Taste with Impact: Innovation in Taste Modulation Enabling Positive Nutrition
16 Oct 2024 | KHNI
Join us October 15th 2024 for an informative webinar exploring Taste Modulation and how it can be used to support positive nutrition. In this webinar, we will delve into the multifaceted dimensions of the nutrition aspects of taste modulation, consumer and market needs, innovative and cutting-edge research, and case studies from industry leaders. Register to join Kerry Health & Nutrition Institutes expert panel on October 15th to be part of the conversation shaping the future of taste modulation and positive nutrition.
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Hello and welcome to today's webinar titled Taste with Impact, Innovation and Taste Modulation, Enabling Positive Nutrition by the KARY Health and Nutrition Institute.
My name is William Bradford Nichols, and I'm the editor of Nutrition Insight, a world-leading B2B news and insights website published by CNS Media.
We are joined today by our expert speakers, David Deeley, the senior insights Manager at CARI, Dr.
Alex Wu, the founder and CEO of W2O, And Katherine Chesky, a Research Development and Application senior scientist for Taste innovation at CARI.
Welcome, everybody.
It's great to have you here.
In just a moment, our experts will discuss taste modulation.
And its potential to enhance positive nutrition.
It will examine the various facets of nutrition related to taste modulation and will also tell us about consumer and market demands, innovative research, give us some case study examples, and walk us through some of the challenges and opportunities for future innovations with this dynamic and ever evolving market.
Following our speaker's presentations, we will have a Q&A session.
Additionally, this webinar will be available on-demand on nutritionInsight.com and a link to view the on-demand webinar will be emailed to you following its conclusion.
With that said, let's begin today's webinar with our speakers' presentations before we round off with our Q&A session.
Without further ado, I pass it over to you, David.
Excellent.
Thank you very much.
Delighted to be here.
Hello everyone.
Really excited to bring you through the consumer and market perspective of this particular piece.
Obviously that's a, a critical piece in, in anything from, a food and beverage perspective to get it right from a consumer, consumer view.
So I'm gonna really start off the presentation in the future, really, is what I wanted to do.
So at Kerry we're really fortunate, we have a foresight program called Future Lens, which helps us to think about how the consumer world is evolving from the macro forces.
Perspective, from the, the large scale shifts that are happening downward onto consumers, as as the bottom up view from a consumer level.
So one of the scenarios that emerges from Future Lens is vitality unlocked.
So essentially this is a provocation.
Where we're seeing approaches to personal health becoming fully proactive, holistic and integrated into everything that we do as consumers, and ultimately it's about helping people, helping consumers to live better for longer without compromise, which is a, a really exciting space for us to think about.
If we consider some of the macro forces that are driving us towards this world where consumers are proactive from their health perspective.
The first thing we're looking at is from a technology point of view, we're seeing a huge rise in the fitness tracker market, where there are some estimations, suggesting it'll be worth $116 billion US dollars by 2028, which is a 19.2% caggger.
And that is significant because a lot of these are making really personalized recommendations about our fitness, about our health, about our nutrition, and ultimately nudging consumers in, in better, to make better decisions about what they're consuming.
We're also seeing from some of our own internal research at Kerry that almost 9 in 10 people are believing it's important to prioritize their physical and mental wellbeing.
So this is really ramping up year on year, and we're seeing this proactivity towards health, continuing to drive as a, a big force, at a consumer level.
We're also seeing huge pressure on our public health systems, so some estimations from the WHO and OECD and figures that are reported by Statista suggest that by 2050 there will be a 30% increase in the average per capita health expenditure, which obviously is really, really challenging for a lot of markets and, and societies to grapple with, and that's kind of driven by lots of factors.
It's Obviously growing populations as as aging populations, having an impact there as.
And we're seeing a lot of evidence, a lot of scientific evidence coming out around supporting the idea of targeted or precision nutrition and increasingly consumers tapping into that world, wanting to have, you know, products that meet their specific health goals, and really that ramping up from a, a consumer and market perspective as.
So what is driving us towards vitality unlocked?
Today we're, we're starting to have a clearer picture of our health through a growing understanding of ingredients, and scientific developments.
Tomorrow what we're going to see is proactive health becoming a reality by unlocking the potential of technology and personalizing solutions to individuals.
So it's a really exciting space for us to think about, and I really want to bring you into that world of 2030 and beyond.
So think about it.
Following decades of our healthcare systems becoming progressively overburdened, public health is now a top priority for governments and societies who are facing severe threats from rising global diseases, from pandemics, and the impacts of pollution.
So these increasingly stringent approaches to enforce proactive health with interventions against unhealthy behaviors to alleviate that strain are a priority.
They're a top priority for many as pieces and and and the elements and prices of care skyrocket.
Those dimensions of health and wellbeing have blurred.
And broadened to occupy a bigger share of our lives as consumers, as people, and as society reorients itself towards more healthier or life-affirming, alternatives across every industry.
So health is no longer seen as a, a stand-alone issue, but rather interconnected with every aspect of our life.
And obviously the food and drink sector plays a huge role in fulfilling this vitality first agenda.
So we now have a deeper knowledge of the impact of food and nutrition and what it does to our health and how it makes us feel.
