“Natural flavour” means a flavouring obtained from natural material, whether plant, animal or microbial, by physical, enzymatic or fermentation processes such as extraction, distillation or roasting. This is how the Codex guidelines on flavourings define natural flavourings. A natural flavour may come from the food it tastes of, such as vanilla extract in a vanilla cream, but it does not have to: a natural strawberry-like note can be built from other natural sources.
Thai rules require labels to state how a product is flavoured, so snack packs show natural flavour separately from nature-identical and artificial flavours, and many chips carry two or all three. Lay’s Stax Original, for example, lists natural flavour next to nature-identical flavour.
Because a natural flavour can come from milk, seafood, meat or other sources, the term alone does not tell vegetarians or people with allergies what is in it. The pack’s allergen statement is the more reliable guide.
