<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>

John Stang posted:

>The same controversy exists about natural flavorings.  Some say they are
>carried in alcohol, which may be grain alcohol, and therefore should be
>avoided.  Others again hold that the distillation solves that problem and
>do not avoid the natural flavors.  Again, my own anecdotal experience is
>that I've never yet had a problem with this.

Who ever wrote this is missing the main part of the story. In most cases
natural flavorings is an euphemism for hydrolyzed protein. Now hydrolyzed
protein can be made from any protein (as long as it is natural!), but there
is a tendency towards using cheap proteins, and towards using proteins that
also add some flavor that people like. Gluten is a cheap protein. And
barley adds a flavor that people like. So natural flavorings end up on our
suspect list.

Now this thread is on horseradish and vinegar. I don't see where natural
flavorings fits in. But let's look at the types of foods where one sees
natural flavorings in the ingredient list. Often this will appear on
vegetable and meat products. Just the type of product where a hydrolyzed
protein (which always contains some 10-40% MSG) is most useful. But then
one also sees this term on fruit things, like juices. For these there in no
logic to adding a hydrolyzed protein. If you call on these products, you
find that these are fruit extracts, that could be carried in grain alcohol.

So, who ever wrote the above, has focused on just one minor usage of the
term natural flavorings, and has missed where it counts.

Don (www.gluten-free.org in Park Slope Brooklyn).