Flavor or flavour (see spelling differences In the early 18th century, English spelling was not standardized. Differences became noticeable after the publishing of influential dictionaries. Current British English spellings follow, for the most part, those of Samuel Johnson's Dictionary of the English Language , whereas many American English spellings follow Noah Webster's An American) is the sensory impression of a food Food is any substance or material eaten to provide nutritional support for the body or for pleasure. It usually consists of plant or animal origin, that contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals, and is ingested and assimilated by an organism to produce energy, stimulate growth, and maintain life or other substance In chemistry, a chemical substance is a material with a specific chemical composition, and is determined mainly by the chemical senses of taste Taste is a form of direct chemoreception and is one of the traditional five senses. It refers to the ability to detect the flavor of substances such as food, certain minerals, and poisons. In humans and many other vertebrate animals the sense of taste partners with the less direct sense of smell, in the brain's perception of flavor. In the West, and smell Olfaction is the sense of smell. This sense is mediated by specialized sensory cells of the nasal cavity of vertebrates, and, by analogy, sensory cells of the antennae of invertebrates. Many vertebrates, including most mammals and reptiles, have two distinct olfactory systems - the main olfactory system, and the accessory olfactory system (mainly. The "trigeminal senses The trigeminal nerve is responsible for sensation in the face. Sensory information from the face and body is processed by parallel pathways in the central nervous system", which detect chemical irritants Irritation or exacerbation, in biology and physiology, is a state of inflammation or painful reaction to allergy or cell-lining damage. A stimulus or agent which induces the state of irritation is an irritant. Irritants are typically thought of as chemical agents but mechanical, thermal (heat), and radiative stimuli (for example ultraviolet light in the mouth The mouth is the first portion of the alimentary canal that receives food and begins digestion by mechanically breaking up the solid food particles into smaller pieces and mixing them with saliva. The oral mucosa is the mucous membrane epithelium lining the inside of the mouth and throat In vertebrate anatomy, the throat is the anterior part of the neck, in front of the vertebral column. It consists of the pharynx and larynx. An important feature of the throat is the epiglottis, a flap which separates the esophagus from the trachea and prevents inhalation of food or drink, may also occasionally determine flavor. The flavor of the food, as such, can be altered with natural Nature, in the broadest sense, is equivalent to the natural world, physical world, or material world. "Nature" refers to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. It ranges in scale from the subatomic to the cosmic or artificial flavorants, which affect these senses.

Flavorant is defined as a substance that gives another substance flavor, altering the characteristics of the solute, causing it to become sweet, sour, tangy, etc.

Of the three chemical senses, smell is the main determinant of a food item's flavor. While the taste of food is limited to sweet The chemosensory basis for detecting sweetness, which varies among both individuals and species, has only been teased apart in recent years. The current theoretical model is the multipoint attachment theory, which involves multiple binding sites between sweetness receptor and the sweet substance itself, sour Taste is a form of direct chemoreception and is one of the traditional five senses. It refers to the ability to detect the flavor of substances such as food, certain minerals, and poisons. In humans and many other vertebrate animals the sense of taste partners with the less direct sense of smell, in the brain's perception of flavor. In the West,, bitter Taste is a form of direct chemoreception and is one of the traditional five senses. It refers to the ability to detect the flavor of substances such as food, certain minerals, and poisons. In humans and many other vertebrate animals the sense of taste partners with the less direct sense of smell, in the brain's perception of flavor. In the West,, salty Taste is a form of direct chemoreception and is one of the traditional five senses. It refers to the ability to detect the flavor of substances such as food, certain minerals, and poisons. In humans and many other vertebrate animals the sense of taste partners with the less direct sense of smell, in the brain's perception of flavor. In the West,, and savory (umami Umami, also referred to as savoriness, has been proposed as one of the basic tastes sensed by specialized receptor cells present on the human and animal tongue. Umami is a loanword from Japanese meaning "good flavor" or "good taste" (noun). In English, however, "brothy", "meaty", or "savory" have) – the basic tastes Taste is a form of direct chemoreception and is one of the traditional five senses. It refers to the ability to detect the flavor of substances such as food, certain minerals, and poisons. In humans and many other vertebrate animals the sense of taste partners with the less direct sense of smell, in the brain's perception of flavor. In the West, – the smells of a food are potentially limitless. A food's flavor, therefore, can be easily altered by changing its smell while keeping its taste similar. Nowhere is this better exemplified than in artificially flavored jellies They can be made by combining plain gelatin with other ingredients, or by using a premixed blend of gelatin with other additives. Popular brands of commercial mixes include Jell-O and Knox gelatin from Kraft Foods in North America, Royal in Argentina and Uruguay, Hartley's in the United Kingdom and Aeroplane Jelly in Australia, soft drinks A soft drink is a drink that typically contains no alcohol, though may contain small amounts (typically less than 0.5% by volume) and is usually referred to as a sugary drink. Soft drinks are often carbonated and commonly consumed while chilled or at room temperature. Some of the most common soft drinks include cola, flavored water, sparkling and candies, which, while made of bases with a similar taste, have dramatically different flavors due to the use of different scents or fragrances. The flavorings of commercially produced food products are typically created by flavorists A flavorist, also known as flavor chemist, is someone who uses both chemistry and art to engineer artificial and natural flavors. The tools and materials used by flavorists are almost the same as that used by perfumers with the exception that flavorists seek to mimic or modify both the olfactory and gustation properties of various food products.

