Flavouring (or flavoring) is a product which is added to food in order to change or augment its taste. Taste is one of the most common and fundamental of the senses in life on Earth. ...

Flavourings can be either natural or artificial, and they are added to many foods made in a factory. There are also so-called nature-identical flavourings, which are the chemical equivalent of natural flavours, only chemically synthesised rather than being extracted from the original source.-1... A factory (previously manufactory) is a large industrial building where goods or products are manufactured. ... A chemical compound is a chemical substance formed from two or more elements, with a fixed ratio determining the composition. ...

To produce artificial flavours, the volatile substance that produces the natural flavour must first be extracted from the source substance. The methods of extraction can involve boiling, leeching, or using force to squeeze it out. This concentrated extract is then passed through a chromatograph, either in liquid or gaseous form. This will provide the requisite information about how the molecules are structured that are needed to produce the taste. The compound is then artificially replicated by the chemist, although it is often difficult to produce an exact match to the original flavour. Chromatography is a family of analytical chemistry techniques for the separation of mixtures. ... A chemist is a scientist who specializes in chemistry. ...

Many of the compounds used to produce artificial flavours belong to a chemical category of esters. The list of known flavouring agents includes hundreds of molecular compounds, and the food scientist can often mix these together to produce many of the common flavours. For the Biblical Ester, see Esther. ... Food science is a discipline concerned with all aspects of food - beginning after harvesting, and ending with consumption by the consumer. ...

Flavour enhancers are also used to augment the taste of foods. Species Hybrid origin; see text A banana is a tree-like plant (though strictly a herb) of the genus Musa in the family Musaceae, closely related to plantains. ... Binomial name Cinnamomum zeylanicum Blume Cinnamon (Cinnamomum zeylanicum, synonym ) is a small evergreen tree 10-15 m tall, belonging to the family Lauraceae, and a spice obtained from the inner bark of this species. ... Fruit stall in Barcelona, Spain. ... Orange blossoms and oranges on tree For other uses of orange, see orange (disambiguation) The Orange, Citrus x sinensis, is a Citrus tree, and the fruits of this tree. ... Species Pyrus calleryana P. pyrifolia et al Pears are trees of the genus Pyrus and the edible fruit of that tree. ... Binomial name Ananas comosus The pineapple (Ananas comosus) is a tropical plant and its fruit, native to Brazil, Bolivia, and Paraguay. ... Wintergreen was originally a term referring to a plant that continues photosynthesis (i. ... Flavour enhancers are commonly added to commercially produced food products (eg. ...

The compounds used to produce artificial flavours are almost identical to those that occur naturally, and a natural origin for a substance does not necessarily imply that it is safe to consume. In fact, artificial flavours are considered somewhat safer to consume than natural flavours. Natural flavours may contain toxins from their sources while artificial flavours are typically more pure and are required to undergo more testing before being sold for consumption.

Legal definition (US)

According to the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations, a natural flavor is "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 any other edible portions of a plant, meat, seafood, poultry, eggs, dairy products, or fermentation products thereof, whose primary function in food is flavoring rather than nutritional." [1] (http://frwebgate1.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/waisgate.cgi?WAISdocID=230673388281+1+0+0&WAISaction=retrieve) An artificial flavor is one that does not meet the specifications listed above.

See also

• Food additive
• Preservative
• Monosodium glutamate, commonly known as MSG
• E number
• Flavour
• Fragrance oil

Food additives are substances added to food to preserve it, or to improve its flavour and appearance. ... A preservative is a natural or synthetic chemical that is added to products such as foods, pharmaceuticals, paints, biological samples, etc. ... Monosodium glutamate, commonly known as MSG, is a salt of sodium with glutamic acid. ... For the mathematical constant see: E (mathematical constant). ... This article is about flavor, the sensory impression. ... Fragrance oils, also known as aroma oils, aromatic oils, and flavor oils, are blended synthetic aroma compounds or natural essential oils that are diluted with a carrier like propylene glycol, vegetable oil, or mineral oil. ...

External link

• The Science in artificial flavor creation (http://www.fks.com/flavors/tech/Science%20of%20Flavor%20Creation.asp)
• How Stuff Works "How do artificial flavors work?" (http://science.howstuffworks.com/question391.htm)