And wellbeing has evolved away from restrictive practices to a balance between health and hedonism without compromise.
All in the name of improved vitality, so.
This greater perception of, of health has been fueled by technology, by trackers, AI assistance, as as science, so that greater understanding which is emerging, whether it be from microbiome or nutrition and molecular, elements of food.
So all of these advances have combined to allow us to make better choices, and ultimately allowing us not only to live longer but actually to live better lives for longer as.
And taste is a key component in this scenario where consumers are unwilling to compromise.
They want to live life to the fullest.
They want to have the benefits of all of the functional foods that they're they're consuming, but they don't want any of the compromises.
So let's get into what's leading us to this particular scenario.
So while it does, it, it may seem far out from a, a scenario perspective, there is a growing consumer proactivity towards health and wellness, driving growth for consumer health products as defined by the figures that you see here from Euromonitor as the aggregation of over the counter vitamins and dietary supplements, sports nutrition and weight management and wellbeing.
These are large and robust markets and the global consumer health market is projected to reach €400 billion by 2028, from 3 from 328 billion today.
So it is a significant rise, that we're seeing growing in this space.
We're seeing some of the and industry specific shifts that are leading us towards this phase, so 9 out of 10, consumers are looking for food and beverages with added health benefits that help them to achieve their health goal.
We're also seeing that half, or just under half, 49% of these consumers are agreeing that clinically backed or scientifically backed ingredients incentivize their purchase of 4.
And functional and that is becoming increasingly important as consumers have more information at their fingertips, and becoming more informed and educated on some of those spaces as.
And overall we're seeing a 3.9% growth in the annual launches of supplements between 2022 and 2023.
So all of these kind of driving towards what we're seeing around consumer proactivity towards health.
Over the past 5 years in particular, when we look at some of our own research at Kerry and some of our research partners as , we've illustrated or we've seen a move towards a world where science and nature are colliding.
Again, something we have seen through our Future lens research as.
And ultimately what this gives rise to is vitality unlocked, where consumers are seeking a balanced upgrade to the food and drink they consume.
Combining the evidence, granted by research and science that establishes the trust, which is critical with the familiar feel-good pleasure associated with nature's bounty.
So all of that coming together into a space of, of vitality unlocked.
In today's market, consumer behavior has evolved significantly.
Although consumers are now less driven by a fear of illness, than they may have been, say, post COVID, they're more price sensitive and they continue to purchase health and wellness products.
Despite the price sensitive sensitivity, so interestingly they are willing to trade up for quality and value over the lowest priced options.
So we've kind of drilled into that in a bit more detail.
What, what do they mean by, by, you know, value in, in this particular market or in this particular context.
So consumers are prioritizing the, the products that align with their needs, and wants, so not just the lowest price point.
And it underscores an importance for health and wellness brands to really understand what drives value.
So beyond the obvious of health benefits and, you know, some of the, the other pieces that are coming through, we need, consumers want products that taste good.
59% of them, in fact, which is crucial also for a repeat purchase.
So they also seek ingredients that are real and authentic, in achieving their health goals, highlighting the importance of authentic in taste.
So taste really is key here in this market.
And while price sensitivity is a factor, the demand for quality, for value and authenticity and health and wellness products remains strong.
And actually what is crucial here is that taste is, , really, really important in shaping positive value perceptions for those consumers as.
So we've gone into, to the, the NPD that's happening in this space.
We've had a look at what that is doing globally, and some of the themes that we've observed when it comes to, you know, vitality unlocked, to functional foods and the role that taste has to play are represented, and we're gonna dive into those in a bit more detail, one by one now.
So, first up is, Blurred Lines.
So if we If you look at this particular space, you know, the, the distinction between, dietary supplements and traditional food is really blurring in this space, and consumers are increasingly looking for the food that they consume to also achieve their specific health goals, that they would have otherwise have, have looked for in supplements in, in times gone by.
Consumers have now more options to compare.
Essentially, their repertoire is a lot broader than if they were just buying into a functional space.
And this theme is driven by a demand for convenience, for holistic nutrition, with consumers favoring food formats over pills, and brands are innovating with functional products that provide both nourishment, and targeted health benefits as.
If we look at some of the products that are popping up in the market all around the world, which kind of bring this theme to life, the first one is from Just Legends in Germany, and they offer a tasty performance boost.
And essentially what they've done is they've clashed energy drinks, they've clashed supplements, they've clashed carbonated drinks, and what What they have is a range of products that are really tasty, Yuzu dragon fruit, strawberry, raspberry, but also they contain no sugar, and they, they have a functional element to them.
So it's about giving the consumer a performance boost in a, in a format that's really tasty and really good from their perspective.
The other example is from Japan, and it's a, a sensory boost, and that is essentially a, a carbonated soft drink, which has Gaba and L-theanine and hemp seed extract, which supports the consumer to relax, and chill out, as you see very clearly called out on the pack, again without having to compromise on taste.
It's the two elements coming together and really I suppose blurring that line of what's expected, from a consumer perspective in this space.
The next theme that we're, we're seeing is, sorry, let me start that again.
So the second theme that we're seeing is functional pleasure.
So consumers are increasingly seeking supplements that support wellbeing without sacrificing on their enjoyment.
