Natural vs. Artificial Flavours: the Truth Revealed

There’s always a lot of hype surrounding the question of flavours, natural or artificial. The word artificial is often associated with something fake, possibly less sophisticated, and therefore is warped by a negative connotation, while natural tends to be seen in a more positive light, something real and of pure quality. But what is the practical difference between the two and is it just as simple as summing them up in these two differing opinions?

For this, the age-old question is answered by the expert team of “flavourists” at FlavourArt, an Italian company specialized in the production of natural and synthetic aromas with a store in the centre of Milan as well as a booming e-shop.

When speaking about the two, there is in fact very little difference in the chemical composition as they are both realized in a laboratory by flavour professionals who perform a very technical work. The concept of a base aroma in general means the mixing of substances that give rise to a certain tastes or smell. These substances may be either naturally artificially derived but this has no bearing on the quality of the final product, it simply implies a different way of working.

Working with natural substances means an extraction of the aroma, while producing synthetic flavours is simply the result of the reconstruction of specific fragrances through other elements, which, when mixed together, will recreate the ideal bouquet.

In this case, natural is not necessarily a synonym for “good”: just think about the harmful plants in nature from which the essence could be extracted and which would render a product that is essentially toxic. There are in fact many toxic substances in natural foods, like raspberries, for example. This tiny fruit contains Coumarin, something that can be moderately toxic to the liver and kidneys in the presence of food and beverages. In much the same way, Pulegone, which is extracted from mint and used in many products like toothpaste, has been linked to certain forms of cancer.

In much the same way, “artificial” should not always be associated with the negative. Actually, through the process of reconstructing the artificial essences, you avoid having to use its own natural and potentially toxic extracts in order to optimize the flavour. Some fruits, for example, have fragrances that are so feeble and volatile, that it is impossible to remove them and make them more durable, which is why only the artificial version will suffice.

To give a practical example on this point: citrus fruits have a strong peel full of essential fragrant oils, so it is easy to extract the flavour naturally. On the other hand, bananas and strawberries lack these oils, so the process of natural extraction would be unproductive, costly and organoleptically unsatisfactory.