this post was submitted on 12 Jun 2024
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The blueberry and vanilla flavors are included in the "natural flavors" listing. The FDA defines natural flavors as those that are made by extracting/distilling the flavor from an actual food. It doesn't have blueberries or vanilla; it has the flavor from blueberries and vanilla in the form of blueberry and vanilla extracts.
Artificial flavors are those synthesized in a lab without ever using the original food item.
Yeah, which actual food? People have allergies to actual foods.
Let's say they derive a blueberry-like flavor from grapes because grapes are cheaper or something. I think that's a reasonable thing to allow them to do, grapes are food, they're fruit, "we made one fruit flavor out of another fruit" okay fine. But what if you're allergic to grapes but not blueberries? It should say on the label that this is made from grapes.
"Turns out the blueberry flavored snack that doesn't say the word 'grape' anywhere on the package has grapes in it" is a great reason to visit the ER.
If they're allowed to use basically any ingredient they want and call it "natural flavor" why aren't they just allowed to put the word "substance" in the ingredients list?
It says natural blueberry, vanilla and strawberry flavors on the top of the package. You don't get natural blueberry, vanilla or strawberry flavor from grapes. You get them from blueberries, vanilla, and strawberries. If you derived a blueberry flavor from a grape, it would count as an artificial flavor.
I'd be more concerned about "and other natural flavors" that aren't even mentioned anywhere.
But The Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act says if the natural or artificial flavor contains any of the 8 most common food allergens, it must be labeled.
Well I mean, apparently there are "strawberries" in it. And "beet juice (for color)". Breyers themselves have used their ingredients list in their marketing, "Just milk, cream, sugar and fruit." If they just mashed up some berries they'd be proud to list that. So some laboratory grade shit has taken place.
If I'm being charitable, which having slept reasonably well last night I'm prone to being, I'll acknowledge that blueberry juice is reddish purple and not blue, so to get the proper French tricolor they probably had to render it colorless somehow and then color it with something else, which is why "strawberries" are listed but "blueberries" aren't.
I'm still not buying the cold dessert cow-related edible substance though.
I don't think it requires "actual food" sources. "Natural" strawberry flavour used to be made from beaver anal glands, which I doubt anybody would consider food.