Although the terms "flavoring" or "flavorant" in common language denote the combined chemical sensations of taste and smell, the same terms are usually used in the fragrance and flavors industry to refer to edible chemicals and extracts that alter the flavor of food and food products through the sense of smell. Due to the high cost or unavailability of natural flavor extracts, most commercial flavorants are nature-identical, which means that they are the chemical A chemical compound is a pure chemical substance consisting of two or more different chemical elements that can be separated into simpler substances by chemical reactions. Chemical compounds have a unique and defined chemical structure; they consist of a fixed ratio of atoms that are held together in a defined spatial arrangement by chemical bonds equivalent of natural flavors but chemically synthesized rather than being extracted from the source materials.

Flavorants or flavorings

Flavorings are focused on altering or enhancing the flavors of natural food product such as meats and vegetables, or creating flavor for food products that do not have the desired flavors such as candies and other snacks. Most types of flavorings are focused on scent and taste. Few commercial products exist to stimulate the trigeminal The trigeminal nerve is responsible for sensation in the face. Sensory information from the face and body is processed by parallel pathways in the central nervous system senses, since these are sharp, astringent, and typically unpleasant flavors.

There are three principal types of flavorings used in foods, under definitions agreed in the E.U. and Australia:^[1]

Regulations on natural flavoring

UK The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland[note 7] is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of the island of Ireland, and many small islands. Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK with a land Food Law defines a natural flavor as:

a flavouring substance (or flavouring substances) which is (or are) obtained, by physical, enzymatic or microbiological processes, from material of vegetable or animal origin which material is either raw or has been subjected to a process normally used in preparing food for human consumption and to no process other than one normally so used.^[2]

The U.S. Code of Federal Regulations describes a "natural flavorant" as:

the essential oil An essential oil is a concentrated, hydrophobic liquid containing volatile aroma compounds from plants. Essential oils are also known as volatile, ethereal oils or aetherolea, or simply as the "oil of" the plant from which they were extracted, such as oil of clove. An oil is "essential" in the sense that it carries a, oleoresin, essence or extractive, protein hydrolysate, distillate Distillation is a method of separating mixtures based on differences in their volatilities in a boiling liquid mixture. Distillation is a unit operation, or a physical separation process, and not a chemical reaction, or any product of roasting, heating or enzymolysis, which contains the flavoring constituents derived from a spice, fruit or fruit juice, vegetable or vegetable juice, edible yeast, herb, bark, bud, root, leaf or any other edible portions of a plant, meat, seafood, poultry, eggs, dairy products, or fermentation products thereof, whose primary function in food is flavoring rather than nutritional.^[3]

The European Union The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 member states which are located primarily in Europe. Committed to regional integration, the EU was established by the Treaty of Maastricht in 1993 upon the foundations of the European Communities. With over 500 million citizens, the EU combined generated an estimated 28% share (US$ 16.5's guidelines for natural flavorants are slightly different. Certain artificial flavorants are given an E number E numbers are number codes for food additives that have been assessed for use within the European Union . They are commonly found on food labels throughout the European Union. Safety assessment and approval are the responsibility of the European Food Safety Authority. The numbering scheme follows that of the International Numbering System (INS) as, which may be included on food labels.

