Natural flavorson a label
What the words mean, how they differ from artificial flavor, and what the line leaves out.
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What the words mean
The rules differ by country, but the idea is the same: the word describes where a flavor comes from.
In the US, the federal rule describes a natural flavor as a flavoring made from a spice, fruit or fruit juice, vegetable or vegetable juice, edible yeast, herb, bark, bud, root, leaf or similar plant material, meat, seafood, poultry, eggs, dairy products or their fermentation products. Its main job in the food has to be flavor rather than nutrition. It can be an essential oil, an extract, a distillate, or something produced by roasting, heating or enzymes.
An artificial flavor is a flavor that does not come from those sources. In the EU and the UK the labels say “flavouring” and “natural flavouring”. “Natural” can be used when the flavouring part comes only from natural flavouring substances or preparations, and a named source such as “natural lemon flavouring” needs at least 95% of the flavouring part to come from lemon.
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The wording you will see
Each term in a short line.
- Natural flavor / flavourA flavor from the plant or animal sources listed in the rule, made by processes such as extraction, distillation or heating. The label does not say which source or process.
- Artificial flavor / flavourA flavor not made from those natural sources. It can still be chemically identical to a substance found in food.
- Flavor, flavoring or flavouringThe general word. It covers natural and artificial flavors and blends of both without saying which is used.
- Natural lemon flavorA flavor tied to a named source. In the EU and UK a named source needs at least 95% of the flavouring part to come from it.
- Flavour enhancer (E620 to E650)A different job: it strengthens a taste that is already there, and it is listed with its name or E number.
What the label does and does not tell you
A flavor appears as a single line, so a lot stays outside the ingredient list.
- The blend is not itemised. A natural flavor is one line. The individual substances inside it are not listed.
- The source is not named. The US wording allows plant, meat, seafood, poultry, egg and dairy sources, so the label alone does not show whether a flavor is plant-based.
- The amount is not given. Ingredients are listed by weight, from most to least. A flavor often sits towards the end of the list.
- Allergens still show. Major allergens in a flavor have to be declared, in the US and in the EU and UK.
- Natural describes the flavor, not the food. It says nothing about the nutrients, the sugar or how processed the finished product is.
- It is a clue within the whole list. In the NOVA framework, flavours are one of the additive types used as a marker of ultra-processed food. One on its own is a clue, not a classification.
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See it in a real-looking label
Two yoghurt ingredient lists, written for illustration. The highlighted words are flavor and flavor-related lines.
Yoghurt, version A
Whole milk, live cultures
No flavor line at all.Yoghurt, version B
Skimmed milk, sugar, modified maize starch, strawberry puree (5%), natural flavouring, acidity regulator (citric acid), colour (carmine)
One flavor line, among several other additives.Paste two real lists into the label comparison to see the flavor line, the other additive families and the sugar names next to each other.
Where the wording comes from
The two rules behind this page.
- US rule on flavor wording: Code of Federal Regulations, 21 CFR 101.22 (definitions of natural flavor and artificial flavor). ecfr.gov/current/title-21/section-101.22
- EU and UK-style wording: Regulation (EC) No 1334/2008 on flavourings, Article 16 on labelling. eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2008/1334/oj
Read the flavor line at the shelf: the free label checklist
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Frequently asked questions
Is natural flavor the same as natural food?
No. It means the flavor was made from a natural source by a permitted process. The finished food can still contain sugar, additives and other processed ingredients.
Is natural flavor better than artificial flavor?
The two terms describe where a flavor comes from, not how they compare. A natural flavor and an artificial flavor can contain the same chemical; the difference is the source it was made from.
Does natural flavor mean a food is vegan?
Not necessarily. The US wording includes meat, seafood, poultry, eggs and dairy among the permitted sources, so the label alone does not show whether a flavor is plant-based.
Why does a label only say “natural flavors” and nothing more?
Flavors are declared as a single ingredient line. The substances inside the blend are not itemised, and the exact recipe is not required on the label.
Where does natural flavor show up in the additive scanner?
It sits in the “Flavours and enhancers” family, together with flavour enhancers such as monosodium glutamate and yeast extract.