What is the purpose of chemical additives in e-juice?

[Cargo]

This question came to me from reading a post by Matty 316
study : Flavoring Chemicals in E-Cigarettes: Diacetyl, 2,3-Pentanedione......
post #13
so I thank him,

I know that diacetyl creates a buttery flavour but there must be other ways to create a buttery flavour without using a harmful chemical.
My guess is that it is less expensive to use than natural flavours and does not need any preservatives.
Am I right?
Do all food flavourings need chemical preservatives or stabilizers to ensure a suitable shelf life?
I know there are many vapours who make their own juice and I am wondering if they could enlighten me as to whether they need to consume them before a certain time to avoid spoilage.
I am just now thinking of starting to make my own and was hoping all I would need was natural food flavouring, PG and/or VG and nicotine.

edit..thanks robino1

 

[Robino1]

Moved to the DIY forum so you can get better answers

 

[bwh79]

My guess is that it is less expensive to use than natural flavours

Diacetyl is a "natural flavor." It's an organic molecule that occurs naturally in food products such as alcoholic beverages. Diacetyl and acetoin are two compounds which give butter its characteristic taste, and because of this, are often added (along with beta carotene for yellow color) to margarine and hydrogenated vegetable oil spreads to impart the buttery flavor, without which they would be rather tasteless.

Don't buy in to the "natural/organic" hype. Just because something is "natural" or "organic" doesn't make it better for you. Many known carcinogens are natural, organic compounds. tobacco smoke is "natural," but we all know how bad that can be for us...

 

[sparkky1]

This question came to me from reading a post by Matty 316
study : Flavoring Chemicals in E-Cigarettes: Diacetyl, 2,3-Pentanedione......
post #13
so I thank him,

I know that diacetyl creates a buttery flavour but there must be other ways to create a buttery flavour without using a harmful chemical.
My guess is that it is less expensive to use than natural flavours and does not need any preservatives.
Am I right?
Do all food flavourings need chemical preservatives or stabilizers to ensure a suitable shelf life?
I know there are many vapours who make their own juice and I am wondering if they could enlighten me as to whether they need to consume them before a certain time to avoid spoilage.
I am just now thinking of starting to make my own and was hoping all I would need was natural food flavouring, PG and/or VG and nicotine.

edit..thanks robino1

Artificial flavors are what you seek, you will notice dx or v2 those will be diacetyl/ AP free................
Liquid Barn - Everything you need to make premium eLiquid
Flavorings for DIY E-Liquid and E-Juice by Brand | ecigExpress
Liquid Food Flavoring & Flavor Concentrate by Flavor Apprentice | E-Liquid Flavoring

 

[Firestorm]

The flavors that are used in eliquid were created to be used in food and beverages for human consumption and were not designed to be vaped or inhaled (I can't imagine that people foresaw this need). For example, there are no health concerns regarding the consumption of diacetyl - I believe that you can eat it and drink it without any problems. People have been using diacetyl to give food and beverages a buttery taste and it works very well for that purpose and there has never been a need to change it for the purposes of consumption. The OP seems to imply that people are using chemicals like this in eliquid because it's cheaper than a "natural" or healthier alternative. I don't believe that's the case - it just made sense at the time to flavor our eliquid with the same kind of flavors that have been FDA approved for food and beverages. Now that we're learning that there are potential health concerns regarding inhaling some of the chemicals that are used in these flavorings many in the industry are seeking and offering seemingly healthier alternatives.

 

[anavidfan]

Diacetyl is a "natural flavor." It's an organic molecule that occurs naturally in food products such as alcoholic beverages. Diacetyl and acetoin are two compounds which give butter its characteristic taste, and because of this, are often added (along with beta carotene for yellow color) to margarine and hydrogenated vegetable oil spreads to impart the buttery flavor, without which they would be rather tasteless.

Don't buy in to the "natural/organic" hype. Just because something is "natural" or "organic" doesn't make it better for you. Many known carcinogens are natural, organic compounds. Tobacco smoke is "natural," but we all know how bad that can be for us...

THANK YOU !!! good to see a logical explanation.

To most people the word "chemical" brings to minds these dangerous , evil things that are all around us made by evil companies and evil scientists to "nicely" kill or addict us.

Here is what I think of when I hear the word chemical. To save you convoluted nonsense I got it from Wikipedia.

"Organic chemistry is a chemistry subdiscipline involving the scientific study of the structure, properties, and reactions of organic compounds and organic materials, i.e., matter in its various forms that contain carbon atoms.[1][2] Study of structure includes many physical and chemical methods to determine the chemical composition and the chemical constitution of organic compounds and materials. Study of properties includes both physical properties and chemical properties, and uses similar methods as well as methods to evaluate chemical reactivity, with the aim to understand the behavior of the organic matter in its pure form (when possible), but also in solutions, mixtures, and fabricated forms. The study of organic reactions includes probing their scope through use in preparation of target compounds (e.g., natural products, drugs, polymers, etc.) by chemical synthesis, as well as the focused study of the reactivities of individual organic molecules, both in the laboratory and via theoretical (in silico) study.

The range of chemicals studied in organic chemistry include hydrocarbons (compounds containing only carbon and hydrogen), as well as myriad compositions based always on carbon, but also containing other elements,[1][3][4] especially oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur, phosphorus (these, included in many organic chemicals in biology) and the radiostable elements of the halogens."

Our bodies emit chemistry 24/7. Weather a substance is put together from raw naturally found components or man derived components its still molecules and atoms etc.

Look at corn, all this non-GMO stuff, have you all seen how corn looked like millenniums ago? Since humans discovered they can select the plants they liked better, its been Genetically altered.

Even the most some of the most seemingly harmless creations like a flower can kill in an instant.

 

[Cargo]

so is there any need for preservatives of any kind (apart from any that may exist in regular food grade flavouring) to avoid spoilage.

 

[Robino1]

PG is used as a preservative in the food industry to prevent spoilage.

Edit to add link: Propylene glycol - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[Alien Traveler]

The tread got me interested in diacetyl in natural foods so I googled and found this:
Diacetyl in Foods: A Review of Safety and Sensory Characteristics - Clark - 2015 - Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety - Wiley Online Library
So, main sources of diacetyl are butter, cheese, wine and coffee (but for coffee it looks like measurements were done for dry beans).
Diacetyl is also occur in most fruits.

 

[zoiDman]

PG is used as a preservative in the food industry to prevent spoilage.

Edit to add link: Propylene glycol - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

PG is also a very good "Carrier" for Food Flavorings.

 

[YoursTruli]

when ever the question about using natural or organic flavoring come up I think of Kurt's post here
Is the whole scandal with da and ap overblown? Some numbers inside

snip "Natural extract flavors are often full of diacetyl, which is a naturally occurring compound in diary and some fruits. Plus they can contain a lot of other things I personally would not want to inhale (lipids, proteins, polysaccharides, etc). They cost more because they are more expensive to make than mixing synthetic flavor compounds...or they charge what their market will tolerate, or both.
Plus, the term "natural flavor" does not have the definition most people think. It only means it is a compound that is also found in the food. Isoamyl acetate is a natural banana flavor, but it is synthesized in a lab. "

and the rest of this post is an informative read