Beaver Butts

I've found that the vanilla flavoring in your baked goods and candy comes from the anal excretions of beavers. Beaver butts produce a goo called castoreum, the animals use it to mark their territory. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration lists castoreum as a “generally safe” additive, and manufacturers have been using it a lot in perfumes and foods for at least 80 years. Castoreum is a chemical compound that mostly comes from a beaver’s castor sacs, which are between the pelvis and the base of the tail. Because of its close proximity to the anal glands, castoreum is often a combination of castor gland secretions, anal gland secretions, and urine. It's FDA labeled and manufacturers don’t have to list castoreum on the ingredient list and may say it's natural flavoring.