I am going to try to give you some perspectives of the food technologists in the food industry and the user industry in regard to flavors and the issue of natural versus artificial.
There is a need for closer understanding and cooperation between the supplier and user industries. Let me define some of these needs a little more clearly. We are both in the business of feeding millions of people. We want to bring to their dinner table an adequate supply of good, wholesome and delicious food and beverages. We want this food to be attractive and appetizing. We want the consuming public to partake of this food with enjoyment and confidence.
Over the last 10 years, particularly, the public’s confidence in the safety of their food supply has been steadily eroding away. All kinds of fears and doubts have been placed in their minds, and they are quite confused. Their reaction is to turn away from foods that have been fabricated with the new technology that science has developed, and to embrace tbe “natural world” or what they believe to be the natural world.
