UNDERSTANDING THE

STATUS OF
FLAVOURINGS

INTRODUCTION TO FLAVOURINGS
Understanding the status of flavourings
For many people not intimately involved with the manufacture of
flavours or Food Law, their legislative status for labelling purposes
can be confusing, if not at times, positively contradictory. For
example, how can you possibly have a Nut-Free Natural Nut
Flavouring?
Another confusing issue is the correct use of Flavour and Flavouring
from a legislative point of view. For information, legally, Flavouring
is what we add to Food and Drink Products in use, these
Flavourings have the effect of adding Flavour to the product/s. The
same is true of the use of Colourings to provide the effect of adding
Colour to the product/s

INTRODUCTION TO FLAVOURINGS
Natural
All components must be found (and proven to be found) in
Nature and the source MUST BE NATURAL (i.e. derived from
natural origin). Natural is subdivided into the following
categories:

Natural 100% FTNF (From The Named Fruit)

All components must come from the fruit as described e.g. in a 100%
FTNF Orange Flavouring ALL components must come from an Orange
A grey area of legislation exists with respect to the necessity to declare
such a flavouring on the list of ingredients strictly speaking, if a 100%
FTNF Flavouring is added at the point of manufacture it should be
declared as (Natural) Flavouring; if, however, it is added during some
form of pre-processing, e.g. to a fruit compound, there is some
discussion as to the necessity of label declaration

INTRODUCTION TO FLAVOURINGS
Natural, fruit (or picture) depictable
Legal requirement for Fruit Depictability is that the flavour should
come, Wholly or Mostly From The Named Fruit
New guidelines agreed by Trading Standards and BEMA state that
the flavour must be at least 90% FTNF (rather than the former advice
is that 51%+ is fine). The remaining 10% or so will comprise Natural
components from other sources

Natural, non-depictable
General requirement for Natural listed previously applies
Please note that a Natural Flavouring may or may not contain any
components From The Named Fruit
This means that it is possible to have a nut-free Natural Nut Flavouring

INTRODUCTION TO FLAVOURINGS
Nature Identical
All components used must have been identified in nature but may
be manufactured synthetically
If a Natural Flavouring contains even a trace of NI it must be
declared as a Nature Identical Flavouring. In practice, most NI
Flavourings contain natural components in addition to the NI ones
The greater the content of NI components the greater the
concentration of the flavouring is likely to be (i.e. lower dose rate)
and the greater stability of flavour is found in use (NI components
come without the instability precursors that are always present
along with the natural versions of these materials)

INTRODUCTION TO FLAVOURINGS
Artificial
Artificial Flavouring components are synthetic flavour materials
that are manufactured chemically and are neither occur in nature
nor have been identified in nature
If any trace of artificial flavouring components is present in either
an otherwise Natural or Nature Identical Flavouring then it is
automatically reclassified as Artificial

INTRODUCTION TO FLAVOURINGS
For Example Vanilla
Vanilla is the most common
flavour in the world,
familiar to all of us as a
flavouring for ice cream,
custards and many other
sweet products, but is
available in a number of
forms:

INTRODUCTION TO FLAVOURINGS
Natural Vanilla Pods (or Beans)
Two species of Orchid, Bourbon (Vanilla Planiflora) and Tahitian
(Vanilla Tahitensis) produce vanilla for food use, and are thought
to originate from Mexico - the first recorded use was by the
Aztecs.
The best quality (Bourbon) is grown in tropical climates, mainly in
Madagascar and Indonesia, and requires a hot moist climate with
regular rainfall, except for a two month dry period during the
flowering season. The vanilla flowers must be pollinated within
24 hours of opening, or the flower wilts and produces no fruit.
The flowers are normally pollinated by hand (hummingbirds are
not reliable enough!)
After harvest, vanilla pods are cured for 2-3 months to allow the
flavour to develop

INTRODUCTION TO FLAVOURINGS
Natural Vanilla Flavouring (or Extract)
Natural Vanilla Flavouring is produced by the maceration of vanilla pods
in alcohol for 24-48 hours. The flavour compounds are solubilised in the
alcohol, which is then drawn off.
ADVANTAGES

It is a completely natural product

It has the best flavour profile, consisting mainly of the compound Vanillin, with
Eugenol, Caproic Acid and more than 200 other flavour compounds

