'Natural' aromas

Introduction

Aroma - what exactly is it? We see it used in a range of products that we consume daily, but it can be difficult to understand what an "aroma" actually is. In this text we will go through what constitutes an aroma, why it is used and why we at Swedish Tonic have chosen not to use aromas in our products.

Flavors - the process and classifications

First thing first: all aromas, regardless of their name, consist of one or more flavoring substances dissolved in a solvent. These flavorings are what give food and drink its typical taste and the solvent can be anything from plain water, alcohol, glycerine, various oils or less commonly known substances such as hexane or propylene glycol. More information on solvents and why they are used is given below.

A good example of a flavoring agent that many people have encountered in baking is vanillin. Vanillin is found naturally in vanilla beans and is what many people identify as the typical vanilla flavor. Vanillin can be extracted from natural raw materials or the vanillin molecule can be created in a lab. Below we will go through the different classifications and what the process can look like, using vanillin as an example.

Artificial aroma - or just 'aroma'

As you will understand from the classification, this type of aroma is produced via artificial processes. They simply build the molecule from its base or isolate it from various non-natural source materials. Vanilla aroma is therefore an artificial product produced in a lab, with no real connection to vanilla beans except that the molecule of vanillin in the aroma and the bean look the same.

Natural aroma

Here the sources are natural, i.e. they can be found in nature. A few examples of where natural vanilla aroma is extracted from:

• Coniferous lignin, a type of binding fiber in conifers.
• Castoreum, or beaver bark, isolated from the beaver's scrotum.
• Eugenol, which is usually extracted from the essential oil of cloves.
• Guethol, a substance created by processing diphenols of petrochemical origin (i.e. oil). 

The difference between natural flavouring and flavouring is that natural flavouring can only be produced using processes that are considered common in food processing such as fermentation, distillation, leaching and various other approved processes. These processes extract the vanillin molecule, which is itself food grade, but the source material from which the molecule is isolated can sometimes be inedible or undrinkable.

Natural x-aroma

If a flavoring is labeled with a name, in this case natural vanillaflavoring, the flavoring in question must contain at least 95% from the named raw material. The remaining 5% can be from various other sources, such as those mentioned in the previous paragraph.

Extracts & distillates

These are made solely from these raw materials. In other words, a vanilla extract contains only vanilla. How these are processed and which solvents are used is the manufacturer's choice if they want to inform about this, but consumers can always be sure that no other raw material than vanilla has been used in the production.

So how come not everything is made with vanilla? And why should you even bother, as long as it tastes good?

As with many things in the food industry, there are two clear reasons why not all vanillin is from vanilla beans - cost and availability. Today, enormous amounts of vanilla-flavored products are consumed, so much so that the world's vanilla production could not meet this demand. This makes vanilla expensive, which in turn makes it impossible for manufacturers to produce cheap products that can be mass-produced and consumed at the rate we do today. Therefore, a solution to this demand must be found - and this is where flavorings come in.

At Swedish Tonic, we think it goes without saying that you should know what is in your food and drink. Because we only use extracts, distillates, or the raw material itself, you can trust that nothing strange is going on behind the closed doors of the factory. We think that this transparency is something the whole industry should strive for, so that the consumer is informed and can make their own decisions about what they want to eat. We are not saying that we are against the clever solutions that the industry has created that allow everyone, regardless of income, to enjoy affordable vanilla flavor, but that the regulatory framework must simply require clearer labeling for the sake of consumers.

It is worth pointing out that there is also another strong reason why we choose to work with these more expensive components. When you use an extract, distillate or pure raw material, you capture a much wider range of flavors. After all, vanilla is more than just the molecule vanillin. It's a bit like painting a picture with just one color or an entire palette - the latter option can create infinitely more complex images. For a flavor to have this complexity, you can mix and mimic the raw material with a lot of other molecules, but more flavorings in the soup = more and more ambiguity for the consumer.

Some info on solvents

Solvents are used to extract flavors and aromas from solid raw materials, such as spices, into more usable liquid form. One solvent that we all use on a daily basis is water - brewing coffee, making tea, infusing water with fruit, etc. Alcohol, more precisely ethanol, is another solvent that many are familiar with - many have probably tried making their own schnapps or liqueur. 

The tricky part is that there are a variety of solvents in the industry that consumers have no idea about. This is because solvents do not need to be written out if they are used in flavorings or extracts. Below is a summary of the most common solvents, why they are used and comments. Hopefully this will help consumers make informed decisions about what food they want to eat:

• Water
  • The best known solvent in the world. Has a range of uses, but can be difficult to use in the manufacture of flavor extracts. This is because essential oils and therefore many aromas are not soluble in water. Ensuring microbiological stability in a water infusion requires either adding preservatives or applying processes such as pasteurization, which can affect the final taste of the infusion.   
• Ethanol (what many people call alcohol or spirits)
  • A highly effective solvent used in a range of applications: extracts, tinctures, distillation. Can dissolve oils, tannins, a variety of flavorings, you name it. Natural preservative in the right concentration. The alcohol that these extracts contribute to the final product should, according to EU regulation, be less than 0.5% pure ethanol for the final product to be classified as non-alcoholic. 
• Glycerol
  • Like ethanol, glycerol is naturally preservative in the right concentration. As a solvent, it is less effective than ethanol, which means that a larger amount of raw material must be dosed during extraction. It also cannot dissolve as wide a range of aromas. Many companies that want to avoid ethanol completely in their products tend to use glycerol and/or water in combination. The price of these extracts is usually higher because, as mentioned, more raw material is needed for the same flavor intensity as ethanol-based extracts.
• Hexane
  • Thanks to a low boiling point of ~69°C and relatively low reactivity with other highly reactive substances, hexane is one of the world's most common solvents. At present, this substance is used in the food industry mainly to dissolve oils of various kinds, where the hexane is then evaporated as best as possible. A variety of products contain hexane via aromas or other ingredients, but permitted residual levels in food are very low in the EU due to the fact that EFSA (European Food Safety Authority) has seen evidence of severe toxicity. 1mg/kg or 1omg/kg depending on the product group is what applies at the time of publication of this post.
• propylene glycol
  • Used as a humectant or as a solvent, depending on the intended application. It is highly soluble in water, making the range of applications wide. Regarding food use, this substance has been in the spotlight on several occasions because of its other uses (antifreeze, among others). Because of this, some argue that it cannot be safe to consume.
• Vinegar
  • Vinegar and similar products have long been used to preserve off-season flavors they are available in, as the high level of acidity discourages microbiological activity. Manufacturers of extracts have now started experimenting with this solvent as a non-alcoholic alternative to ethanol. Vinegar, like glycerol or hexane, is useful in some scenarios and is often perceived as more natural by consumers.

//Anton Johansson – Head of Production