According to CBS news:
The flavoring industry is the enabler of the food processing business - which depends on it to create a craving for everything from soda pop to chicken soup. It is Willy Wonka and his chocolate factory as a multibillion dollar industry, whose scientists create natural and artificial flavorings that make your mouth water and keep you coming back for more.
Food
flavorings are added to processed food for two main reasons: 1, to cover up the
lack of taste that results from processing food and 2, to tantalize and tease
your senses into wanting more of this “yummy stuff" - especially more than the competitor's brand. This is done by means of not only altering a food's taste, but it's smell, color and/or texture as well! It wouldn't surprise me to know they are testing to find a magical chemical to tell your brain this is the best thing you've ever tasted! Natural and artificial flavors aren't as different as one would like to imagine - and this transcends all foods, even organic.
Recall my butter buds from a previous post....
This reminds me of another reason: to inject flavor into foods that have been manipulated into fitting the modern American ideal of health - removing fat from naturally fatty foods. The McDonalds french fry cholesterol reduction is a perfect example.
So, at the end of the day, is this harmful to the consumer? Well, you must decide for yourself. I certainly think so. In fact, there was a recent article about the buttery flavor in popcorn (also found in some margarines, snack foods, candy, baked goods and pet foods) being linked to Alzheimer's.(A) Beyond your own health, the report explains that the chronic exposure to industry workers carries health risk as well. Or maybe you have an ethical objection, perhaps along the lines that these flavors encourage people and children, especially, to overindulge in foods that are unhealthy (discussed in the CBS interview). Or maybe you worry to what length these companies are going to develop these flavorings (beaver anal glands, stem cell research) (B,C). Oh, and flavorings aren't immune to salmonella either. (D)
I love food in its natural state. And I can tell you my burgers and pizzas and smoothies rival the best of them. I eat sweets all day long (in the form of whole fruits) and whole-fat dairy in moderation. But everyone has to make their own decisions about what to consume. And I'm not going to try to stop a business in-demand to the tune of billions of dollars. But, maybe, a little education goes a long way and this might inspire someone out there to choose real food a little more often than he/she did before.
(A) "Artificial butter flavoring ingredient linked to key Alzheimer’s disease process"
(B) Beaver anal glands and more...
(C) Oklahoma law to ban Pepsi's use of aborted fetus cells
(D) Common flavor enhancer recall 2010
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