Natural flavors are defined by the Food and Drug Administration in the Code of Federal Regulations [21 CFR 101.22(3)] as follows:

The term "natural flavor" or "natural flavoring" means the essential oil, oleoresin, essence or extractive, protein hydrolysate, distillate, or any product of roasting, heating or enzymolysis, which contains the flavoring constituents derived from a spice, fruit or fruit juice, vegetable or vegetable juice, edible yeast, herb, bark, bud, root, leaf or similar plant material, meat, seafood, poultry, eggs, dairy products, or fermentation products thereof, whose significant function in food is flavoring rather than nutritional.

 

This means that the flavorings are extracted from their natural sources instead of being chemically synthesized.