Natural and Artificial Flavors: What's the Difference?

Of the many misconceptions used in the "natural vs. artificial" narrative, two stand out: 1) That artificial flavors are inherently less healthy than their natural counterparts, and 2) that a flavor chemical obtained from a natural source is either different or superior to the same flavor chemical produced in a laboratory or factory. Together, these beliefs represent a cornerstone of the natural movement. As pervasive as this mindset is among consumers of "organic" and "natural" goods, it violates simple laws of chemistry. This consumer-friendly publication Natural and Artificial Flavors: What's the Difference by Dr. Josh Bloom, Director of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences of the American Council on Science and Health, explores the simple laws of chemistry to define the similarities and differences. The goal is to help consumers understand that natural versus artificial flavoring may be more alike in chemical composition than anticipated-and perhaps, just a matter of acquired "taste." The American Council on Science and Health is a consumer education consortium concerned with issues related to food, nutrition, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, lifestyle, the environment and health. It was founded in 1978 by a group of scientists concerned that many important public policies related to health and the environment did not have a sound scientific basis. These scientists created the organization to add reason and balance to debates about public health issues and bring common sense views to the public.


About the Author
Dr. Josh Bloom earned a Ph.D. in organic chemistry from the University of Virginia, followed by postdoctoral training at the University of Pennsylvania. He worked for more than two decades in new drug discovery research at Lederle Laboratories, which was acquired by Wyeth in 1994, which itself was acquired by Pfizer in 2009. During this time he conducted research in a number of therapeutic areas, including diabetes and obesity, antibiotics, HIV/AIDS, hepatitis C, and oncology. His group discovered the novel antibiotic Tygacil(R), which was approved by the FDA for use against resistant bacterial infections in 2005. He is the author of 25 patents, and 35 academic papers, including a chapter on new therapies for hepatitis C in Burger's Medicinal Chemistry, Drug Discovery and Development, 7th Edition (Wiley, 2010), and has given numerous invited lectures on how the pharmaceutical industry really works. Dr. Bloom joined the American Council on Science and Health in 2010 as ACSH's Director of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, and has written op-eds for numerous periodicals, including for The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, New Scientist, The New York Post, National Review Online, The Boston Herald, and The Chicago Tribune. In 2014, Dr. Bloom was invited to become a featured writer for the site Science 2.0, where he wrote more than 75 pieces on topics ranging from to the pharmaceutical industry, medicine, quackery, junk science, or anything else that pissed him off. Which can be pretty much anything.