Spices and Natural Flavor: What are they?

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AdminCM:
Spices and Natural Flavor: What are they?

(Many references in this thread-- basically a clearinghouse of info for what those terms can hide and may mean on labels for those with non-top 8 allergens.)

admin rebekahc:
notashrimpwimp
Member
Posted: 01.16.2011 at 10:02:28

I have just been avoiding these things out of caution. But what are they? Is there some sort of common ingredient across manufacturers? :hiding:

Multiple food allergies and dust allergy (that I know of so far.)

admin rebekahc:
LinksEtc
Member
Posted: 01.17.2011 at 10:05:42

Good questions notashrimpwimp. I wish the answer was simple, but label terms like natural flavor, artificial flavor, spices, and colors can "hide" many allergens.

I'm not sure how much info you'd like, but I'll point you to several resources where you can learn more.

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http://www.kidswithfoodallergies.org/resourcesnew.php
http://www.kidswithfoodallergies.org/resourcetopic.php?topic=pfood-safety-labeling
http://www.kidswithfoodallergies.org/resourcespre.php?id=9&title=Natural_flavoring_can_contain_food_allergens

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http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfcfr/CFRSearch.cfm?fr=101.4

You can go to this page
http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfcfr/cfrsearch.cfm
and plug in 101.22 to bring you to the
"Sec. 101.22 Foods; labeling of spices, flavorings, colorings and chemical preservatives" FDA page.

--- Quote ---(a)(1) The termartificial flavor orartificial flavoring means any substance, the function of which is to impart flavor, which 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. Artificial flavor includes the substances listed in 172.515(b) and 182.60 of this chapter except where these are derived from natural sources.

(2) The termspice means any aromatic vegetable substance in the whole, broken, or ground form, except for those substances which have been traditionally regarded as foods, such as onions, garlic and celery; whose significant function in food is seasoning rather than nutritional; that is true to name; and from which no portion of any volatile oil or other flavoring principle has been removed. Spices include the spices listed in 182.10 and part 184 of this chapter, such as the following:

Allspice, Anise, Basil, Bay leaves, Caraway seed, Cardamon, Celery seed, Chervil, Cinnamon, Cloves, Coriander, Cumin seed, Dill seed, Fennel seed, Fenugreek, Ginger, Horseradish, Mace, Marjoram, Mustard flour, Nutmeg, Oregano, Paprika, Parsley, Pepper, black; Pepper, white; Pepper, red; Rosemary, Saffron, Sage, Savory, Star aniseed, Tarragon, Thyme, Turmeric.

Paprika, turmeric, and saffron or other spices which are also colors, shall be declared as "spice and coloring" unless declared by their common or usual name.

--- End quote ---

There appear to be some typos in the above quote, but you get the idea.

You can keep going to other CFR pages to get more details.

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There is this paper which explains FA labeling very well:

http://allergy.hyperboards.com/index.php?action=view_topic&topic_id=4438
http://www.fdli.org/pubs/journal/toc/vol61_1.html#4

There is a draft of the FDLI paper here (it is not the final version of the paper):

http://leda.law.harvard.edu/leda/data/730/Derr05_FINAL.html

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Hope that helps.

« Last Edited by LinksEtc 01.17.2011 at 10:09:10 »

admin rebekahc:
notashrimpwimp
Member
Posted: 01.17.2011 at 11:35:33

Thank you, I appreciate it. Artificial flavoring sounds really spooky now. Spices too.

Multiple food allergies and dust allergy (that I know of so far.)

admin rebekahc:
LinksEtc
Member
Posted: 01.17.2011 at 11:55:13

01.17.2011 at 11:35:33, notashrimpwimp wrote:

--- Quote ---Thank you, I appreciate it. Artificial flavoring sounds really spooky now. Spices too.
--- End quote ---

No problem.

I typed that up kind of fast, but now that I think about it, I'm not sure how much artificial flavors and food allergies are related ... I know people can be sensitive to them.

Natural flavors, though, yeah - those are an issue for most people in the USA with a food allergy to a food that is not one of the "eight major" food allergens :-/ .