Eli5 if natural flavours are heavily processed chemicals extracted from raw materials, what distinguishes them from artificial flavours?
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This is probably more a legal question than a chemistry one.
In terms of chemistry, if a chemical is the same, it’s the same, whether it’s made from a plant or from petroleum.
However in terms of food labelling there is a difference.
Or there can be a difference, because obviously laws differ depending on where you are.
In the EU (and currently the UK) “natural flavourings” have to be entirely made up of naturally occurring substances, or substances created by traditional food preparation processes (like cooking or fermentation). If they refer to a food, animal, etc. they have to be at least 95% made from that thing, eg. “natural lemon flavouring” has to come 95% from lemons.
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