Flavoring Information

FLAVORINGFOR TEAS
NATURAL VS. ARTIFICIAL

WHAT IS NATURAL FLAVOR?

In its simplest form, the term Natural Flavors is used to describe a product which is derived from the actual fruit. 
There are many levels of flavoring available.

NATURAL FLAVOR	A product that is derived from the essential oils or extracts of the actual product whose function in food is flavoring rather than nutritional.
WONF (With Other Natural Flavors)	If the food contains both the natural flavoring from the product it simulates and other natural flavors which reinforce the characterizing flavor, the food may be labeled as With Other Natural Flavors (WONF).
NATURE - IDENTICAL	These flavors have raw materials that are found in nature. The molecular structure of Nature-Identic are the same as Natural Flavors but have been synthetically produced.
ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR	Any flavor synthetically reproduced which has raw materials that cannot be found in Nature or Nature-Identic but their use is permitted by law.

 

All products labeled natural in Europe would also be natural in the U.S. as well.  Under the laws of the Food & Drug Administration, European products labeled “Nature-Identic” are considered artificial and must be labeled as such in the United States.

Carrying agents used in applying flavorings to tea are considered incidental additives and do not need to be listed in an ingredients list.  The use of an artificial carrying agent does not affect the labeling of naturally flavored products.