So they want products that are convenient, that offer health benefits, and still provide a satisfying experience.
So I think we're all familiar as consumers that that is a nice place to be, when it comes to the food.
Beverage products that we're consuming.
So, what we're seeing coming through is, you know, tasty vitality becoming a, a key element here for consumers as they look for foods, for supplements, for, products that not only deliver the nutrients but also taste good and are easy to use, such as, you know, vitamin gummies or functional drinks mixes.
At the same time, there is an element of excitement that consumers want here as .
Consumers desiring those enjoyable experiences, so innovative flavors and formats are really important here, while still meeting their health goals.
And lastly, I think that whole element of taste therapy, combining pleasure with wellness, where supplements are both comforting and effective, offering clear benefits without any unpleasant taste surprises, which is, you know, something that we see, across the board.
But some of the examples that we see, again, the, the.
First couple that I've here on the left hand side is, is Emu from Prepare Your Mind or PYM it is from the US and essentially they're made with a daptogens, and really I suppose supports the consumer to relax, to unwind, and also shows that it's not just limited to beverage.
There's a lot of stuff happening.
In the space around, you know, sweets and, and candy, that can help consumers to, to really relax, to, to get a functional piece, but also at the same time having a positive taste experience.
And then this example from Japan, called Sleepy Chocolates, or Gaba for sleep, is, is really fascinating, to be honest.
I, I, I was really.
Really intrigued when I saw this particular one popping up, essentially containing lots of different elements, which allowed the consumers to alleviate stress, and really to, to support, some, for those consumers to kind of relax, unwind before bed, through having a, a really tasty chocolate, which sounds, sounds quite cool from my perspective, to be honest.
And then our third theme that we're going to get into is this idea of personalization.
So today's consumer, they really expect personalization in all aspects of their lives, including functional nutrition.
And I think younger consumers and Gen Z in particular, which we hear so much about these days, are demanding more than just the functional benefit.
They want nutrition tailored to their own unique lifestyles, their own health goals, and their own preferences as , and that's not even just from a nutrition perspective, it's from a taste perspective as.
So to stand out, brands must embrace these personalization theme that's coming through by offering customized supplement regimens, mix and match ingredients, or adaptive packaging for busy lifestyles.
And this approach helps brands build deeper connections with customers.
Consumers as , fostering loyalty, by making each of them feel personally understood.
So success in this market is, is not just about ingredients but delivering them in a way that aligns with the individual needs and the aspirations of the consumers that we're trying to target.
The two examples that I've brought to life here, the first one is from the UK, so it's from, Vittle, and essentially they're using, or what they've positioned it as better technology.
So they've added DNA testing, to their personalized micronutrient line.
So essentially, You do a DNA test, which is also, combined with a, a blood test in some instances.
It's reviewed by a nutritionist, and essentially it makes, you know, personalized recommendations to consumers based on, you know, posting that back and then, and sharing it back out with them.
The other example is from South Africa, and, it's called tailored vitalix.
So again, you know, achieving personal goals like immunity, like digestive health, they essentially create evidence-based tailor-made dietary supple.
For consumers that are made to order, and, they've actually recently expanded to offer customized solutions for children as , all based on blood and DNA tests combined.
So again, some interesting pieces that we're seeing coming through from a market point of view as.
So when we consider the world of the consumer then and I suppose what's really driving the consumer and shaping this future of functional foods and, and the benefits that they want to achieve, I think going back to what we discussed at the earlier part of the presentation, you know, our macro environment, the pressures that are on our system, particularly our health systems, is having a spectrum of impact across our markets.
Some consumers are staging larger changes in their shopping behavior.
Some are, I suppose, looking for.
More dietary and supplements, in their foods.
But consumers overall are more aware of their health and they want to manage it proactively.
So it's linked back to a cultural force that we see around invigorating wellbeing, which is a, a massive macro force driving, you know, consumers towards that proactive health.
Consumers in this space are looking for products that meet a specific health goal, so improved immunity, better digestion, enhanced mental clarity, for example.
There's also a growing demand for products that are sustainably sourced and contain natural authentic ingredients, so they're looking for transparency in the sourcing and production of their food and beverages and.
There are also drivers coming to the fore with ingredient quality more important now than ever and science backed ingredients as consumers become more aware and more educated in this space.
I think the whole idea around kind of convenience and on the go nutrition is really key here as as our lives become busier, and that driving, the need for convenient.
Ready to eat products that still offer functional benefits, and I think there's lots of generations where often like meals are blurring or meal times are blurring, but at the same time, consumers still need their protein, their micronutrient intake, so you see items like, you know, protein bars, ready to drink beverages, functional snacks all popping up on the shelf all the time.
I think the key to all of these is, is taste.
Taste is king, particularly in the functional and fortified space which has expanded into nearly all categories now at this point.
And again, going back to that point where because there's a broader range of products within the consumer's repertoire, it means that that scrutinization is much bigger.
So consumers are unwilling to compromise.
We've also took a look at the some of the data from a, a product sales perspective as , and according to Nielsen's IQ Global wellness report, we're seeing 30% of consumers now seeking out lower sugar when buying food and beverage, which is up 3 points from a year ago, and it does differ by region, as, as , of course, but really I suppose that drive towards sugar alternatives really increasing in popularity from a consumer perspective as , so, you know, stevia.