DISADVANTAGES

It is very expensive (typically 60 - 250 per kilo)

There are seasonal and annual variations in the quality
The price is very volatile, due to limited availability, and varies hugely depending
on crop yields (poor weather in the last 3 years has caused a doubling of the
price)

INTRODUCTION TO FLAVOURINGS
Nature Identical Vanilla Flavour
Nature Identical Vanilla Flavourings usually consist largely of
Vanillin, the same flavour component found in natural vanilla, but
man-made from a different raw material. The largest source of NI
vanillin is from lignin (a by-product of the paper industry) .
ADVANTAGES

It is relatively inexpensive in comparison to natural vanilla (10 -30/kilo)

The raw materials are cheap and plentiful, giving much more stability to the price
The term no artificial flavourings can be used on the end product

DISADVANTAGES

It lacks the flavour quality and complexity of natural vanilla (in fact most NI
vanilla flavourings include a small proportion of natural vanilla to improve the
quality)
Cannot be described as natural on the end product ingredient list

INTRODUCTION TO FLAVOURINGS
Artificial Vanilla Flavouring
Artificial Vanilla Flavourings are usually made from Ethyl Vanillin, a
compound very similar to Vanillin, but not found in nature. Most
Ethyl Vanillin is manufactured from lignin or coal-tar .
ADVANTAGES

It is very cheap, typically 3-10 per kilo

The price is very stable
It is 3-4 times stronger in flavour than Vanillin, reducing cost in use
It is very stable, and changes little during storage or processing

DISADVANTAGES

Its flavour is similar to, but not the same as Vanillin or natural vanilla, and the
publics long term exposure to this flavouring means that many people can notice
its artificial character
The descriptor no artificial or similar cannot be used on the label

INTRODUCTION TO FLAVOURINGS

BASICS OF FLAVOUR
MANUFACTURE

INTRODUCTION TO FLAVOURINGS
Citrus Fruit Structure
ALBEDO (PITH)
JUICE SACS
FLAVEDO (SKIN)
CONTAINING OIL SACS
SEED
CORE
SEGMENT MEMBRANE

INTRODUCTION TO FLAVOURINGS
Citrus Processing

FRUIT JUICE

WHOLE FRUIT

PEEL OIL

PULP

ETHANOL
EXTRACTION

EVAPORATION

CENTRIFUGATION

FLAVOUR
VOLATILES
WATER SOLUBLE
FLAVOURS
FCOJ

EXTRACTION
OF FLAVONOIDS

PULP WASH
FRAGRANCES
& FLAVOURS

NFC FRUIT
JUICE
INTERMEDIATES

PEEL & CORE

JUICE SACS

(FOR ADDITION BACK

TO JUICE)

WATER SOLUBLE
FLAVOURS
PROCESSES

ANIMAL FEED
& PECTIN

COMMINUTES
& COMPOUNDS

FLAVOURS &
COMMINUTES

END PRODUCTS

INTRODUCTION TO FLAVOURINGS
Flavour Production
Peel Oil, collected during the juice extraction stage, can be used
either in its natural state for:
flavouring oil based products,
flavouring baked goods
adding back to the fruit juice in small quantities
or processed into a flavouring for use in water based applications
(such as beverages), by using solvent extraction (known as
washing).
The oil is mixed with alcohol and water and allowed to
stand for up to 24 hours for separation to occur. The
water/alcohol phase is collected without the insoluble
terpenes. This may then be filtered and/or chilled to
remove any waxy deposits found

INTRODUCTION TO FLAVOURINGS
Flavour Production
Washed Peel Oil Flavouring, in its current state is
classified as a
100% FTNF Natural Flavouring

But is also used as a component in

Fruit Depictable Natural Flavourings (>90%FTNF)
Natural WONF Flavourings
Nature Identical Flavourings (NI flavourings are
rarely made with
100% NI components)

INTRODUCTION TO FLAVOURINGS

FLAVOUR
CHARACTERISTICS

INTRODUCTION TO FLAVOURINGS
Time / Intensity Curves

Ideally, the flavour of a product should be well balanced, with good

impact in the initial phase, as little fade as possible in the mid phase,
and a long tail phase, i.e. the flavour should develop quickly in the
mouth, be well rounded, and last well
MID PHASE

TAIL PHASE

INTENSITY

INITIAL PHASE

TIME

INTRODUCTION TO FLAVOURINGS
Time / Intensity Curves
INTENSITY

In practice, it is not always

possible to achieve this
through the use of natural
ingredients, or sometimes
a single flavour.

