My grocery trip yesterday proved 'natural flavor' is a joke

I grabbed a bottle of 'naturally flavored' strawberry lemonade, thinking it would be real fruit juice. The label showed a big strawberry on the front, but the ingredients listed apple juice concentrate and 'natural flavors' from unspecified sources. I called the company's 800 number and the rep admitted their 'natural strawberry flavor' comes from a mold. That's not what the picture implies at all. Shouldn't a product with a fruit image actually contain that fruit?

3 comments

3 Comments

emmaj331mo ago

But isn't mold a natural thing too, @margaretm23?

margaretm231mo ago

Wait, from a MOLD? That's so gross. The picture is totally lying then.

tessa_clark741mo ago

Actually read an article about this. The rules for "natural flavor" are so loose they're basically meaningless. It just has to start from something found in nature, even if it's processed in a lab. The pictures on the box are pure marketing.