Agave, monk fruit, natural sources really are are what consumers are, are looking for in this, in this space.
Ultimately I, I do want to sum up on a, on a, on a point from our experts that we, we spoke to from a future lens perspective within Vitality Unlocked and even just from a broader perspective in, in, in the industry as.
You know, Tony Hunter is a food futurist saying the biggest impact on what we eat will be the personalization of our diets.
As we continue to explore our genetics, our microbiome, we'll come to understand just how individual we are in our nutritional responses to food.
But actually, one of the other quotes that really stood out to me when I was doing, putting together this presentation was from Mark David, an author and founder of the Institute for Psychology of Eating, saying nourishment is not just about nutrition.
Nourishment is the nutrients in the food, the taste, the aroma, the ambience of the room, the conversation at the table, the love, the inspiration, the cooking.
And the joy of the entire eating experience and I think that's really key in the space to get right, consumers want the whole package.
So that's it for my piece.
I'll now pass you over to Alex Wu, who will talk you through a deep taste modulation deep dive.
Thank you.
Thank you, David.
This is Alex.
Thanks for coming.
So, how do you make better foods for positive nutrition?
So, one of the ways is taste modulation.
So I wanna, talk about, taste modulation as a field and this, neuroscience Foundation and the enabling ingredient technology that make it all possible.
So I want to have this summary in 6 parts.
I want to start with basic concepts.
So taste modulation is a technology field that's composed of taste modulator ingredients.
As a class, they are usually tasteless.
But for a reason I will explain, under 5 different mechanisms, they can make basic taste either higher, lower, or somewhat.
Change, in temporal profile through, understanding of contemporary taste and smell neuroscience.
In recent years, the, the science in neuroscience has enabled or understanding of flavor is really a cross-modal, across, integration of all five senses, taste, smell, sight, sound, and touch.
And any one of these, other senses can be used to modulate basic taste like sweetness.
So what are the 5 basic mechanisms?
Flavor detection at the receptors in your mouth and nose and the flavor perception in the brain is really one of the most important fundamental mechanism applied, to all, taste modulation.
Cross-modal correspondence refers to the integration of cross-hand saltiness in sodium reduction.
And mixture suppression refers to in the five basic tastes.
One taste under the correct, concentration and condition can suppress another taste.
And this is the fundamental, mechanism that we leverage for using sweetness to mask bitterness.
Perceptual constancy is a, a neuropsychology phenomenon that we can translate and into actionable formulation technique called layering of sugar.
So sweetness modulator technology map is here.
We have basically 9 different techniques that you can use to make sweeter.
Without sugar or make high potency sweeter, sweetener tastes more like sugar.
So I will not have time to talk about Pam, which is to make things sweeter, asthmalite, which is to cut lingering, or mouthful agent to give you back the sugar mouthful.
I do want to talk about the two most commonly used and the cheapest way of making things sweeter without, without sugar, which is sweet aroma and FMP.
So, nothing is easier.
Or more cost-effective than using sweet aroma as a way to modulate sweetness.
So, prior, association and cross-modal integration between taste and smell, what's the mechanism.
So when we sense a sweet, aroma in the nose, we think there's something sweeter in our mouth, and, molasses distillate is one way to do this.
When we distill molasses, what comes over with the steam.
Are these 5 compound fro alcohol called phenols.
All of them are, , FEMA aroma chemicals.
They smell sweet, sugary, honey.
Caramel.
So a 65 ppm as consumer of this, distillate will give you 1 to 2% bricks, which is about 25% increase of any sweetener.
It can be sugar, it can be iristotol, it can be stevia.
So sweet aroma is one of the way I would like to talk and, and ask you to, consider.
The next one is, FMP.
Flavoring with modifying property is a class of compound themselves is tasteless under the FEMA limit, but they serve to enhance the flavor, primarily and they enhance the sweetness as a side benefit, in beverages and food.
So, there are more than 30 of these, FMPs.
I'm listing here the three best ones.
GSG is the first one.
These are, enzymatically modified stevia glycoside.
As you add more glucose to the stevia glycoside, it becomes less and less sweet and eventually not sweet, but highly water-soluble.
Under FEMA 4728, the most famous one, and under 175 ppm itself is tasteless, but it enhanced the sweetness by about 25%.
And RAM is the second example, , a few, FEMA number depending on how it's made.
This 4922 is made by farming and extraction, and a, and a lowly 24 PPM is tasteless, but it makes other, things sweeter, and labeled as natural flavor just like GST.
Allulose below 2% under FEMA 4897 is another FMP.
But it also served as asthmalite cutting the linger and it's also labeled as natural flavor.
So FMP is actually a controversial area.
I would like to suggest that if you use FMP be very careful to follow all FEMA guidelines.
There's 3 publications over the years, , covering the do's and don'ts.
And you cannot combine two of them, you can only pick one and use them.
So, the second, topic of taste modulation is saltiness modulation.
So how do you make things saltier without sodium chloride?
There are 4 ways you can do this.
I only want to talk about using umami to enhance salty.
Earlier, I talked about prior association, which is two senses together, if you see one later on, you call up the other.
