Exploring taste perception

by Nick Vagnoni, Posted Jan 27th 2006 @ 12:09PM

Danisco, a Copenhagen, Denmark-based producer of food flavorings, sweeteners and other ingredients, is exploring how foods release flavors and how humans perceive them. According to a recent Food Navigator article, they're using a process called proton transfer reaction-mass spectrometry, or PTR-MS. The technology, developed in the mid-1990s, is also used to rapidly detect pollutants in air. The idea is to learn how different foods release their flavors as people chew, swallow and breathe, then use that information to develop or recreate other flavorings.

The flavorings that Danisco creates based on this information are known as "Commonsense Flavours." While Danisco has been working with their Commonsense Flavours for over a year, the PTR-MS information, taken primarily in the human nasal cavity, gives a better idea of how flavors are perceived by people, a Danisco release says. Basically, as I understand it, if you know what chemicals a strawberry releases when eaten, and how those levels rise and fall throughout the eating process, you have a better idea of how to design a synthetic strawberry flavoring to mimic that. I think.

Filed Under: Science
Tags: commonsense flavours, danisco, flavorings, northern europe, ptr-ms, sensation proton transfer reaction-mass spectrometry, taste