Some of this is dumb (not all, just some). We should be going after the FDA for their contrived distinction on “natural/artificial” and shoddy labeling requirements. The companies are always going to do whatever nets the most profit within the rules, which often means using the cheapest or most minimal ingredients.
Let’s take candy as an example. I mean, I don’t expect lemon Starbursts to contain actual lemon. I think everyone is mostly fine with that being ‘artificial’ flavor.
But what is artificial, exactly? Chemists don’t really make that distinction; just like the FDA, if a molecule is extracted from a living thing it’s called a “natural product”. But that doesn’t actually tell you anything about the molecule itself or mean it’s different than it would be if synthesized from components chemicals in any way whatsoever.
Pineapple and pear flavors are just one simple ester each, I’ve easily made them in a lab. Any lack of “real” taste is probably just a matter of sugar or acidity balance or missing texture. If a commercial product is made well, you’ll never know the difference because it’s the exact same compound whether it comes from a farm or an industrial vat. That one ester molecule is literally indistinguishable from either source (assuming it’s been isolated / ‘purified’ sufficiently).
But strawberry and apple are much more complex fruits, with dozens or maybe hundreds of esters and other flavor compounds. Fake strawberry and apple might never be convincing. You can easily tell if those tastes are ‘artificial’ when they lack the nuance of having the right mix of many flavor chemicals.
Now, that claim about the 100% tuna sandwich… that’s totally misleading and a good basis for a lawsuit IMO. Nobody is synthesizing a convincing fish protein at scale.
EDIT: Lots of clarifications. EDIT2: Can folks please explain when they downvote? I’m on topic and discussing nuances of the issue here.