Natural vs. Artificial Flavors: Which is Better?

At Jimmy Joy, we love to experiment. We've been doing it since 2014, so we've got quite a bit of experience with it.

By experimenting and testing (and then experimenting and testing some more...), we make sure your meals are as healthy and delicious as scientifically possible.

And so, for our latest experiment, we tested natural vs. artificial flavorings . Our goal was simple: find out what kind of flavor our community would like best.

Image: Taste testers filling out a questionnaire

We gave a sensory test group our Plenny Shake v3.0 flavors with a variety of natural and artificial flavorings, without telling which was which. It was a blind taste test!

And guess what?

The test group liked the natural flavorings best!

At Jimmy Joy we firmly believe in PtP – Pleasure to the Palate! So we put our heads together and decided to move forward with 100% natural flavourings for all of our Plenny Shake v3.0 and Plenny Shake Active v3.1 flavours.

Image: Comparison of the Plenny Shake v3.0 Banana in the taste test.

 

What flavors already have natural flavor?

• Banana (Plenny Shake & Plenny Shake Active)
• Strawberry (Plenny Shake & Plenny Shake Active)
• Chocolate (Plenny Shake & Plenny Shake Active)
• Passion Fruit (Plenny Shake)
• Coco (Plenny Shake)
• Pistachio (Plenny Shake)
• Caramel & Sea Salt (Plenny Shake)
• Coffee (Plenny Shake)

What flavor comes next?

• Vanilla (Plenny Shake & Plenny Shake Active)

We haven't found a natural vanilla flavor that we like yet. But we're trying different ones to see if we can find a new favorite that's just as good as the current artificial one. We'll let you know what we find out!

If you're a little confused about what natural or artificial flavors are and what they do exactly, read on!

What are flavorings anyway?

Flavourings are ingredients added to foods in very small amounts to give them a specific taste or smell, or to enhance a taste or smell. They have no nutritional purpose [1].

There are two types of flavorings:

1. Natural flavorings
2. Artificial flavors

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) describes natural flavors as:

“[...] the essential oil, oleoresin, essence or extraction, protein hydrolysate, distillate, or any product of roasting, heating, or enzymolysis, containing 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, the significant function of which in food is flavoring rather than nutritional.” [2]

Wait, what...?

In layman's language, this means that natural flavorings come from natural sources such as spices, fruits, vegetables, herbs, roots, or other plant materials. But they can also come from meat, seafood, poultry, eggs, and dairy products.

So what is artificial flavoring?

Once again, the FDA is at your service!
“any substance, the function of which is to impart flavor, that is not derived from a spice, fruit or fruit juice, vegetable or vegetable juice, edible yeast, herb, bark, bud, root, leaf, or similar plant material, meat, fish, poultry, eggs, dairy products, or fermentation products thereof.” [2]

So...?

So, in a nutshell, this means that artificial flavors are flavors that are not derived from natural sources .

Which is better: natural or artificial flavoring?

One is not necessarily better than the other: chemically speaking, natural flavors are no different than artificial flavors, nor are natural flavors safer than artificial flavors [3]

So when it comes to which is “better,” at Jimmy Joy we simply like to follow our taste buds.
 

Why do we use flavorings?

There is a growing demand for instant healthy meals that also taste great. But most of the amazing taste of food comes from fat, salt and sugar, which are not the healthiest ingredients . They are fine in moderation, but excessive intake, over time, can have very negative effects on your overall health .

And that's where flavorings come in: They can significantly improve taste without changing much of a product's nutritional value.

Flavourings also contribute to our sustainability mission: natural resources are becoming increasingly scarce, but flavourings that are produced in a resource-efficient way can ensure you can continue to enjoy your favourite flavours.
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Sources

[1] Food Standards Agency. (2020). Flavorings authorization guidance . [online][Accessed 22 Oct. 2021].
[2] FDA.gov. (2020). CFR - Code of Federal Regulations Title 21 . [online] [Accessed 22 Oct. 2021].
[3] NPR.org. (2017). Is “Natural Flavor” Healthier Than “Artificial Flavor”? [online] [Accessed 22 Oct. 2021].
[4] Science in the News. (2015). The Flavor Rundown: Natural vs. Artificial Flavors - Science in the News. [online] [Accessed 22 Oct. 2021].