Natural Butter Flavour

About

What it is and where it shows up.

Natural butter flavour is a food flavouring preparation derived from butter or dairy fermentation, used to impart or enhance a characteristic buttery taste and aroma in processed foods such as popcorn, baked goods, dairy products, and confections. Its key flavour-active components are diacetyl (2,3-butanedione) and acetoin, both naturally occurring alpha-diketones produced during dairy fermentation.

Safety summary

The regulatory and scientific consensus.

When ingested at typical food-use levels, natural butter flavour is considered safe for the general adult population and its primary component (butter starter distillate) holds GRAS status with the US FDA. However, the key volatile component diacetyl is a potent respiratory toxin when inhaled in occupational concentrations, having been linked to bronchiolitis obliterans ('popcorn worker's lung') in food manufacturing workers. There is no established Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI) because the ingredient is used at GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice) levels, and no regulatory body has identified a dietary ingestion risk for the general public.

Regulatory landscape

What food-safety regulators have decided.

Jurisdiction	Status	Note
EFSA (European Food Safety Authority) (European Union)	Approved	Food flavourings including natural butter flavour preparations are regulated under Regulation (EC) No 1334/2008, which covers the EU list of approved food flavourings, labelling requirements, and conditions of use. The regulation also sets specific requirements for use of the term 'natural'. No specific E-number is assigned to natural butter flavour as a whole preparation; individual flavouring substances (e.g., diacetyl FL No. 07.004) may be listed in the Union list.source
Food Standards Agency (FSA) / Food Standards Scotland (FSS) (United Kingdom)	Approved	Post-Brexit, Great Britain maintains its own domestic register of permitted flavourings based on assimilated EU Regulation No. 1334/2008. Natural butter flavour preparations and their constituent flavouring substances remain authorised under this register, administered by the FSA and Food Standards Scotland.source
FDA (Food and Drug Administration) (United States)	Approved	Butter Starter Distillate (the primary natural butter flavouring preparation) is listed as GRAS as a flavouring agent and adjuvant under 21 CFR 184.1848, at GMP levels. Individual components such as diacetyl are also permitted flavouring substances evaluated by FEMA and JECFA.source

Who should approach with care

Whose guidance would steer them away.

Other — Food manufacturing and flavour industry workers with occupational inhalation exposure to concentrated butter flavouring vapours (particularly diacetyl) face a risk of bronchiolitis obliterans ('popcorn worker's lung'), a severe and potentially irreversible obstructive lung disease, as documented by multiple NIOSH health hazard evaluations and peer-reviewed studies.

Lactose Intolerance — Natural butter flavour derived from dairy sources may contain trace residual dairy proteins or lactose; individuals with severe lactose intolerance or dairy protein sensitivity should check the specific production source with the manufacturer.

Research citations

The sources behind this verdict.

1FDA. FDA Food Additive Status List – Butter Starter Distillate GRAS listing (21 CFR 184.1848). fda.gov
2other. Artificial Butter Flavoring and Constituents – NTP Background Document. ntp.niehs.nih.gov
3PubMed. Flavorings-Related Lung Disease: A Brief Review and New Mechanistic Data, 2019. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
4other. Occupational Lung Disease Risk and Exposure to Butter-Flavoring Chemicals After Implementation of Controls at a Microwave Popcorn Plant, 2011. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
5PubMed. Emission of diacetyl (2,3 butanedione) from natural butter, microwave popcorn butter flavor powder, paste, and liquid products, 2010. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
6other. 'Popcorn worker's lung' in Britain in a man making potato crisp flavouring, 2009. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Independently researched6 citations