So umami is another basic taste like saltiness.
There are two different receptors, but Umami is the least understood and the most underutilized sodium reduction or salt enhancement technique.
So, Umami is.
Best delivered through clean label ingredients that's high in glutamate.
It can be yeast extract, it can be, Tomato, like I'm showing here, mushroom, these are all natural extract that are high in glutamate, which is the, the compound responsible for umami, which is delicious.
And in Asian, cuisine that are more flavor congruent, you can also use, seaweeds and miso and other plant material either extracted or fermented that are high in glutamate.
I cannot talk about salt, salt enhancement without talking about kakumi.
Kakumi salty also come prior association congruent.
So higher kokumi, higher salty.
So umami is delicious, kakumi is rich.
It's that sensation of the slow-cooked stew and the highly aged cheese.
So there are 3 things that, that we know that deliver hykakumi throughout tripepeptides.
The one on the left is the most potent one, glutamic valen glycine.
The one in the middle, glu , it's a, it's a similar, it's a glutamic cysteine glycine, which is also called glutathione.
They, like the third one, newly discovered, chloride salt, they all trigger calcium sensing receptor and give you kakumi.
Which is not a taste but a sense, it's a sensation.
So high kokumi, high saltiness, two ways of making things saltier, umami and kokumi.
So let's move into other, better for you food for positive nutrition and how do you make them taste better.
So, zero calorie, not zero calorie, zero alcohol, alcoholic drink is very trendy with millennials.
So, ethanol is a sort of a magical ingredient just like sugar.
It's multifunctional.
So ethanol at high concentration, actually people will think it's sweet.
And at low concentration, some people will think it's bitter depending on their test to are 38.
Bitterness receptor mutation and everybody knows that and will rate ethanol at any concentration to be warming.
So, Matching the ethanol taste is like, I don't think anybody in the world can claim it's, it, they cracked the code, but you can come close of creating this, experience, as exciting.
And rewarding as ethanol.
So I have these hypothesis that, for example, you can simulate the ethanol bitterness through other bitter compound like glucosamphenolate, which is the bitter compounds in kale and broccoli, and it triggered the same test2R3A bitterness receptor as ethanol.
And the, the, the trigeminal part.
Don't use, heating agent.
Use a low warming agent like cinnamonaldehyde in cinnamon.
So on the right-hand side, I'm lumping all vitamins and protein, fibers, and many functional ingredients all under what I call supplement here broadly.
So supplements are known to be, having off flavor and off taste.
So if there's an off odor, you can remove, reduce mass and block them.
If there's of taste in the area of bitterness, then this is where I want to talk about the last and the, and the, and the last and the next section, which is how do you make bitter foods that are better for you but taste better?
So, bitterness is detected by 26 bitterness receptors in human out of 40 in our mouth.
It has two major features.
One is called broadly tuned.
So this means one receptor can be turned on by multiple bitter rents.
So, for example, test 2R14 can be turned on by 150 bitter compounds.
The other feature is many on many mode, which means one bitterant like caffeine.
Can turn on multiple receptors like 5 of them, and sucrose can turn on 10 of them.
So that was on receptors on the bitterin or bitta compounds that neuroscientists call agonists.
We know there's like to animals, there's 1000 beta compounds in the world.
To human, there's about 100, more than 100.
Bitter compounds, in nature, basically in our foods, not counting the artificial ones.
And, bitter compound tends to be low molecular weight, hydrophobic compounds that binds to the bitterness receptor loosely.
So, so bitter.
Blocker There, I estimated there are about 30 of them in the, in, in nature.
The bat, the 10 best ones are listed here in this technology map and they can be from From a lemon like citronello, they can be, from yeast like mask 101.
It can be from mushroom, like your IQ.
It can be naringinine, from grapefruit, the AMP from milk.
What I I do want to talk about are the most effective one and cost-effective and functionally effective one.
Sugar cane distillate is the first one.
So, sugarcane distiller is not molasses distillate, but it's distilled from sugarcane waste product, the leaves and the stalks.
When you do that, what come over with the steam are a whole bunch of Leaf compounds, but amongst them, there are 5 billionous blocker like cyclocitril, dimensinone, phenylethyl alcohol, which is rosy, and the last two, alcohol are mushroomy.
These are all aroma chemical, but they are present at very low concentration.
So in some way, we don't fully understand.
They don't work in the nose, but they work in the mouth.
And serve as bitterness blocker and make a variety of bitter compound less bitter, including stevia, caffeine, chlorogenic acid in coffee, theobroomine in chocolate, and, it does as a female number 4816 and 500 ppm or less will effectively make things less bitter, and the label is natural flavor.
So, the next and the last.
Compound is 13-propanediol.
This is an isomer of PG, which is 1-2 propandiol.
It's approved under FEMA as a flavor solvent, but recently, it's found to be , a bitterness blocker and a sweetness enhancer moderately.
And it is, as opposed to PG which is artificial.
This 13 propane diol is made through fermentation, so it's considered natural.
It has a FEMA number as a flavor solvent, and the solubility is high and you can use it as part of your compounded flavor for Bitterness-blocking functions.
So, what is defined by me as, what are the key points, what do they mean to you, and what can you do about them?
