The “strawberry” flavor contains more than 50 different chemicals!

Turns out that these “natural” flavors are actually not that “natural” after all. In the interest of saving and making a few bucks, food producers use the full extent of human creativity to come up with extremely complicated ways replicate flavors found in nature.

Once the recipe is perfected, it is easier and cheaper to create and sell the flavor. If you consume a fast-food strawberry milkshake or any other mass-produced strawberry-flavored dessert, chances are that you’re consuming a whole plethora of ingredients from amyl acetate to a solvent.

In between there is also benzyl isobutyrate, phenethyl alcohol, mint and cognac essential oils, etc. Just another example of how day to day items are actually complex chemical concoctions.

(Source)