Articles

By Rabbi Dovid Cohen, Administrative Rabbinic Coordinator

Q. We’ve been told that anything with a “flavor” needs hashgachah.  What could be wrong with a flavor, especially if it is natural?

A. “Flavors” are mixtures of chemicals which create tastes that we appreciate.  For example, isoamyl acetate is responsible for the aroma of bananas, and, therefore, by putting a tiny bit of that chemical into a food, that food will taste like bananas.  The active ingredients are typically so concentrated that it would be difficult for a manufacturer to properly dose and blend them into the food.  Therefore, flavors are often diluted in a liquid (e.g., water, propylene glycol, glycerin, alcohol, oil) or powder (e.g., starch) “carrier” which provides no contribution to the flavor profile and is, therefore, considered “inactive”.  Active and inactive ingredients can be non-kosher or dairy, and, for that reason, any time a food contains “flavor,” it should only be eaten if certified kosher.

The halachic issues of uncertified flavors used in a food are beyond the scope of this work but are quite relevant for people who require medicines (which are typically not certified kosher).  Some of the factors that are relevant to those issues are: (a) flavor is usually less than 1/60^th of the food such that they would be batel b’shishim, but are there for taste (avidah lit’amah) which suggests they cannot be batel; (b) in some cases, more than one chemical is required to create the desired taste, which raises the possibility of allowing bitul, based on the principle of zeh v’zeh gorem; and (c) many of the active chemicals are only kosher-sensitive due to their being produced on non-kosher equipment, such that the concept of melach habaluah m’dam may indicate that they can be batel, even if they provide flavor.  Thus, although it is well established that all items with “flavor” should have hashgachah, in certain circumstances there is room to be lenient regarding uncertified flavors.

Is a “natural” flavor more likely to be kosher than one which is artificial?  The simple answer is that the term “natural” includes many types of components, including ingredients made from grape juice, meat, seafood, poultry, and dairy products, and can, therefore, easily be non-kosher.  It is also noteworthy that although natural flavors must be produced from “natural” ingredients, that does not mean that those ingredients have any inherent connection with the flavor being produced.  For example, one of the primary components of grape’s flavor is methyl anthranilate.  Theoretically, it can be extracted from grapes, but it is much easier and cheaper to find it elsewhere in nature, such as in the essential oil of mandarin petitgrains.  A grape flavor made from that type of methyl anthranilate would be considered “natural grape flavor” even though it is not made from grapes.  [Methyl anthranilate can also be produced using petroleum-based ingredients, in which case it would be considered an “artificial” flavor.]

By law, companies can list “flavor” without listing the ingredients used in the flavor, and this means that consumers have no way of knowing whether it is kosher, dairy, or non-kosher; for that reason it is recommended that any item which contains flavor only be consumed if it is certified kosher.

This article first appeared in the Let’s Talk Kashrus column, Yated Ne’eman, May 16, 2025.