One of those "natural flavorings" that often gets listed on food products. Oh wait, also cigarettes. But where does it come from? Beaver butts, yep, beaver butts.
Castoreumis the exudate from the castor sacs of the mature North American Beaver (Castor canadensis) and the European Beaver (Castor fiber). Within the zoological realm, castoreum is the yellowish secretion of the castor sac which is, in combination with the beaver's urine, used during scent marking of territory.[1][2] Both male and female beavers possess a pair of castor sacs and a pair of anal glands located in two cavities under the skin between the pelvis and the base of the tail.
Food use
In the United States, castoreum is considered to be a GRAS food additive by the Food and Drug Administration.[10] It is often referenced simply as a "natural flavoring" in products' lists of ingredients. While it is mainly used in both foods and beverages as part of a substitute vanilla flavour,[11] it is less commonly used as a part of a raspberry or strawberry flavoring.[12] The annual industry consumption is very low, around 300 pounds,[13] whereas vanillin is over 2.6 million pounds annually.[14]
And this helps explain why cigarettes smell like *expletive deleted*ss!
Other uses
Castoreum is also used to contribute to the flavor and odor of cigarettes
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CastoreumSo, what else is out there that makes you wonder just exactly what is in food you don't raise or grow yourself?
bob