This is the last slide.
So I talked about the 5 different mechanisms enabling us to understand and design taste modulator for 3 things, sweetness enhancement, saltiness enhancement, And bitterness blocker.
So what that means is nowadays, the clean label sugar reduction and salt reduction is definitely possible through these natural bitterness, or, in general, natural taste modulators, all of them are labeled as natural flavor.
So what can you do about them is in creating flavor or creating beverages that reduce sugar?
Try the sweet aroma, try the FMP.
They definitely two out of the best.
And when you're working on salt reduction, increasing the salt perception, now with KCL I recommend you to try umami and kakumi in natural form like vegetable extract.
And the third and last point that you can do is if you're working on bitterness blocker, definitely start with the, sugar can distillate and 13 propandiol.
The lowest cost in use and effective.
So That's what I have and happy to answer question later on at the end.
So, Catherine, take it away.
Thank you.
Thank you, David and Alex, for your great insight.
Hi everyone, I'm Katherine Chesky, a senior scientist for our global taste innovation team.
I began as an intern at CARY 6 years ago, fascinated by flavor modulation, I quickly learned all the complexities and challenges that exist in this realm.
The taste innovation team plays a crucial role in researching and developing novel compounds and in close collaboration with our flavorists, creating carey taste sense modulators to enable healthier and more nutritionally sustainable products that taste great.
The development of taste modulators begins with focusing in on a specific taste challenge, whether that's masking, mouthfeel, or flavor enhancement.
Expert research scientists identify key flavor compounds from natural sources.
A method for extraction by means of green technologies determined to obtain the compound of interest in the highest purity and abundance.
Once the taste modulator has been isolated and created, it is sensorily evaluated in simple base solutions, and in parallel, screened by regulatory.
Food regulations are very complex around the world, which pose a hurdle when trying to identify and creating new materials.
After flavor modulation capabilities and sustainability are confirmed, flavors build a complete flavor tool to be sold commercially.
As stated previously by David, consumers are leaning hard into proactive health and nutrition, but not wanting to compromise on taste.
Now, I'd love to dive in and give specific case study examples of how we are developing novel ingredients to combat these taste challenges.
My focus will be on 3.
Sodium reduction, masking bitterness, and creating nutritionally optimized and sustainable non-animal based fats.
In my first case study, I will focus on how innovation is addressing sodium reduction from the molecular perspective.
High sodium diets contribute to 1.89 million deaths annually.
Innovation's focus is to develop sodium reduction solutions that lower sodium levels without compromising on taste and improving the overall nutrition of foods.
Sodium reduction in snacks, soups, and sauces are a major challenge in the final project.
Reducing the salt in these foods has a major impact on the taste, texture, and mouthfeel.
Existing solutions in taste modulation market use different minerals like potassium, magnesium, calcium, or zinc, but these can add bitterness, sourness, or astringency rather than just the pure salty attribute sought after.
It is imperative to research and develop novel compounds that can enhance salty perception without bringing any of these flavor off notes to the final food and beverage product.
Innovation is addressing salt perception from the molecular perspective.
As Alex mentioned, it is possible now to isolate molecules that directly affect the taste receptors on our tongues.
To obtain these molecules of interest, we attack the challenge in two parts.
First, we identify the molecules through literature, research, or chromatography.
And second, we developed the best method to get the compound of interest in highest abundance by the most cost-effective means, and of course sustainably.
To begin, the molecules of interest known to have salt perception enhancement capabilities must be identified.
Scientists are able to refer back to existing literature and use technologies such as liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry to identify and monitor the abundance of the compound in different raw materials.
Once a raw material containing the compound of interest is decided upon, the next step is to source it.
While it is very important to develop unique and highly effective salt enhancement tools, it's equally as important to find a sustainably sourced raw material that contains this compound.
Clean label investigation is required, ensuring that the raw material is vegan, halal and kosher suitable, non-GMO derived, and potentially organic.
After the sustainably sourced raw material is confirmed suitable, the salt enhancing compound is isolated and concentrated.
Our sites are focusing on green technologies, offering various methods of extraction and isolation.
For example, applying physical separation via filtration or performing centrifugation.
Next, screening for efficacy in the salt enhancement compound is done in a simple application, such as a salted chip or a salt solution.
Innovation is even using a new adapted technology to assist with evaluating taste modulator impacts called Taste Station.
This novel taste technology is an automated sample delivery system.
It allows a rapid characterization of taste properties of liquid samples through a game-like interactive algorithm.
This allows sensory evaluations to be done in much less time, using less resources and confirming that the taste modulator works.
Following the confirmation.
Innovation scientists collaborate closely with flavorists to create a final flavoring solution.
Our creation teams work from a toolbox of essential building blocks.
These building blocks build precise flavor modulation keys that are able to address all three stages of salty perception, including the upfront salty impact, the middle saltiness, and the longevity.
These proprietary solutions allow us to push the boundaries in sodium reduction, achieving nearly 50% reduction in some applications without compromising on taste.
Identifying isolating salt-enhancing molecules from natural raw materials is a perfect example of using nature and science to optimize nutrition for consumers.
In my second case study, I would like to address how it is possible to utilize waste stream raw materials to develop innovative molecules for flavor modulation.
