LaCroix fever has swept the country in the past few years, with news of the new Key Lime flavor making waves, and making LaCroix diehards — a.k.a. LaCroix boix – giddy with excitement.
But while the flavored sparkling water contains no calories, no sugars, no artificial ingredients, no castoreum, no genetically modified organisms and no added phosphoric acid, according to the company, no one seems to be quite sure what gives LaCroix its delicate flavors.
But we’re all in the dark about actual ingredients beyond the two on the label, which are carbonated water and natural flavor. For years, fans have been wondering aloud what comprises their beloved drink’s addictive fruit flavor, so the Wall Street Journal went straight to LaCroix’s executives with this important question.
The Journal reports that they “declined to be interviewed.”
However, the paper got a bizarre response from LaCroix’s spokesperson Rod Liddle. “Essence is our picture word,” he explained. “Essence is — FEELINGS and Sensory Effects!” he added, before telling the Journal that he hoped “this answers your inquiry.”
The FDA defines natural flavors as “derived from a spice, fruit or fruit juice, vegetable or vegetable juice, edible yeast, herb, bark, bud, root, leaf or similar plant material, meat, seafood, poultry, eggs, dairy products, or fermentation products thereof.”
This is not uncommon, and sometimes consumers find out what those natural flavors actually are, and freak out. For example, much of the red coloring we use in food is actually made of crushed bugs. Yep, creepy, crawly bugs. It’s understandable companies might want to keep this kind of information away from creeped out consumers.
A laboratory of EAG Inc., a scientific-services company, told the Journal more than $100,000 of testing would be required to independently determine that LaCroix contains only natural essence oils.
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