Flavourings
Level 4 — Significant concerns
Flavourings is a other additive listed in the FDA food-additive database.
Also: flavoring, flavorings, natural flavors, natural flavouring, artificial flavors, artificial flavouring
Where you'll see it
Coco Pops, Pret bread, virtually every UPF
What the research says
Mark Schatzker's thesis (endorsed by Kevin Hall) is that flavourings are honest-flavour proxies for missing micronutrients. A whole tomato contains 2,000+ chemicals (vs. 67 nutrients tracked by USDA); ultra-processing strips these and adds back only a synthetic flavour barcode without the corresponding nutrients. The body learns to want the flavour-calorie pair, but the expected micronutrients never arrive, driving continued eating. Whether 'natural' or 'artificial' is irrelevant. The Flavor and Extract Manufacturers Association (FEMA) has self-certified 2,600+ flavouring substances as GRAS without FDA review.
[ultra-processed-people] Mark Schatzker's thesis (endorsed by Kevin Hall) is that flavourings are honest-flavour proxies for missing micronutrients. A whole tomato contains 2,000+ chemicals (vs. 67 nutrients tracked by USDA); ultra-processing strips these and adds back only a synthetic flavour barcode without the corresponding nutrients. The body learns to want the flavour-calorie pair, but the expected micronutrients never arrive, driving continued eating. Whether 'natural' or 'artificial' is irrelevant. The Flavor and Extract Manufacturers Association (FEMA) has self-certified 2,600+ flavouring substances as GRAS without FDA review.
Regulatory status
- Notes: From enrichment source only, not in Winter Dictionary
Sources
- Ultra-Processed People (van Tulleken) — Chapter 12: UPF smells funny: It's the word 'flavouring' that I avoid more than any other in food. Flavourings signal that something is UPF, and the need for flavouring tells us a lot about some of the ways UPF does us harm