Now more than ever, food and beverages are being fortified with proteins, minerals, and functional ingredients.
These add offensive off-note such as bitterness, sourness, and it often changes the mouthfeel of the final products.
Innovation is searching to find new molecules to block offnotees such as bitterness and to expand our toolbox of building blocks for our recreation teams.
Novel flavor modulation molecules that Alex mentioned can exist not only in a wide variety of raw materials from natural botanical extracts, vegetables, fruits, and ferments, but it can also exist in byproduct valorization streams.
Side stream raw materials often go to waste and are discarded.
This is not only lost profits, but it adds to the waste in landfills, further contributing to pollution in our world.
Waste raw materials have the potential to be upcycled and be turned into unique, unique flavor modulators to address challenges such as masking off notes while promoting sustainability and maximizing use of the raw materials.
Our innovation team is working on just this.
For example, a very common waste stream raw material today is spent coffee grounds.
It is estimated that annually 60 million tons of spent coffee grounds globally are generated, and most of it is being sent to landfills.
It's essential to determine an environmentally friendly, efficient, and low-cost method to upcycle and create useful taste modulators.
The process for unlocking the potential begins with analysis of the composition of the spent coffee grounds.
What kind of beneficial molecules for taste modulation could it contain?
We refer to existing literature, collaborate with experts, and perform analytics to discover its potential.
Next, we extract, aiming to isolate the molecules of interest.
In this instance, with spent coffee grounds, an alkaline hydrogen peroxide or AHP treatment can be performed to separate the raw, wasted raw material into two components.
From SCGs alone, we have successfully isolated two different interesting compounds that can enrich our building block portfolio.
One is effective in masking bitterness, which could be incorporated into a final flavor in a functionally ingredient fortified beverage, and the other, a potentially ideal natural derived flow agent or carrier for spray drying.
As David mentioned, supplements and functionals are trending right now in the market.
In developing maskers to reduce functional ingredient off notes, the consumers are not only able to enjoy the health benefits, but they're also able to enjoy the taste.
Innovation consistently works towards identification of molecules to enable creation of better tasting, nutritionally fortified food and beverage.
All derived from a completely natural and sustainably supporting waste stream raw material.
My last and final case study will be addressing flavor modulation from a different perspective.
Instead of extracting molecules of interest from material or waste stream materials, innovation has made it possible to formulate blocks to address flavor challenges.
This example focuses on uniquely constructed fat blocks.
Regulation and local nutritional guideline, guidelines around high salt, sugar, and fat are reshaping industry norms.
Furthermore, demands for health-conscious products and tailored nutrition has intensified.
Brands are expected to produce better for people foods that don't compromise on taste.
Fat reduction is an up and coming focus to improve the nutrition of food.
Additionally, companies are creating plant-based that are removing animal fat completely.
Removing or lessening animal fat has a major impact on the flavor and mouthfeel of these food products.
Plant-based meat, sorry.
Plant-based meat products, for example, lack authentic tallow fatty flavor and typically contain high amounts of palm and coconut oil to make up for this.
This is not only decreasing the dietary value, adding unhealthy saturated fats, but it's also contributing to adverse environmental impacts.
Today, the palm oil production negatively impacts ecosystems and species due to deforestation.
Coconut oil, while slightly more environmentally friendly, has regulatory issues regarding allergens.
It is critical to create non-palm and non-coconut-based innovative ingredients that are able to mimic animal fat's physiochemical and taste properties.
This will allow fat reduction of saturated and animal-based fats while not impacting molecular taste.
To combat this challenge, innovation has made it possible to formulate unique fat blocks.
Material science methodologies are applied to understand the textural, thermal, and chemical properties of the animal fats.
This, in combination with reaction chemistry and close collaboration with sensory and analytical scientists, fat blocks can be developed from natural and sustainable sources.
Innovation research scientists begin the process to match the animal fat, for example, a beef tallow, by examining both the chemical property and the physical properties of it.
The chemical properties of the animal fat can be analyzed using gas chromatography to understand its flavor components.
Its physical properties are analyzed using differential scanning calorometry or tribology to analyze melting points and correlating tribology data to actual mouth field perception.
All information is brought together to select ingredients that contain the specific properties identified to formulate a completely new fat tool that can match the meltability, mouthfeel, and even authentic fatty flavor of real animal fat.
Once the animal-free fat block is created, flavors build the final taste modulator.
These complete modulators have capabilities to amplify fat perception while reducing the amount of overall fat in the product.
In addition, flavors can add top notes that create greater fatty type flavor, allowing consumers to have sustainable animal-free food products that are nutritionally optimized and of course, taste great.
In summary, from identifying salt-enhancing molecules, creating masking compounds through utilizing waste stream materials, and mimicking animal fat, we will continue to evolve our portfolios to tackle some of the world's most vital food and health challenges.
Our modulation portfolio is the tool that enables and empowers us to bring positive nutrition to billions of people globally.
With the ability to reduce salt and sugar while maintaining saltiness and sweetness, replicating full-bodied mouthfeel and muting off notes.
It is a continuous journey as consumers are looking for products that not only offer health benefits, but also taste good.
Please join us as we craft together solutions that never compromise on the taste experience.
