Flavors are essential components of food and beverage products, and they can be divided into two broad categories: natural and artificial.
Understanding the difference between these two types of flavorings matters for product developers choosing between them, and for anyone reading an ingredient label who wants to know what they're eating.
For a deeper look at sourcing, types, and label claims, see our complete guide to natural flavors.
Natural Flavorings
Natural flavorings are derived from plant, animal, or microbial sources, and they are intended to impart flavor to food and beverage products in a manner similar to the original source. The term "natural flavor" is regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which defines it as flavoring constituents derived from a spice, fruit, vegetable, edible yeast, herb, bark, bud, root, leaf, meat, seafood, poultry, eggs, dairy, or fermentation products, whose significant function in food is flavoring rather than nutrition.
Natural flavors come in several label types, including FTNF (From the Named Fruit), natural type, and natural WONF (With Other Natural Flavors), each with different sourcing rules and label implications. For full definitions and examples of each, see our complete guide to natural flavors.
Artificial Flavorings
Artificial flavorings are made entirely from synthetic ingredients and are not derived from any natural source. They're designed to impart flavor to food and beverage products, often replicating the same flavor compounds found in nature but produced in a lab instead of extracted from one. Artificial flavorings are often used because they're more cost-effective and stable than natural flavorings, and they can create flavor profiles that are difficult or impossible to source naturally. Some consumers associate the word "artificial" with lower quality or higher risk, but that association isn't backed by how the FDA evaluates safety. Both natural and artificial flavors go through the same safety review before they can be used in food.
Natural and Artificial Flavorings
There are also "natural and artificial flavorings" combined. These flavorings are exactly what the name suggests: a blend of natural and artificial ingredients. A product with "natural and artificial flavorings" might contain a natural vanilla extract along with artificial ingredients that round out or intensify the flavor. Manufacturers choose this option when they want the flavor performance of an artificial component without giving up a natural sourcing story entirely.
Are Natural Flavors Bad for You?
No. Natural flavors are not inherently bad for you, and neither are artificial flavors. Both categories are evaluated for safety by the FDA before they can be used in food, and the "natural" label describes where the flavor compound came from, not whether it's safer or healthier to eat.
This confusion comes up because "natural" carries a health halo in everyday language that doesn't match the regulatory definition. A natural flavor can still be a concentrated, heavily processed compound. An artificial flavor can be chemically identical to something found in nature. The FDA doesn't treat one category as lower risk than the other. It holds both to the same safety standard.
What actually matters for a product developer weighing the health angle is the sourcing story and label claim the product wants to make, not a safety gap between the two categories. If a customer wants a "made with real fruit" claim, that's a labeling and sourcing decision. It isn't a safety decision, since both flavor types already meet the same bar.
For the regulatory detail behind this, including how the FDA defines and evaluates natural flavors, see our guide to FDA natural flavor regulations.
Natural vs. Artificial Flavors at a Glance
| Natural Flavor | Artificial Flavor | |
|---|---|---|
| Source | Plant, animal, or microbial materials | Synthesized in a lab |
| Cost | Generally higher | Generally lower |
| Consistency | Can vary with crop and harvest conditions | Highly consistent batch to batch |
| Supply stability | Can be affected by seasonality or sourcing limits | Not affected by agricultural supply |
| Taste complexity | Often more complex, wider range of aromatic compounds | Can be simpler or more targeted to a single note |
| Label claim | Supports "natural flavor" claims | Requires "artificial flavor" declaration |
| Safety | Evaluated and approved by the FDA | Evaluated and approved by the FDA |
| Health impact | Not automatically healthier or safer | Not automatically less healthy or unsafe |
Selecting the Right One to Use
The table above covers the core tradeoffs, but the right choice usually comes down to two things: your label goals and your cost target. If a "natural flavor" claim matters to your brand and you want the most complex, layered taste profile, natural flavors are usually the better fit. If consistency and cost matter more, or the flavor profile you need doesn't have a practical natural source, artificial flavors are often the stronger choice.
Conclusion
Natural, natural type, natural WONF, artificial, and natural-and-artificial flavorings are all common and useful tools in the food and beverage industry. None of them is inherently safer or healthier than the others. Understanding what each one actually means can help product developers choose the right flavor for their formulation, cost, and label goals, and help consumers read an ingredient label with a clearer picture of what's actually behind the words "natural flavor" or "artificial flavor."
Frequently Asked Questions
No. Natural flavors are not inherently bad for you. They're evaluated for safety under the same FDA standards as artificial flavors, and being "natural" doesn't make a flavor automatically safer or healthier.
The word "natural" carries a health and safety connotation in everyday marketing that doesn't match the FDA's actual definition, which is about ingredient source, not health outcome. That gap between perception and definition is where the confusion comes from.
No. Neither is better for you in terms of safety. Both are evaluated under the same FDA safety standards. The real difference is the source of the flavor compound, not its effect on health.
Natural flavors are made from natural source materials like fruits, spices, herbs, or animal and dairy products, processed into concentrated flavor compounds through methods like extraction, distillation, or fermentation. The finished compound can be just as processed as an artificial one.
Artificial flavors are made by synthesizing flavor compounds in a lab, often using the same molecules found in nature but manufactured instead of extracted. This tends to make artificial flavors more consistent and less expensive to produce than their natural counterparts.
Discover which type is right for you arrow_forward
Talk to one of Mosaic Flavors’ experts.