Smell

Smell flavorants, or simply, flavorants, are engineered and composed in similar ways as with industrial fragrances and fine perfumes Perfume is a mixture of fragrant essential oils and aroma compounds, fixatives, and solvents used to give the human body, animals, objects, and living spaces a pleasant scent . The odoriferous compounds that make up a perfume can be manufactured synthetically or extracted from plant or animal sources. To produce natural flavors, the flavorant must first be extracted Fragrance extraction refers to the extraction of aromatic compounds from raw materials, using methods such as distillation, solvent extraction, expression, or enfleurage. The results of the extracts are either essential oils, absolutes, concretes, or butters, depending on the amount of waxes in the extracted product from the source substance. The methods of extraction can involve solvent extraction, distillation, or using force to squeeze it out. The extracts are then usually further purified and subsequently added to food products to flavor them. To begin producing artificial flavors, flavor manufacturers Flavor companies produce and sell flavor compounds as well as flavor delivery technology that is used in foods and beverages. Flavors can be used to improve or enhance the natural flavors of foods as well as mask unpleasant "off-notes" that may be present due to processing or other additives must either find out the individual naturally occurring aroma chemicals and mix them appropriately to produce a desired flavor or create a novel non-toxic artificial compound that gives a specific flavor.

Most artificial flavors are specific and often complex mixtures of singular naturally occurring flavor compounds combined together to either imitate or enhance a natural flavor. These mixtures are formulated by flavorist to give a food product a unique flavor and to maintain flavor consistency between different product batches or after recipe changes. The list of known flavoring agents includes thousands of molecular compounds, and the flavor chemist (flavorist A flavorist, also known as flavor chemist, is someone who uses both chemistry and art to engineer artificial and natural flavors. The tools and materials used by flavorists are almost the same as that used by perfumers with the exception that flavorists seek to mimic or modify both the olfactory and gustation properties of various food products) can often mix these together to produce many of the common flavors. Many flavorants are esters Esters are chemical compounds derived by reacting an oxoacid with a hydroxyl compound such as an alcohol or phenol. Esters are usually derived from an inorganic acid or organic acid in which at least one -OH (hydroxyl) group is replaced by an -O-alkyl (alkoxy) group, and most commonly from carboxylic acids and alcohols. Basically, esters are.

The compounds used to produce artificial flavors are almost identical to those that occur naturally, and a natural origin for a substance does not necessarily imply that it is safe to consume. In fact, artificial flavors may be safer to consume than natural flavors due to the standards of purity and mixture consistency that are enforced either by the company or by law.^[4] Natural flavors in contrast may contain toxins from their sources while artificial flavors are typically more pure and are required to undergo more testing before being sold for consumption.^[4]

Flavors from food products are usually the result of a combination of natural flavors, which set up the basic smell profile of a food product while artificial flavors modify the smell to accent it.

The olfaction contribution to flavor unlike that of smell occurs not upon inhalation but the exhalation phase of breathing.^[5]

Taste

While salt and sugar can technically be considered flavorants that enhance salty and sweet tastes, usually only compounds that enhance umami, as well as other secondary flavors are considered taste flavorants. Artificial sweeteners are also technically flavorants.

Umami or "savory" flavorants, more commonly called taste or flavor enhancers are largely based on amino acids and nucleotides. These are typically used as sodium or calcium salts. Umami flavorants recognized and approved by the European Union include:

• Glutamic acid salts

This amino acid's sodium salt, monosodium glutamate (MSG) is one of the most commonly used flavor enhancers in food processing. Mono and diglutamate salts are also commonly used.

• Glycine salts

A simple amino acid that is usually used in conjunction with glutamic acid as a flavor enhancer.

• Guanylic acid salts

Nucleotide salts that is usually used in conjunction with glutamic acid as a flavor enhancer.

• Inosinic acid salts

Nucleotide salts created from the breakdown of AMP. Due to high costs of production, it is usually used in conjunction with glutamic acid as a flavor enhancer.

• 5'-ribonucleotide salts:

Certain organic acids can be used to enhance sour tastes, but like salt and sugar these are usually not considered and regulated as flavorants under law. Each acid imparts a slightly different sour or tart taste that alters the flavor of a food.

