Castoreum is a natural flavoring used in vanilla or strawberry – flavored products. But it’s not a lab – made plant. It’s excrement from beavers’ anal castor sacs. This chemical has been used in meds, soaps, and food for ages. However, on ice cream or strawberry syrup ingredient lists, it’s usually listed as “natural flavorings.”
No need to worry about accidentally consuming it. The FDA deems it safe, as long – term use has no reported human side – effects. But many organizations avoid it. It keeps products from being kosher – certified, and beaver sac excretion is expensive.
Flavor chemist Gary Reineccius from the University of Minnesota says, “In the flavor industry, you need a lot of material. You can’t grow beavers like crops. There aren’t many, so it’s costly and not popular with food companies.”
Michelle Francl, a chemist at Bryn Mawr College, also says beaver excretion won’t be secretly added to food due to high costs, especially compared to large – scale – grown vanilla orchids.
But castoreum is used in niche products like Swedish bäversnaps. In such cases, it’s proudly promoted. To harvest it, beavers are trapped and killed, then their castor glands are dried, ground, and alcohol – extracted, similar to vanilla extraction.
Surprisingly, castoreum has been used in various therapies. It treated stomach issues, fevers, mental illnesses, and was used in soap and lotion. Cigarettes once had it for a sweet smell. It contains salicylic acid, like in aspirin.
Castoreum was discovered during the fur trade, which nearly wiped out beaver populations in North America and Eurasia. Beavers nearly went extinct in 16th – century Europe and 19th – century North America.
Castoreum helps beavers mark territory (males usually do this), recognize family, and makes their tails and fur slick and water – resistant. Their diet of leaves, bark, etc. gives it a vanilla – like smell.
Don’t worry about finding it in food as “natural flavorings.” Reineccius says, “Food companies will find substitutes for vanilla or strawberry flavors if they can. Making a basic strawberry flavor with two compounds isn’t hard.”