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So following the thread about mcdonalds not using pink goo in their food anymore, it made me think about mystery food and all food that has natural or artificial flavours in it.

Now, Natural flavour means any ingredient that isn't man made, like lemon juice, or goat tears, artificial flavour is the rest. Usuallly companies write in natural/ artificial flavouring in their ingredients section mainly because it may be controversial, like you drinking sweet delicious goat tears from your grape Fanta.

Anyways, a few days ago I checked my food and realized that almost all of it had one of those two ingredients (or both) in it, making me feel paranoid that I may be eating some weird food ingredient that would make me sick. So now, I'm wondering what Dakka's opions are on the fact that companies are allowed to write in those two ingredients instead of writing down what it really may be.

What do you think?

I generally just eat/drink it anyway, and if I don't like it then I don't get it again.

I'm not all that bothered about some things, and if i'm hungry, it takes a lot to put me off - some things, however, are auto-putter-offers, like spit on or near my food, other people's food landing on mine, insects near my food (unless I know they haven't been on it), or bones in something supposedly boneless or anything to be honest; if I feel a bone, however small, in my mouth (inb4 penis joke), my throat closes and I have to spit it out; if I feel it after swallowing (inb4 ejaculation joke), I wretch uncontrollably.

*shrug* I actually eat a pretty steady diet of garbage but according to my doctor during my last physical I'm in pretty good health. I could stand to get more exercise since I'm ridiculously scrawny. I do need more Vitamin D. So really I should just drink more fortified milk with my double bacon cheeseburgers. Though actually now that I live in a sunnier climate, I might not even need that.

I think artificial ingredients would be the least of my dietary concerns.

I'm none too bothered. I had been conned by Daily Mail scares in the past about E numbers and aditives. But turns out most of these are natural anyway.

Most of the stuff I eat with high numbers of artificial substances are snack foods anyway. Nothing to worry about.

I once ate some doritos that tasted EXACTLY like a Burgerking Whopper. So Im honestly fine with artificial, as long as I dont get tumors or cancers from it.

I don't care if it's natural or unnatural, if it tastes good and doesn't kill me (much) I'll eat it.

That said most cheap artificial flavourings (in particular the "smoky bacon" one that is nothing like bacon) tend to overpower my sensitive nose and induce headaches

If it wasn't safe, it wouldn't be legal.

Anyone who goes on about 'Natural' being good for you...

is doing it because they get a fat load of money to say it.

Joey wrote:If it wasn't safe, it wouldn't be legal.

Try explaining that to the moms against flu/booster shots with mercury in them

A lot of "artificial" flavourings/preservatives are just "natural" flavourings/preservatives produced chemically rather than harvested from Mother Earth.

What I would like to see is a much better balance between healthy and non-healthy foods; with unhealthy foods being made with lower salt, sugar, fat and calorie levels than they are currently.

It also annoys me when food and drinks labels have "x% of your RDA" listed... for about 1/3 of the contents of the actual packet/bottle/etc so anyone who looks at the health label without reading it more closely does not actually realise how much they are consuming.

KingCracker wrote:

Joey wrote:If it wasn't safe, it wouldn't be legal.

Try explaining that to the moms against flu/booster shots with mercury in them

Said moms who don't actually know what the feth they are talking about too.

If it don't hurt, I don't mind.

For instance, some artificial flavors are chemically identical to natural ones, but without the poisonous impurities... while some artificial flavors are carcinogens.

"Natural" isn't by default good or healthy, so it depends on a case to case basis.

KingCracker wrote:Try explaining that to the moms against flu/booster shots with mercury in them

Ah yes, the idiot brigade, causing a new outbreak of polio because of their scientific illiteracy.

Many artificial flavourings are chemically identical to natural ones, they are just synthesised in the laboratory rather than extracted from plants. There are probably examples of flavourings that are more eco-friendly to be artificially produced though I don't know enough about this area to give any off the top of my head.

Some things like mono-sodium glutamate are there solely to make your mouth water, they don't add flavour so much as make your tastebuds go mad, sprinkle it on anything and you could eat it.

KingCracker wrote:I once ate some doritos that tasted EXACTLY like a Burgerking Whopper.

Granted, the BK Whopper isn't exactly the paragon of "natural" culinary achievement.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

Mr Hyena wrote:Anyone who goes on about 'Natural' being good for you...

is doing it because they get a fat load of money to say it.

I know plenty of people who do it for free, and not just as regards food.

The organic industry is built on saying that natural things are good for you, as they spray their crops with copper sulphate...

I don't care about what is natural, I care about taste.

Meowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

Both of the flavours are quite easily distinguishable. in a country where variety of foods are abundances (like Thailand). Citric acid can't substitute a real citri

Lone Cat wrote:Meowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

Both of the flavours are quite easily distinguishable. in a country where variety of foods are abundances (like Thailand). Citric acid can't substitute a real citri

Actually it can, you can synthesise lemon flavourings that taste identical to lemons (and are indeed chemically identical right down to chirality).

Some taste different, some taste the same.
Go figure...

It's pretty damn expensive to replicate it exactly so it isn't done most of the time but the argument that "you can taste the difference" is bull most of the time.

Mr Hyena wrote:

KingCracker wrote:

Joey wrote:If it wasn't safe, it wouldn't be legal.

Try explaining that to the moms against flu/booster shots with mercury in them

Said moms who don't actually know what the feth they are talking about too.

Hate to go against KC, but this is truth.

Lone Cat wrote:
Both of the flavours are quite easily distinguishable. in a country where variety of foods are abundances (like Thailand). Citric acid can't substitute a real citri

If they're chemically the same, they're chemically the same. That's how chemicals work.
Whether it's made in a lab or found naturally, it's undistinguishable.

The term "natural" is unregulated and virtually meaningless in foods.

Joey wrote:

Lone Cat wrote:
Both of the flavours are quite easily distinguishable. in a country where variety of foods are abundances (like Thailand). Citric acid can't substitute a real citri

If they're chemically the same, they're chemically the same. That's how chemicals work.
Whether it's made in a lab or found naturally, it's undistinguishable.

I agree with Joey.

Joey wrote:If it wasn't safe, it wouldn't be legal.

One of my less successful chat-up lines...

Monster Rain wrote:

Mr Hyena wrote:

KingCracker wrote:

Joey wrote:If it wasn't safe, it wouldn't be legal.

Try explaining that to the moms against flu/booster shots with mercury in them

Said moms who don't actually know what the feth they are talking about too.

Hate to go against KC, but this is truth.

Either your misunderstanding me, or Im misunderstanding you.....I was actually agreeing with Joey on that one.

Then we agree.

I agree we agree.

So we're all in agreement?