What exactly is a "Natural" additive?

The exact definition of "Natural" is actually left up to the food manufacturers to some extent. A natural additive is one that can be extracted from a plant, animal, or food substance. For example, this could be a food colouring such as E123: Amaranth (which comes from a plant of the same name) or a flavour enhancerA natural or artificial compound used to enhance a foods existing flavour. such as MSG (which is also derived from a plant). It could also be a colouring such as E120: Cochineal, which is a natural red colour derived from the crushed bodies of the insect Dayctylopius coccus.

While "natural" is often used to convey a sense of wholesomeness and health, clearly there can be different personal interpretations.

There are three broad origins of additives:

• Natural - naturally occurring extracts
• Nature identical - man-made copies of natural substances that are chemically identical
• Artificial - manufactured substances that do not occur in natural food

Many commonly used additives have both a natural origin, and a cheaper synthetic or nature identical equivalent. Depending on applicable government regulations, manufacturers may consider both natural and nature identical additives as "Natural" for the purposes of package labelling and marketing.

Are natural additives safer than artificial ones?

No. Individuals have been known to react to additives of all origins. In some cases, artificial additives may even be better controlled in terms of testing and consistency/quality.