Colors, Flavors & Sweeteners

Colors

Flavors

Natural Flavors include any flavor isolated from natural sources like plant material (fruits, roots, bark, herbs, etc.) or animal products (meat, dairy, etc.)

Artificial Flavors are any flavors that are not defined as natural, even if they have the exact same chemical composition as flavors isolated directly from nature.

The distinction between natural and artificial flavors is purely based on the origin of the flavor and has nothing to do with the health or safety of a particular flavor compound (Kennedy, 2015).

The term spice means any aromatic vegetable substance in the whole, broken, or ground form, except for those substances which have been traditionally regarded as foods, such as onions, garlic and celery; whose significant function in food is seasoning rather than nutritional; that is true to name; and from which no portion of any volatile oil or other flavoring principle has been removed (21 C.F.R. § 101.22 2017).

Chemical preservative means any chemical that, when added to food, tends to prevent or retard deterioration thereof, but does not include common salt, sugars, vinegars, spices, or oils extracted from spices, substances added to food by direct exposure thereof to wood smoke, or chemicals applied for their insecticidal or herbicidal properties (21 C.F.R. § 101.22 2017).

Sweeteners

Agave nectar- A sweetener produced from several species of the agave plant. Also referred to as agave syrup.

Brown sugar- Sugar crystals containing molasses are added to refined white sugar- mainly pure sucrose.

Cellulose- The polysaccharide found in plant cell walls. Also known as insoluble fiber.

Dextrose- Also called glucose or blood sugar. One of the simplest forms of carbohydrate.

Fructose- Also called levulose of fruit sugar. A monosaccharide especially abundant in fruits.

Glucose- Also called blood sugar or dextrose. A monosaccharide found in nearly all plant foods.

Glycogen- A polysaccharide formed in the body from glucose and stored in the liver and muscle tissue.

Granulated Sugar- Commonly Known as table sugar or sucrose.

Lactose- Sugar found in milk.

Molasses- A dark colored liquid formed during the processing of sucrose. Blackstrap molasses is a byproduct of the final molasses crystallization step from sugar cane. Blackstrap molasses may contain iron if processed by iron machinery.

Non-Nutritive Sweetener- Current term for artificial sweetener. A manufactured red sweetener that requires FDA approval to be marketed in the United States also may be referred to as an alternative or artificial sweetener. The six currently approved by FDA are saccharin, aspartame, acesulfame-K, sucralose, neotame, and rebaudioside A.

…-ose- When a term ends in “-ose”, it is usually a sugar.

Sucrose- A sugar product produced by grinding a mixture of granulated sugar and cornstarch. Also referred to as confectioners’ sugar.

Sugar alcohols- Sorbitol, maltitol, mannitol, and xylitol.

Turbinado- A semi-refined sugar that has undergone about half of the refining steps and has been washed to remove dirt.

White sugar- Also referred to as table sugar or sucrose.

(Jones, 2010)

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