Natural Flavors – Natural Grocers’ Quality Standards

Author: Shelby Miller, MS

Natural Flavors – Natural Grocers’ Quality Standards

What Are Natural Flavors?

Although the FDA has not defined the term “natural”, it does specify that “natural flavors” must be extracted from a natural source (e.g., plant material, essence, or extractive).¹ However, only a small fraction of all natural flavors’ ingredients are flavoring compounds. The remaining compounds in the natural flavors’ sub-ingredients include adjuvants, preservatives, processing aids, flavor enhancers, and more.² Unfortunately, the FDA also permits the use of synthetic ingredients in the non-flavoring compounds of natural flavors. Natural Grocers has an extensive list of prohibited ingredients that our customers can trust they will not find in any product we sell. Many of the synthetic ingredients the FDA permits in the non-flavoring component of natural flavors are on our list of prohibited ingredients and do not meet our high quality standards. Some of the ingredients allowed by the FDA in natural flavors include propylene glycol and artificial preservatives; both are ingredients we don’t allow in our stores.

Natural Grocers’ Natural Flavors Quality Standards

Organic natural flavors are regulated by the National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances, as established by the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB).³ Organic natural flavors, prohibited by law from containing dangerous or questionable sub-ingredients, are also in compliance with Natural Grocers’ product standards. As of April 2019, Natural Grocers no longer accepts new food products with natural flavors that do not meet the standards established by the NOSB. If a product is submitted that contains natural flavors and is not certified organic, Natural Grocers reviews third party documentation to ensure that none of their sub-ingredients violate the NOSB or the Natural Grocers’ Things We Won’t Carry & Why list. Natural Grocers also checks that natural flavors are not processed in a way that uses harsh solvents or extraction methods. These types of things would not show up on the ingredient panel.

Natural Grocers will permit products that contain certified organic natural flavors or products that are labeled as “100% USDA organic”, “organic”, and “made with organic” (70-95%) without a full disclosure of sub-ingredients.

Previously approved products containing natural flavors that are not labeled as organic will be allowed to remain on our shelves for the time being. In the future, Natural Grocers will ask all existing vendors to disclose the natural flavor sub-ingredients in products that are currently approved; products that contain prohibited ingredients will be discontinued. In the meantime, we have urged manufacturers of these previously approved products to either reformulate to change any natural flavor ingredients to organic natural flavors or simply disclose the full list of sub-ingredients of the natural flavors on the ingredient panel.