Packaging serves many purposes, one of which is a place to put a label. For food product this label includes nutritional information. The Nutritional Labeling and Education Act of 1990 made this type of information mandatory. Many of the ingredients are pretty straight forward, water sugar, sodium etc. Then of course there are all those chemical names. But one ingredient has always been difficult for me to understand, natural flavoring.

The FDA defines it as follows: The term natural flavor or natural flavoring means the essential oil, oleoresin, essence or extractive, protein hydrolysate, distillate, or any product of roasting, heating or enzymolysis, which contains the flavoring constituents derived from a spice, fruit or fruit juice, vegetable or vegetable juice, edible yeast, herb, bark, bud, root, leaf or similar plant material, meat, seafood, poultry, eggs, dairy products, or fermentation products thereof, whose significant function in food is flavoring rather than nutritional. Natural flavors include the natural essence or extractives obtained from plants listed in subpart A of part 582 of this chapter, and the substances listed in 172.510 of this chapter. http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfCFR/CFRSearch.cfm?fr=501.22
I think I’m more confused now. Does this make any sense to anyone? Should ingredients be clearer?