant items as well)

 

What does it mean? And is it "compliant" or should I just steer clear of anything that says this? And if I've already eaten something that says "natural flavors" should I start over? 

 

 

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Natural flavors is often used legally by food manufacturers to prevent them having to say exactly what their flavoring blend is... there is nothing in 'natural flavors' that is off plan as all the items that you're to avoid are required to be listed individually on the label, such as sugar, allergens, soy, dairy. Natural flavor in sausage for instance could be oil of oregano...

So you're fine. As long as there's no off plan ingredients listed otherwise, go for it!

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Fully agree Mitch!

I think it can be a little crazy making for people starting out on a Whole30 to be trying to find out what the 'natural flavor' is... As a seasoned eater of this plan, I do make small tweaks here and there to further remove things that I feel don't serve my best interest, however as far as the plan goes, 'natural flavors' are in because while it might be Beaver Butt (GAG!) it's also likely that it's something more normal... and there's no waaaaay a food mfr is going to tell you what it is...

The one good way of avoiding 'natural flavor' is not to eat prepared food. Any of those 'convenience' things like frozen hamburger patties, sausages etc... can JUST as easily be made at home out of ingredients and then there's no mystery beaver butt!

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Yes, Sugarcube... I have never seen a manufacturer answer my emails with anything other than "It's proprietary knowledge", or something like that... Tell THAT to the Beaver!!!

 

When I started my education in additives, it was ground up beetles for the coloring in Listerine... That wasn't a big deal, but I draw the line on butt

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Well, yes, we all need to draw a line somewhere ;)

So... I have one last question on the beaver butt... does the beaver have to die to donate its butt? Or are they raised for it? Or do the newbies in the food plant go out into the bush and wrestle the beaver to get the secretions?

I actually am not put off by bugs in food... I went to Thailand about 10 years ago and my most favorite food memory was sitting in an outdoor dining room with the owners of our bed and breakfast... we had just finished a cooking class and were snacking on the deep fried bugs we found at the market that morning. They were all delicious (except silk worms.. those have quite a fuzzy texture) and I wish so hard that this was a thing in Canada. They're SO good for you and tasty! I'm sure the 'good' is removed from them by the time they hit the Listerine tho...

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If you feel you need the answer to how the beaver butt is gotten, I encourage you to find out and never ever tell anyone... NEVER 

 

Bugs are nothing to worry about, I ate chocolate covered ants since I was 5 or so... I saw an episode of Shark Tank with chocolate covered crickets if I'm not mistaken... If those actually sell, I'm going to open a roadside Choco-Grasshopper stand...

 

I can get 45, maybe 55 of them a day in my driveway if I let the weeds grow... Some are those bigguns with the real wide wings that fly for 10 yards or so... I'll charge double for them... People in Louisiana can sell finger sized fudge mosquitoes...

 

Yee Haw!!! 

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I wish so hard that this was a thing in Canada....

They're trying very hard to make it a thing in Ireland. A woman has opened a bug farm and is trying to encourage folks here to indulge - she was at a recent food exhibition up North, but the farm is just across the border in Co. Wicklow.

http://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/wicklow-farmer-on-a-mission-to-get-ireland-eating-insects-1.2087208

Other than that you can actually buy cricket flour (& cricket flour products) online....

http://www.cricketflours.com/shop/

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Okay, the beaver does NOT have to die... that's all I'm going to say... 

 

As for cricket 'stuff', I know there's a market for that and I've had the Chapul bars which are pretty good... 

 

Mitch... WHAT is a fudge mosquito?

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If you feel you need the answer to how the beaver butt is gotten, I encourage you to find out and never ever tell anyone... NEVER

It's gone midnight and I'm giggling about beaver butt...that's a real party Friday night right there...

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Sugarcube...

 

You don't know about the gigantic insects in Louisiana???

 

A dead beaver doesn't continue to produce beaver butt scent

You do make a good point about the dead beaver... altho, in my research, I did learn that if you're the first to happen upon a dead beaver, you CAN obtain 'the goods' from it... but obv you'd have to make sure that no one else had already been to your particular dead beaver butt... so you have to be fast!

And no, I didn't know about giant insects... deep fried they're fine... flying around? I'll just steer clear of Louisiana I think...

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It's gone midnight and I'm giggling about beaver butt...that's a real party Friday night right there...

 

If boys over on this side of the pond drink enough Old Milwaukee beer, anything can happen... Not saying I know anything about the gotten of beaver butt, just that whoever invented it was not possibly sober

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  • 4 weeks later...

Natural flavoring can be ANYTHING...

 

If you wish to find out how exact the anything part is, here is a link... There is very little the FDA doesn't allow in food

 

 

http://www.naturalnews.com/z042950_beaver_butt_natural_flavoring_castoreum.html

I wonder who on earth discovered that this flavor would be god in ice cream... lol

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