Are baking flavors (in ampoules) Safe To Consume
- Thread starter Datel
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Lou
Forum Legend
They are probably harmless.
I checked the ingredients and it just says flavoring.
I think this is something that we have here in the US. Although I think they have changed some of the laws. Its that in some cases the ingredients are considered a "trade secret".
For instance there is a plant in NJ that researches and develops flavors for Big Food. Natural and artificial. and they are all secret.
There is nothing inherently safer about natural flavoings and nothing inherently more dangerous about artificial flavors but I would pick natural over artificial. Also I would try to stick with ones that not only list their ingredients but the ingredients are ones that you recognize.
I remember in college I had a chemistry class and in labs we would make stuff. I remember one time we made artificial vanilla with just chemicals. However, I think I would prefer artificial vanilla flavoring as opposed to natural vanilla extract, which sometimes is made with beaver goo.
Anyway, I think this is one of those things that have to decided case by case. Also there is the cost to consider. Have you priced a little bottle of vanilla extract.
I checked the ingredients and it just says flavoring.
I think this is something that we have here in the US. Although I think they have changed some of the laws. Its that in some cases the ingredients are considered a "trade secret".
For instance there is a plant in NJ that researches and develops flavors for Big Food. Natural and artificial. and they are all secret.
There is nothing inherently safer about natural flavoings and nothing inherently more dangerous about artificial flavors but I would pick natural over artificial. Also I would try to stick with ones that not only list their ingredients but the ingredients are ones that you recognize.
I remember in college I had a chemistry class and in labs we would make stuff. I remember one time we made artificial vanilla with just chemicals. However, I think I would prefer artificial vanilla flavoring as opposed to natural vanilla extract, which sometimes is made with beaver goo.
Anyway, I think this is one of those things that have to decided case by case. Also there is the cost to consider. Have you priced a little bottle of vanilla extract.
Thanks for the great links and for checking the ingredients!
On some of the packages that I still have, which are probably over 10 years old, there are zero ingredients, simply no information on that, on others it says sunflower oil, flavor (i.e. flavor within a flavor, very strange specification). Who knows what's in this sunflower oil? I remember from before that at least some of them taste very good. I've used a bottled powdered vanilla extract (about $18 for 15g, absolutely ridiculous of course) a few times, which actually adds a great, amazing flavor if you add just a bit of the powder, that is really super.
Beaver goo (and maybe other goo not being listed at all), whatever that is exactly, doesn't sound that delicious at first, especially not vegan. I actually didn't think that such flavors couldn't be vegan.
And missing specifications (so one absolutely does not know what is in there, something you might not know given the information available) and the fact that these large food companies, huge corporations, produce this, which otherwise probably mainly only produces waste, doesn't actually inspire confidence.
OK, yes, deciding case by case. I guess I'll just throw away all that questionable crap aromas I have (besides of the 18 $ vanilla extract of course).
On some of the packages that I still have, which are probably over 10 years old, there are zero ingredients, simply no information on that, on others it says sunflower oil, flavor (i.e. flavor within a flavor, very strange specification). Who knows what's in this sunflower oil? I remember from before that at least some of them taste very good. I've used a bottled powdered vanilla extract (about $18 for 15g, absolutely ridiculous of course) a few times, which actually adds a great, amazing flavor if you add just a bit of the powder, that is really super.
Beaver goo (and maybe other goo not being listed at all), whatever that is exactly, doesn't sound that delicious at first, especially not vegan. I actually didn't think that such flavors couldn't be vegan.
And missing specifications (so one absolutely does not know what is in there, something you might not know given the information available) and the fact that these large food companies, huge corporations, produce this, which otherwise probably mainly only produces waste, doesn't actually inspire confidence.
OK, yes, deciding case by case. I guess I'll just throw away all that questionable crap aromas I have (besides of the 18 $ vanilla extract of course).
Lou
Forum Legend
As far as safety goes... you probably don't have to worry about these "secret" ingredients. Although we don't know what they are, they still have to pass FDA (and maybe USDA) approvals. And I've heard that the EU is even more stringent.
Being vegan is more problematic. Castoreum (Beaver goo) is found in a variety of products. But in minuscule quantities. Cochineal extract or red dye number 2, made from bugs, are also found in small quantities in lots of things. However I'm not sure the alternative, red dye 40 is a better choice - it's a petroleum product.
I'll trust the FDA. but still... some thought and care is required.
Yes, that's right of course, there are plenty of these (permitted) secret ingredients, not to mention other (not permitted) ones.
I would also avoid products that say "may contain traces of milk powder" (or whatever).
I cannot remember the different sources anymore where I (repeatedly) got the information from, but actually I would consider the FDA (like every or most authority) as anything but trustworthy (extremely kindly expressed).
OK, these flavors aren't actually that important to bother with (although they taste good in cakes and such), at least not when it's not that easy to figure out which ones are useful.
Actually, I would assume that the EU (in Brussels) is rather rubbish and useless and insane (at least in many parts or even completely). The food industry (like the pharmaceutical industry or chemical industry, e.g. Monsanto), which is very powerful, just like in the US, plays a decisive role, I would say, in probably all countries in the European Union, respectively around the world. There are enough food “scandals / problems” all the time, alone in the country where I live, one after the other, bigger or smaller.
I would also avoid products that say "may contain traces of milk powder" (or whatever).
I cannot remember the different sources anymore where I (repeatedly) got the information from, but actually I would consider the FDA (like every or most authority) as anything but trustworthy (extremely kindly expressed).
OK, these flavors aren't actually that important to bother with (although they taste good in cakes and such), at least not when it's not that easy to figure out which ones are useful.
