The Truth behind food flavourings

The food we eat today contains more complex combinations of flavours and ingredients than ever before, and the food industry, like any business, needs to keep on its toes to stay at the forefront. This often means creating new combinations of flavours to trick our senses and ensnare customers. This has led to some businesses using a range of rather questionable ingredients to meet their targets.

Just take vanilla, one of the most widely used flavours in the food industry. Originally the flavour came from vanilla orchid, but food scientists figured out a way to artificially create a cheaper lab-based alternative. However, various ingredients have been used in the past, including the anal gland secretions of a beaver and coal tar to name a couple.

Just read the infographic below to explore more interesting ingredients.