Color

The color of food can affect flavor. For example, adding more red color to a drink increases its sweetness with darker colored solutions being rated 2–10% higher than lighter ones even though it had 1% less sucrose concentration.^[6] The effect of color is believed to be due to cognitive expectations.^[7]

Dietary restrictions

Food manufacturers are sometimes reluctant about informing consumers about the source from where the flavor is obtained and whether it has been produced with the incorporation of substances such as animal by-products glycerin (note that glycerin is also available from vegetable sources), gelatin, and the like, and the use of alcohol in the flavors. Many Jews, Jains, Hindus, and Muslims adhere to religious dietary laws, and vegans to personal wants and needs, restrict the use of animal by-products and/or alcohol in foods unless subject to oversight and inspection by their respective religious authority or less-strict or circumstantial moral belief. In many western countries, some consumers rely on a Jewish Kosher Pareve certification mark to indicate that natural flavorings used in a food product are free of meat and dairy (although they can still contain fish). The Vegan Society's Sunflower symbol (which is currently used by over 260 companies world wide) can also be used to see which products do not use any animal ingredients (including flavorings and colorings)

Flavor creation

Most food and beverage companies do not create their own flavors but instead employ the services of a flavor company. Food and beverage companies may require flavors for new products, product line extensions (e.g., low fat versions of existing products) or due to changes in formula or processing for existing products.

The flavor creation is done by a specially trained scientist called a "flavorist". The flavorist's job combines extensive scientific knowledge of the chemical palette with artistic creativity to develop new and distinctive flavors. The flavor creation begins when the flavorist receives a brief from the client. In the brief the client will attempt to communicate exactly what type of flavor they seek, in what application it will be used, and any special requirements (e.g., must be all natural). The communication barrier can be quite difficult to overcome since most people aren't experienced at describing flavors. The flavorist will use his or her knowledge of the available chemical ingredients to create a formula and compound it on an electronic balance. The flavor will then be submitted to the client for testing. Several iterations, with feedback from the client, may be needed before the right flavor is found.

Additional work may also be done by the flavor company. For example, the flavor company may conduct sensory taste tests to test consumer acceptance of a flavor before it is sent to the client or to further investigate the "sensory space." The flavor company may also employ application specialists who work to ensure the flavor will work in the application for which it is intended. This may require special flavor delivery technologies that are used to protect the flavor during processing or cooking so that the flavor is only released when eaten by the end consumer.

Determination

Few standards are available or being prepared for sensory analysis of flavors.^[8] In chemical analysis of flavors, solid phase extraction (SPE), solid phase microextraction (SPME), and headspace gas chromatography are applied to extract and separate the flavor compounds in the sample. The determination is typically done by various mass spectrometric techniques.^[9]

Scientific resources

• Flavour and Fragrance Journal

See also

• Aroma compound
• Cooking
• E number
• Ester (for list of some artificial flavor chemical compounds)
• Flavor companies
• Food additive
• Fragrance oil
• Monosodium glutamate, commonly known as MSG
• Palatability
• Preservative
• Seasoning

References

1. ^ From Australian Food Standards Guidelines
2. ^ The Flavourings in Food Regulations, Amended 1994
3. ^ WAIS Document Retrieval
4. ^ ^{a b} R.L. Smitha, S.M. Cohenb, J. Doullc, V.J. Ferond, J.I. Goodmane, L.J. Marnettf, P.S. Portogheseg, W.J. Waddellh, B.M.Wagneri, R.L. Hallj, N.A. Higleyk, C. Lucas-Gavinl and T.B. Adamsm (2005). "A procedure for the safety evaluation of natural flavor complexes used as ingredients in food: essential oils". Food and Chemical Toxicology 43 (3): 345–363. doi:10.1016/j.fct.2004.11.007. PMID 15680674.
5. ^ Masaoka Y, Satoh H, Akai L, Homma I. (2010). Expiration: The moment we experience retronasal olfaction in flavor. Neurosci Lett. 473:92–96. doi:10.1016/j.neulet.2010.02.024 PMID 20171264
6. ^ Johnson, J., & Clydesdale, F. (1982). Perceived sweetness and redness in colored sucrose solutions. Journal of Food Science, 47, 747–752. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2621.1982.tb12706.x
7. ^ Shankar MU, Levitan CA, Spence C. (2010). Grape expectations: the role of cognitive influences in color-flavor interactions. Conscious Cogn. Mar;19(1):380-90. doi:10.1016/j.concog.2009.08.008 PMID 19828330
8. ^ e.g. ISO 13301:2002 Sensory analysis -- Methodology -- General guidance for measuring odor, flavor and taste detection thresholds by a three-alternative forced-choice (3-AFC) procedure. or ISO 6564:1985 Sensory analysis -- Methodology -- Flavor profile methods.
9. ^ Use of Ozone Depleting Substances in Laboratories. TemaNord 2003:516. http://www.norden.org/pub/ebook/2003-516.pdf

External links

• How Stuff Works How do artificial flavors work?
• The Science in artificial flavor creation
• Monell Chemical Senses Center

Categories: Flavors | Food science

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