GARDEN MINT

TIME

MENTHOL

INTENSITY

For example, the flavour of

garden mint has good
initial intensity, but fades
quickly. By adding a small
amount of menthol to the
product, the intensity of
the flavour is extended

TIME

INTRODUCTION TO FLAVOURINGS

WHY USE
FLAVOURINGS?

INTRODUCTION TO FLAVOURINGS
Why do we use flavourings?
Flavourings are used for a wide variety of reasons, e.g.

TO ADD TOPNOTES,

e.g. by addition of a fresh strawberry topnote to a product

containing processed strawberry fruit (which tend to taste jammy)

TO ADD BASE NOTES,

e.g. by addition of a reaction flavouring to a vegetarian product to

provide a meaty or roasted character

TO REPLACE VOLATILES LOST DURING PROCESSING,

the flavour components of many herbs, such as basil and coriander,

are very volatile and can be quickly lost in processing. Flavourings
can be used to boost these notes to retain the correct character after
heating

INTRODUCTION TO FLAVOURINGS
Why do we use flavourings?
Flavourings are used for a wide variety of reasons, e.g.

TO REPLACE SEASONAL, OR SEASONALLY VARIABLE INGREDIENTS

flavour profiles of some food ingredients can change dramatically
during the growing season, e.g. early season oranges 8% sugar, 0.8%
acid, late season oranges 13% sugar, 0.5% acid

TO MASK OTHER FLAVOURS,

e.g. flavourings can be used to mask unpleasant tastes from functional

ingredients or flavours that develop during processing

TO REDUCE MICROBIAL LOADING,

most spices and fruits naturally carry a high microbial load, whereas
flavourings (because of the extraction processes) are relatively clean

INTRODUCTION TO FLAVOURINGS
Why do we use flavourings?
Flavourings are used for a wide variety of reasons, e.g.

COST REDUCTION,

flavourings are generally cheaper in use, and can be used to replace

all or part of the flavour providing material

TO PROVIDE LAYERING,

in a complex flavour product, it is often preferable that all the

flavours do not express themselves at the same time. Flavourings
can be used to provide a layered effect

TO CHANGE MOUTHFEEL,

flavourings can be used to change other properties of the finished

product that are not specific flavours, but have a great impact on the
perception of the product. E.g. mouthfeel, heat, cooling, tingle

INTRODUCTION TO FLAVOURINGS

DELIVERY SYSTEMS

INTRODUCTION TO FLAVOURINGS
Delivery Systems
Flavourings are available in a number of formats, to suit the application.
There are 2 basic formats, liquids and powders:
Liquids are generally superior, being stronger and less susceptible to
spoilage (most liquid carriers will not support microbial growth)

LIQUID, WATER SOLUBLE,

best for soft drinks, sauces and other liquid products, but also suitable
for goods which have a liquid component in manufacture (such as baked
goods)

LIQUID, OIL SOLUBLE,

unsuitable for beverages, but ideal for oil phase products and
emulsions. The advantage with oil soluble flavourings is that flavouring
components that are insoluble in water or alcohol can be incorporated
into the product. Tend to be more temperature stable than water soluble

INTRODUCTION TO FLAVOURINGS
Delivery Systems
Powders are generally used for dry products, such as snacks and
coatings, but also in many baked products where it is more convenient
to disperse the flavour in a dry mix. All powder flavourings start out
as liquids and are dried or put onto a carrier

PLATED POWDERS,

are liquid flavourings sprayed onto a carrier, such as salt. They are
short shelf-life, and have an equivalent usage rate to the ingredient
they replace

INTRODUCTION TO FLAVOURINGS
Delivery Systems

SPRAY-DRIED POWDERS,

are liquid flavourings spray dried onto a carrier, such as maltodextrin.

The disadvantage with spray-dried powders is that volatiles tend to be
lost in processing

ENCAPSULATED POWDERS,

are powder flavourings with an exterior coating that melts on cooking

or dissolves on eating. This allows flavourings to retain more
freshness in the end product, as they are not subject to oxidation, etc.
The melting point of the encapsulating coating can be varied,
dependent on the application