Ever wonder what are "Natural Flavorings"?

Seeing how each of the three supplements contained "Natural Flavorings", I got to thinking what exactly are these flavorings that are so natural.  I also took another peek at the ingredient labels of a few favorite foods in or house--Honest Kid juice boxes (although we limit these to only special occasions when other kids are around drinking juice), Rice Dream Organic frozen dessert, Breyer's Pure Fruit All Natural popsicles, and Pure Decadent Coconut Milk ice cream.  Guess what, they all have "Natural Flavoring" listed as an ingredient.  I've always assumed that natural flavoring just meant it came from a fruit or vegetable.  WRONG!  Apparently flavoring can come from byproducts of beef, poultry, fish, egg, and milk, plants, barks, roots, to name a few.  I found this article online that lays thing out:  http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/4676616


Here's the definition of natural flavor under the Code of Federal Regulations: “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 similar plant material, meat, seafood, poultry, eggs, dairy products, or fermentation products thereof, whose significant function in food is flavoring rather than nutritional” (21CFR101.22).


Our practitioner was telling me how natural is actually made from chemicals.  WHAT?  Yep, it's true according to that article! "Artificial and natural flavors are made by “flavorists” in a laboratory by blending either “natural” chemicals or “synthetic” chemicals to create flavorings."


No wonder I've had such a hard time getting a grasp on what this kid is allergic to.  And now it makes all the more sense to move onto treating for milk and casein (things I know my kid is allergic to, but we avoid at all costs, or at least we thought we were!)  It just makes me cringe at what we have done to our food supply.  It's no wonder allergies and reactions are on the rise and people like my child suffer.