Wouldn't vanilla extract be a natural flavoring?
It depends. It could be labeled as a natural flavor or a spice, or on its own as vanilla extract.
Do you have to parenthetically declare all of the ingredients in flavors that conform to a standard of identity?
Answer: If the flavor is declared by the standardized name (eg. vanilla extract), each ingredient must also be declared parenthetically following the standardized name. However, the standardized flavor may simply be declared as flavoring, natural flavoring, artificial flavoring, as appropriate. 21 CFR 101.22(i) and 21 CFR 169
http://www.fda.gov/food/guidancereg...ryinformation/labelingnutrition/ucm064880.htm
"Natural flavor" just means it at one point derived from a natural source. Unless we figure out which industrial natural flavor compound Southern Tier is using, you'll never get close.
Read this for perspective:
Behind nearly every mango-strawberry juice drink and chipotle-chili corn chip is a flavor company that assembles molecules into flavorings and sells the ingredients to food marketers. Here is how it works:
The Product
If you have ever eaten anything with the word "natural flavor" or "artificial flavor" on the label, you have consumed some of the flavorings made by Givaudan SA GIVN.VX +0.46% and its competitors. Packaged-food companies turn to flavor companies to put the barbecue flavor in potato chips, the lemon-lime twist in a soda and the teriyaki-chicken flavor in a cup of noodles.
Natural flavor indicates that the molecules in the flavoring came from ingredients found in plants or animals, though they don't necessarily come from the same food as the target flavor; some mushroom flavorings, for example, contains molecules isolated from tree bark. Artificial flavor means the molecules were created in a laboratory.
The Process
The first step for a flavoring company is for scientists to analyze which molecules give a specific food its unique taste and smell. Then, a flavorist, whose job is similar to a perfumers', assembles a flavoring from molecules in the company's library.
The flavoring will often contain a set of molecules very similar to the molecules in the original food, but flavorists are also artists to a certain degree, carefully shaping and crafting flavors with various molecules to achieve the desired flavor.
From there, applications experts work the flavorings into specific foods, from ice creams to meats to crackers.
Givaudan continually looks for natural ingredients that can provide better or cheaper molecules to create flavorings already in production, and for new flavors, either from unique natural ingredients (say, a little-known tropical fruit) or based on dishes popular in various parts of the world.
Global blockbusters generally don't exist in this industry, said equity analyst Sebastian Satz of HSBC. Instead, flavors are adjusted for each region.
"An ice cream might be popular in Europe, and the brand will be the same, but the flavor might be slightly different in Germany, France, and Spain," Mr. Satz said.
The Market
The industry makes money by striking contracts for its flavorings with food marketers. Customers include large food makers such as Unilever UL -2.11% PLC, Kraft Foods Inc. and Nestlé SA, NSRGY -1.34% which is also one of Givaudan's major shareholders, said Christoph Wirtz, equity analyst for CA Cheuvreux.
Analysts estimate about 80% of Givaudan's contracts come from companies that put out calls for bids to add flavoring to a specific product. To get these contracts, Givaudan must compete against rivals' bids. Givaudan's "win" rate for these contracts is "over 25%," estimated Alicia Forry, consumer analyst for Canaccord Genuity. Givaudan doesn't disclose the figure.
The remaining contracts come from flavors Givaudan has come up with and convinced a food company to use, said Ms. Forry. The company benefits from these contracts because it is able to charge a premium for a unique product. With emerging markets making up 42% of sales and growing fast, Givaudan is focusing on creating new flavorings for Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe.
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303822204577466742058958790
