Givaudan focuses on umami for clean label taste enhancement

奇华顿关注符合清洁标签要求的UMAMI风味增鲜剂

By Caroline Scott-Thomas, 20-Aug-2009

Related topics: Artificial additives, Financial & Industry, Flavours and colours

Givaudan has developed a new range of flavour ingredients focusing on umami in order to allow manufacturers a clean label approach to flavour enhancement, the company says.

奇华顿公司近日宣称开发了一系列新的能够提供umami风味的添加剂，以满足制造商对风味增强剂的清洁标签要求。

Umami is one of the five taste sensations detectable by humans, together with sweet, bitter, salty and sour. It is the taste quality associated with several amino acids, especially the amino acid L-glutamate, and is described as a ‘hearty, savoury’ taste, playing a part in the profile of a number of foods, including meat, fish, vegetables and dairy products.

Umami 是5种人们能感知的滋味之一，其他四种是甜、苦、咸、酸。Umami的滋味特点与几种氨基酸成分，尤其是L-谷氨酸，它被形容是一种饱满可口的滋味，是很多食物包括肉，鱼，蔬菜和乳制品的呈味成分

As consumers are turning away from artificial additives, manufacturers have increasingly been looking for natural alternatives and Givaudan claims that removing flavour enhancers such as MSG (monosodium glutamate) is at the heart of this drive. However, removing flavour enhancers while retaining flavours that consumers find desirable presents significant challenges to manufacturers. 、

由于消费者正在逐步远离人工添加剂，制造商们越来越多的开始寻找天然的取代物同时去除一些风味增强剂如味精。然而在去除风味增强剂的同时又要保留令人人满意的味道，这是对制造商们的重要挑战。

Givaudan’s global head of its savoury division Andreas Haenni told FoodNavigator-USA.com: “In terms of taste, many customers consider umami and clean label enhancement to be as important as salt reduction – and for some customers, it is even more important.”

奇华顿风味业务的领导者说：“就味道而言，很多客户认为umami风味和清洁标签增强剂与降盐一样重要，对某些客户甚至更为重要。”

Understanding umami

The company says that it has discovered molecules associated with umami as part of its TasteSolutions programme, by analysing “traditional fermentation processes, cooking techniques and artisanal ingredients” from around the world. This research, as well as its research into taste perception, forms the basis for its new clean label ingredients.

奇华顿说他们已经发现了与umami相关联的分子，这个发现来自于味道解决项目的一部分研究成果，他们通过在世界范围内分析传统的发酵过程烹饪技术及手工产品成分。这项研究被纳入味道认知度的研究，组成了新的清洁标签成分的基础。

Givaudan’s EAME group leader for the culinary centre of expertise Matthew Walter said: “It is important to understand how the balance and harmony of taste affects the eating experience. Taste is not just about commonly used enhancers such as MSG or IMP/GMP [disodium inosinate/disodium guanylate] alone – it is a much more complex phenomenon. Understanding the contribution that other taste ingredients make and using them in the right balance is essential to creating deliciousness.”

奇华顿来自EAME小组专业烹饪中心负责人Matthew Walter说“理解平衡和协调味道对食用口感的影响很重要，味道不仅仅是和通常使用的增味剂如MSG和IMP/GMP有关，这是一个复杂的现象。理解其他呈味成分的作用以及正确的使用他们是创造美味的关键。

In addition to umami, Walter explained that Givaudan is also exploring the Japanese concept of kokumi, which refers to this balance and taste complexity, and the company creates blends of taste ingredients which it says provide better kokumi than the use of a flavour enhancer alone.

此外对于umami而言，Walter解释说奇华顿也探讨了日本的kokumi理念，这种理念揭示了这种平衡和味道的复杂性，奇华顿开发了一些呈味成分的混合物，据称这些成分能提供较其他单一风味增强剂更好的KOKUMI味道。

MSG

Controversy around MSG in particular has continued, even though the US Food and Drug Administration, the World Health Organization and the European Scientific Committee for Foods all agree that consumption of the ingredient at usual levels does not pose a health risk. But as many consumers still shun MSG as an undesirable additive, food manufacturers are complying by producing MSG-free foods.

对味精的争议还在继续，虽然美国FDA和世界卫生组织及欧洲食品科学委员会都认为适量的使用味精不会造成健康问题，但是很多消费者还是把它当作一种不受欢迎的产品而回避使用它，因此制造商不得不生产不含味精的产品来适应市场的需求。

A 1992 study carried out by the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology did identify symptoms which occurred among some people after consuming MSG-treated food, such as chest pain, headache, nausea, rapid heartbeat and drowsiness, but noted that these tended to be suffered after consuming (abnormally) large quantities of MSG.

1992年Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology进行的一项研究表明在一些食用味精的人群中出现了胸疼头疼恶心心跳加速和疲倦的症状，但是同时注意到是因为这些人过量食用了msg造成的。

However, a recent review by researchers from Scripps Clinic in San Diego report that, despite “anecdotal reports and small uncontrolled studies alleging a variety of MSG-induced reactions […] decades of research have failed to demonstrate a clear and consistent relationship between MSG ingestion and the development of these conditions” (Clinical & Experimental Allergy, May 2009, Vol. 39, pp. 640-646, A. N. Williams et al.).

然而，最近一份来自SanDiego Scripps Clinic的报道称，尽管很多传闻和不受控的研究宣称一系列味精引发的反应，但是数十年来的研究不能说明味精和这些情况有明显和必然的联系。
（文章转载自www.foodnavigator.com，作者：Caroline Scott-Thomas，译：张建）