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A FEMA GRAS number on a flavor spec is not an FDA approval. FDA receives the data but does not formally review the decision. "FEMA GRAS No. 2286" is a typical line. 2286 is cinnamaldehyde, the molecule behind cinnamon, and ...

Your lemon soda does not lose its lemon on the shelf. It turns it into something worse. The bright lemon note in a soda or an iced tea comes mostly from citral, an aldehyde made of two isomers, neral and ...

The ingredient that keeps landing this label claim in court is not a flavor. It is malic acid. "No artificial flavors." Next time that line shows up on a front panel or a supplier spec, it helps to know how ...

Spearmint gum and rye bread taste nothing alike. Their signature aroma comes from the same molecule, in mirror image. That molecule is carvone. Same atoms, same bonds. Only the 3D layout around one carbon differs, the way a left hand ...

A berry prized for jam in Hokkaido shares one of its key aroma molecules with eucalyptus. Haskap, the blue honeysuckle berry, is native to the cold regions of the Northern Hemisphere. It is emblematic of Hokkaido and also grows in ...

A lot of what is sold as bitterness masking does not block bitterness. It adds sweetness under a technical name. "Natural Flavor, bitterness masking." Next time that line shows up on a spec, taste the ingredient alone in plain water, ...