How should we define ‘natural’? The public responds
The FDA should not define the word "natural". Doing so would add a meaningless distinction in people's mind that would confuse them and obscure the best choices for them. The origin of a compound is not a predictor of its health risks—only the structure of a compound itself. It's sad that there's already a distinction between "artificial flavors" and "natural flavors" even when the compounds that compose those flavors are chemically identical. Giving credence to the word would be a big mistake, so please do not do it.
—Mark Govea (consumer)