I appreciate your attention and I would love to answer questions at the end.
Thank you.
A big thanks to our speakers for their insightful presentations.
Once again, this is William Bradford Nichols from Nutrition Insight, and I'll now host a Q&A session with our experts.
Some great questions have already been submitted, so let's get started.
David, I believe this first question would be for you.
One of our, customers or viewers says, how can a consumer perception of positive nutrition changed in recent years and what role does taste modulation play in this shift?
Yeah, I think that's a, a great question.
I always like the, what we've seen through the data, through observing consumer behavior is that the whole perception of, of positive nutrition has, has evolved significantly in, in previous years.
There's a growing understanding, firstly, of, ingredients and scientific developments, which is leading to a much clearer picture of, of health.
So consumers are becoming more proactive about their health.
They're driving demand for functional foods.
For beverages, for supplements in that space.
So they, they believe it's important to prioritize their physical and mental -being, which is increasingly being aided by measurable data, by personalized data that's specific to them and their bodies.
So it's driven by, I suppose, those top-down forces that are shaping consumers' behaviors, their attitudes, and we also see it through our Future Lens program where, you know, it, it, we're envisaging that scenario of vitality unlocked.
We're really, every macro force is really pushing us towards a space where, you know, it's, it's about people who want to live better lives for longer.
They don't want to have any compromise.
There's no such thing as restrictive practices in that future.
So, everything within that space, so, macro shifts, public policy, measurable body trackers, technology, is influencing the emergence of that scenario.
So, a significant 86% of, of people, as we would have seen in the presentation, are really.
Prioritizing their physical and mental -being, and that ongoing, I suppose, you know, proliferation of, of health into a broader sense is continuing to drive forward and within that taste modulation plays a critical role because, you know, it encourages, firstly, the initial trial of the product, because if it tastes good, that's great, but also the repeat consumption of that of, of that consumer's favorite product.
So, it's a, a key driver as in, in shaping the value perception of.
Of products too.
So consumers are really looking for products that not only offer them their health needs, but also, taste good.
So it's, it's really the, the and consumer as we refer to it in Kerry, which is, you know, not always easy to meet for sure.
They're, they're tricky, but I think, you know, some of the, the evidence that's presented by, by our speakers has, has really kind of showed that, you know, taste modulation is kind of driving forward and supporting the consumer to be able to achieve it all.
All right, thank you, David.
That's great.
Alex, I believe this next one would be for you.
One of our viewers says, on bitterness blockers, can you talk about another one similar to AMP?
Yeah, so AMP is a good one, you know, is, denoting monophosphate.
It's a nucleotide similar to the IMP and GMP.
Structurally, they're very similar, but functionally they're very different.
As many of you, you know that the IMP and GMP are umami boosters.
Whereas, AMP, which are, like the, the reaction product from the IG, are bitterness blocker.
It is one of the earliest reported natural bitterness blocker found in nature, like in milk, and, we're not too sure.
How it blocks, but it's probably blocking gastin within the bitter taste cells, not at the receptor and not downstream.
It's inside the cells and It, it may be the reason that we, when we add milk to coffee, the coffee become less bitter.
We not only have a little bit of lactose, through Bitterness masking through mixture suppression, but also, the naturally present the AMP in milk may be blocking the taste cell translation inside the cell, directly.
So both bitterness masking and bitterness blocking delivered by something like milk, we add, but we probably do not necessarily know why, but it, it is last bitter.
Because of the AMP that has been reported.
Thank you for the question.
Thank you, fascinating.
We have time for one more, and I think, Catherine, this will be for you.
One of our viewers ask or says organic is such a huge up and coming push.
Is it possible that these taste modulators can be made organic?
Oh yes.
Hi.
Great question.
Yeah, absolutely.
Organic is a huge push and our focus right now for our innovation team at Current is doing just that.
We have a lot of existing blocks already in our flavor modulation toolbox, but we are really looking right now into creating an organic version of each one.
Since the taste modulators are already developed from raw materials, as long as we can source a sustainably, or, or an organic sustainably sourced raw material, we can work closely with farmers, organic vendors, and we can develop the flavor modulators from that.
It may take some reformulation, but our expert scientists are really able to accommodate for this.
So, to answer your question, yes, 100%, organic is possible for all of these flavor modulators.
Thank you for that great question.
Thank you.
Great to know.
Unfortunately, that's all the time we have for today.
For further insights on taste modulation and positive nutrition, feel free to visit KAI Health and Nutrition Institute's website at ww.kHNI.cari.com.
I'd like to thank today's speakers, speakers for sharing their insights and offer a big thank you to all of our viewers around the world for joining us today.
Goodbye for now.
Founder and CEO W2O
Insights Manager Kerry
RD and A Scientist Taste Innovation
Alex Woo PhD
Founder and CEO W2O
David Deeley
Insights Manager Kerry
Katherine Ceschi
RD and A Scientist Taste Innovation
William Bradford Nichols
Platform Editor
William Bradford Nichols
Platform Editor
Alex Woo PhD
Founder and CEO W2O
David Deeley
Insights Manager Kerry
Katherine Ceschi
RD and A Scientist Taste Innovation
William Bradford Nichols
Platform Editor
