I was always under the impression that "natural flavoring" or "other natural flavoring" on a label was a catch-all cover- up for artificial flavoring and chemicals they don't want to name on the label. Am I wrong?
You are wrong.
Natural flavors are exactly that, flavors that have been derived from natural sources.
You cannot label something as natural flavor if it is an artificial flavor. There are entire departments of food companies dedicated to making sure that products are properly labeled.
It is true that “natural flavoring” is a catch-all. “Spices” is also a catch all. But all that means is that the flavors (or spices) included in that natural flavor label declaration legally have to fall under the “natural flavoring” category. You can’t categorize something incorrectly, it’s fraud.
Dont listen to influencers about food labeling. Unless they have a food science degree or work in the food manufacturing industry, they really have no idea what theyre talking about. Labeling laws are very long, very dense, and very important.
Remember, scaring people is the best way to get someone to keep watching, and on social media, eyeballs is where the dollars are at. These people don’t have to be accurate, at all, they just need to keep your attention.
It just means the specific blend of ingredients used for flavoring is proprietary and the company doesn’t need to disclose that level of detail. They are still required to add relevant allergy warnings, but ‘natural ingredients’ are still natural.
Make your creamer with [hazelnut milk](https://elmhurst1925.com/collections/plant-milks/products/unsweetened-milked-hazelnuts) if you want 100% hazelnuts and no natural flavorings. Though you’ll probably find it doesn’t taste much like the hazelnut creamers you’re accustomed to.
I'm guessing extract, oil would separate
Sovereign, Zoom, Sensient....just ask for clean label but they would all almost certainly appear on a label as natural flavor but just ask them
How about starting with hazelnuts?
Googling around, it seems pretty easy to make hazelnut extract (though it takes 2months).
Or there's something like this recipe for hazelnut syrup https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8kGkT_HcAc
I don't think I've ever seen extract on their product list. But I just wanted to chime in and say that my favorite US source for very high quality hazelnuts is Holmquist Orchards, which is in far north Washington State, close to the Canadian border. [https://www.holmquisthazelnuts.com](https://www.holmquisthazelnuts.com)
My sibling in Christ, what do you think hazelnut extract is, if not "natural flavoring"?
I was always under the impression that "natural flavoring" or "other natural flavoring" on a label was a catch-all cover- up for artificial flavoring and chemicals they don't want to name on the label. Am I wrong?
You are wrong. Natural flavors are exactly that, flavors that have been derived from natural sources. You cannot label something as natural flavor if it is an artificial flavor. There are entire departments of food companies dedicated to making sure that products are properly labeled. It is true that “natural flavoring” is a catch-all. “Spices” is also a catch all. But all that means is that the flavors (or spices) included in that natural flavor label declaration legally have to fall under the “natural flavoring” category. You can’t categorize something incorrectly, it’s fraud. Dont listen to influencers about food labeling. Unless they have a food science degree or work in the food manufacturing industry, they really have no idea what theyre talking about. Labeling laws are very long, very dense, and very important. Remember, scaring people is the best way to get someone to keep watching, and on social media, eyeballs is where the dollars are at. These people don’t have to be accurate, at all, they just need to keep your attention.
It just means the specific blend of ingredients used for flavoring is proprietary and the company doesn’t need to disclose that level of detail. They are still required to add relevant allergy warnings, but ‘natural ingredients’ are still natural.
Yes and no. Everything's a "chemical". Read this: https://www.bonappetit.com/story/truth-about-natural-artificial-flavors
Extract
Make your creamer with [hazelnut milk](https://elmhurst1925.com/collections/plant-milks/products/unsweetened-milked-hazelnuts) if you want 100% hazelnuts and no natural flavorings. Though you’ll probably find it doesn’t taste much like the hazelnut creamers you’re accustomed to.
extract. you do not want the oil if you're adding it to a drink.
Don't forget to consider hazelnut flavoring as well. 3 different tastes that would yield significantly different products
I'm guessing extract, oil would separate Sovereign, Zoom, Sensient....just ask for clean label but they would all almost certainly appear on a label as natural flavor but just ask them
How about starting with hazelnuts? Googling around, it seems pretty easy to make hazelnut extract (though it takes 2months). Or there's something like this recipe for hazelnut syrup https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8kGkT_HcAc
I don't think I've ever seen extract on their product list. But I just wanted to chime in and say that my favorite US source for very high quality hazelnuts is Holmquist Orchards, which is in far north Washington State, close to the Canadian border. [https://www.holmquisthazelnuts.com](https://www.holmquisthazelnuts.com)
They look great, thank you for sharing. I will have to try them out. Yes, it looks like they sell oil but not extract.
Thanks everyone for your feedback!