flavour in our food

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 similar plant material, meat, seafood, poultry, eggs, dairy products, or fermentation products thereof, whose significant function in food is flavoring rather than nutritional." Artificial flavors are those that are made from components that do not meet this definition.
Although the terms "flavoring" or "flavorant" in common language denote the combined chemical sensations of taste and smell, the same terms are usually used in the fragrance and flavors industry to refer to edible chemicals and extracts that alter the flavor of food and food products through the sense of smell. Due to the high cost or unavailability of natural flavor extracts, most commercial flavorants are nature-identical, which means that they are the chemical equivalent of natural flavors but chemically synthesized rather than being extracted from the source .
Here is the list of known flavoring agents includes thousands of molecular compounds, and the flavor chemist (flavorist) can often mix these together to produce many of the common flavors:
Chemical-----------------------------Odor
Diacetyl------------------------------Buttery
Isoamyl acetate----------------------Banana
Cinnamic aldehyde-------------------Cinnamon
Ethyl propionate---------------------Fruity
Limonene---------------------------Orange
Ethyl-(E, Z)-2,4-decadienoate-------Pear
Allyl hexanoate----------------------Pineapple
Ethyl maltol-------------------------Sugar, Cotton candy
Methyl salicylate--------------------Wintergreen
Benzaldehyde-----------------------Bitter almond
Certain organic acids can be used to enhance sour tastes, but like salt and sugar these are usually not considered and regulated as flavorants under law. Each acid imparts a slightly different sour or tart taste that alters the flavor of a food.
acetic acid: gives vinegar its sour taste and distinctive smell
citric acid: found in citrus fruits and gives them their sour taste
Lactic acid: found in various milk products and give them a rich tartness
Malic acid: found in apples and gives them their sour/tart taste
tartaric acid: found in grapes and wines and gives them a tart taste
There is truly a difference between natural and artificial flavorings.
-Artificial flavorings are simpler in composition and potentially safer because only safety-tested components are utilized.
-Another difference between natural and artificial flavorings is cost. The search for "natural" sources of chemicals often requires that a manufacturer go to great lengths to obtain a given chemical. Natural coconut flavorings, for example, depend on a chemical called massoya lactone. Massoya lactone comes from the bark of the Massoya tree, which grows in Malaysia. Collecting this natural chemical kills the tree because harvesters must remove the bark and extract it to obtain the lactone. Furthermore, the process is costly. This pure natural chemical is identical to the version made in an organic chemist¿s laboratory, yet it is much more expensive than the synthetic alternative.
Consumers pay a lot for natural flavorings. But these are in fact no better in quality, nor are they safer, than their cost-effective artificial counterparts.