If you’ve ever looked closely at the ingredient list on a packaged food, you’ve probably seen the vague phrase “natural flavors” more times than you can count. This ubiquitous ingredient is found in everything from chips and snacks to frozen meals and canned soups. But what does “natural flavors” actually mean? Specifically, what is that mysterious “natural beef flavor” that’s in so many products? I decided to dig into this tricky food additive and get some answers.
The Definition of Natural Flavors
According to the FDA, a “natural flavor” is defined as:
“The essential oil, oleoresin, essence or extractive, protein hydrolysate, distillate or any product of roasting heating or enzymolysis, which contains the flavoring constituents derived 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 fermentation products thereof, whose significant function in food is flavoring rather than nutritional.”
That’s a mouthful! In simpler terms a natural flavor can be derived from plant materials like fruits, vegetables and herbs or animal products like meat, fish, eggs or dairy. This sets natural flavors apart from artificial flavors, which are created solely from synthetic ingredients made in a lab.
Both natural and artificial flavors contain chemicals that create flavor, The difference lies in where those chemicals originated Natural flavor chemicals come from natural sources like the foods listed above Artificial flavor chemicals are made by scientists without starting from natural ingredients,
How Natural Beef Flavor Is Made
Here’s where things get really interesting. According to food scientist Gary Reineccius, “natural beef flavoring” often contains no beef at all!
Reineccius explained that real beef is too expensive to extract flavor from and then throw away the rest of the meat. So food scientists found a clever workaround – they identified the amino acids that create beef’s distinctive taste and used those to make a flavoring.
The process involves combining amino acids found in beef with some simple sugars, citric acid to alter the pH, and compounds to control moisture content. Then the mixture is heated to the same temperature beef reaches during cooking. The result is an extremely beefy flavor created entirely without beef.
This scientific flavor can then be added to vegetarian foods like ramen noodles or gravies to give them the taste of real beef without using any animal products. The flavor is constructed from basic building blocks rather than extracted directly from meat.
Foods That Contain Natural Beef Flavor
Natural beef flavor shows up in all kinds of processed foods, especially ones that are trying to achieve a meaty taste without using real meat. Some common examples include:
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McDonald’s French Fries – The famous fries were fried in beef tallow until 1990, which gave them great flavor. Now they’re cooked in vegetable oil but get beefiness from natural beef flavoring.
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Vegetarian Burger Patties – Many meatless burgers and sausages list natural flavors in their ingredients. The flavors provide a juicy, grilled meat flavor.
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Frozen Dinners – Microwavable meals often have mystery natural flavors to make them taste more like home cooking.
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Snack Foods – Chips, crackers, popcorn and more are sometimes loaded with natural flavors to deliver bold tastes.
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Gravy Mixes and Sauces – Instant gravies and frozen entree sauces use natural beef flavor to mimic slow-cooked meat flavor.
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Soup Broths – Some canned and powdered broths boost their meaty notes with natural beef or chicken flavors.
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Fast Food – Besides McDonald’s, other chains like Taco Bell add natural beef flavor to menu items to increase the meatiness.
Are Natural Flavors Bad For You?
Here’s some good news – natural beef flavor itself is not unhealthy. Neither is artificial beef flavor for that matter. There’s no evidence that these flavoring ingredients cause harm in the amounts consumed.
That being said, natural flavors are often used to make junk foods even tastier while appearing more innocent than they really are. So always check where natural beef flavor (or any natural flavor) lands on the ingredients list. The more of it in a food, the less actual beef is likely present.
At the end of the day, a naturally flavored food is still a processed food. Potato chips made with natural beef flavor contain no more nutrition than artificially flavored chips. Natural flavors won’t make a food item suddenly healthy if it’s otherwise loaded with fat, salt and preservatives.
The Takeaway on Natural Flavors
Natural beef flavor and other natural flavors are food science at work. These flavorings allow food manufacturers to create super tasty foods without expensive natural ingredients.
If you eat vegetarian or just want to know what’s in your food, check labels closely for natural flavors. They can contain animal products even when none are listed on the front. And as with any processed ingredient, consume natural flavors in moderation as part of an overall healthy diet.
Decoding the ‘Natural’ Label in Beef
Picture it. You did a search on Pinterest or Google for “healthy recipe ideas” on Sunday morning and now you have a list of things you need to buy. At that point, you drive to the store, park, put on your AirPods, and play your motivational playlist (Cardi B? Hamilton?). You are pushing your shopping cart down the aisles of the grocery store, feeling positive. You are taking your health into your own hands. Clean ingredients and quality meat that absolutely does not lack flavor are your priority. Produce section, check. Pantry items, check. Now its time to decode the Natural labels in the beef department.
Lastly, you have arrive in the meat section. Your motivation starts to slightly fade as you read label after label. The steaks read “All Natural Beef”, “Natural Grass Fed Beef”, and others claiming to be natural. So, what does “natural beef” really mean? Does it mean grass-fed? More specifically, does it mean raised without harm?
At Pre, we MEAN Natural!
At Pre, a lot of work goes into our definition of “natural. ” Every cut we have, starts with an all-natural process. In particular, all-natural beef means that our cattle have not been given any added hormones or antibiotics that are not needed, and they have been fed and finished on grass. This gives our beef unmatched quality and flavor you can expect in every bite. Similarly to other animals, cattle produce and regulate the hormones they need on a daily basis. We believe the best beef comes from cattle that don’t have added hormones. Cattle don’t need extra hormones to help them grow if they are in the right environment and get the right care.
Some vegans upset McDonalds fries cooked in beef flavoring
FAQ
Is beef Flavour real beef?
What does natural beef mean?
What does natural flavoring mean in meat?
Is ‘natural beef flavoring’ really from beef?
As Gary Reineccius, a food chemist specializing in flavor research, explains, “natural beef flavoring” isn’t necessarily from beef at all.
What is beef flavoring?
While the precise ingredients in beef flavoring can change, generally speaking, it consists of a mixture of artificial and natural ingredients that mimic the flavor of beef.
Does meat have a natural flavor?
Sometimes they dont, and the “natural flavor” designation is enough: Meat products are not considered an allergen that must be labeled, unlike soy, wheat, and nuts. Unless the company specifies the components on the label, theres no real way of knowing the source of the flavor short of calling headquarters. What foods have “natural beef flavoring”?
What is natural flavor?
The definition of “natural flavor” under the FDA’s Code of Federal Regulations is as follows: To decipher this definition’s scientific words, hover over the image above. Essentially, it’s a flavoring product that has components derived from plant, meat, seafood, or dairy products.