As it turned out, the essence of vanilla is obtained as a result of the use of special excretions of beavers - a beaver stream, which is a mucous substance secreted by the beavers organ located between the pelvis and the base of the tail. Often this substance is mixed with animal waste.
In their life, beavers use this mucus to mark their territory. Due to the fact that beavers consume a large amount of tree bark, the aroma of a beaver stream resembles vanilla. Such use of beaver secretions in cooking and perfumery is no secret: manufacturers have been working with them for 80 years.
According to reports, in order to get a beaver stream, rodents are milked, which is unpleasant for both an animal and a person. The fluid can also be pumped out with a syringe. This method from one beaver can get up to 132 kg. mucus per year.
I must say that environmentalists only welcome people’s possible aversion to food with the smell of vanilla, because they consider the extraction of a beaver stream a factor extremely traumatic for the animal and they consider the reduction in demand for such food as one of the options for helping nature.
In addition, animal advocates pay special attention to the fact that the source of its receipt is hidden from buyers of products containing vanilla. However, the US agency responsible for food and drug quality control does not insist on the presence of this component on the food packaging, since it is considered to be a “natural flavor”.
