Food & Beverage Asia February/March 2024

More documents

Recommendations

Info

A new approach to umami: Delivering the “fifth taste” the affordable way from Asian cuisine. However, growing numbers of food manufacturers in Asia are now seeking to reduce or remove MSG content, and there is a clear need for new approaches to create umami taste. HEALTH AND AFFORDABILITY: THE TWIN DRIVERS FOR GLUTAMATE REDUCTION While MSG is a familiar ingredient in Asian food products, there is a growing impetus to deliver umami in different ways. This is being driven by two broad concerns: cost and health. A “toolbox” strategy for umami taste creation can help food manufacturers in Asia find alternatives to MSG, and create healthier and more affordable products, according to IFF. Umami is an elusive character. Translated literally as the “essence of deliciousness”, it is the taste of amino acid glutamate sometimes defined as “the fifth taste”, and sometimes as a pleasant savoury flavour that is hard to pinpoint. Moreover, there are several aspects to the perception of umami, including the onset of its taste, its long-lastingness, and its impact on the performance of other flavouring ingredients added to food products. “What has increasingly become clearer now is that umami has long been a crucial component of a range of food dishes across the Asia-Pacific region,” said Jos Muilwijk, global innovation marketing lead for culinary and snacks at IFF. Umami can be derived from meat, mushrooms, salmon, soy or green tea. He further stated: “In recent years, of course, the main commercial source of umami has been monosodium glutamate (MSG) – the sodium salt in glutamic acid – of which China now is both the world’s largest consumer and producer.” 1 The umami effect of MSG is enhanced by the addition of ribo-nucleotides – or I&Gs – found also in food ingredients “The cost of the ingredients necessary to produce glutamate have soared since the pandemic, as have the costs of yeast and other sources of savoury flavours such as yeast, onion and tomato powder,” said Muilwijk. Meanwhile, globally governments and regulators are taking tougher approaches, such as Turkey announcing MSG to be harmful and not to be used in food production, or MSG being banned in children food in 50 European countries. Along with increasing numbers of health-focused consumers in Asia, Mintel also shared that in South East Asia, more than +177% new launches in seasoning and sauces were described with MSG reduction between 2019-2022. “This is a particular concern in the growing market for plant-based products, where a healthy positioning is often the key. These two very relevant market needs have accelerated activity in IFF's umami taste creation capabilities to enable our customers to respond successfully,” Muilwijk remarked 24 FOOD & BEVERAGE ASIA • FEBRUARY / MARCH 2024
INGREDIENTS NO MAGIC SOLUTION Unfortunately, there is no magic solution for either glutamate reduction or umami creation. Based on experience and the progress of science and technology, there have been improvements on the creation and production of a great chicken, tomato or strawberry flavour, but defining umami and delivering its capabilities are very different propositions. Furthermore, removing glutamate – especially if it features prominently in a formulation – can have a huge effect not just on the umami, but on the entire taste profile. Richard Cai, senior flavourist at IFF, explained that manufacturers looking for alternatives to MSG in the past had to turn to other ingredients containing glutamic acids, such as yeast and hydrolysed vegetable proteins. However, these do not deliver a clean taste, and there is no single ingredient that can reduce or replace the taste sensation of MSG. He shared: “The more IFF worked to overcome these challenges, and to produce highly concentrated umami taste solutions that would work for our customers, the more we realised that a highly sophisticated approach was required. Ultimately, what we created was a modular ‘umami toolbox’, with a wide range of solutions that can be deployed depending on the particular challenge. In doing so, we built on a wide range of existing IFF capabilities, including our flavour modulation technologies involving sodium reduction and our sugar reduction.” Cai further added: “With so much in our toolbox, we can achieve a virtually limitless number of different combinations. We’ll test thousands of different combinations to identify the right ratio and balance, taking a holistic approach that considers not just specific flavours, but also taste elements such as juiciness and savouriness.” food recipe. In other words, one requires an experienced technician with a wide range of taste solutions at their disposal. Cai revealed: “We wouldn’t have been able to create this taste ingredient toolbox without a huge amount of expertise. Our technology depends on a deep understanding of the biology of the taste receptors in the tongue – and how this knowledge is applied to screen potential ingredients – as well as the latest analytical and isolation techniques. We also draw heavily on the expertise of expert sensory panels, who are trained to evaluate taste. “Furthermore, consumer tastes aren’t set in stone. They don’t only vary from country to country, but they also change with time. Thus, to get it right, you need strong R&D infrastructure, flavour creation technology, and a deep understanding of consumer perceptions and market trends.” ONE SIZE DOES NOT FIT ALL Cai stresses on how throughout the process, customisation and flexibility are key. “First, there’s a huge variation between Asian markets and the kind of umami taste impact they want. In Indonesia, for example, consumers often like a lingering, lasting impact. In Vietnam, by contrast, they tend to be highly focused on the upfront impact, and to like the sweet element of umami. In China, they often want a more natural, meaty taste. And of course, the kind of product applications we’re working with vary a lot from country to country.” Second, all customers are different; it is not just about achieving great umami taste, but also the right umami taste for the product. “This depends on a strong working relationship – it requires strong collaboration where we do all the heavy lifting on the taste creation and validation, alongside a two-way dialogue with trust and transparency,” said Cai. achieve, which depends on the food recipe, the selling volume of this food product and the level of MSG that can be replaced.” The initial cost of switching to a reformulated recipe can be high; it might require a lot of resources, or a label change, or an ingredients list change, but this can pay dividends. “The key is the kinds of concentrations we can achieve with our very impactful Umami taste ingredients. The taste solutions we are able to create can be as much as 20 times stronger than MSG, and what’s more, we’re not using a lot of expensive commodity ingredients. In other words, we’re not just replacing MSG, but also other ingredients, like yeast. Then there are other relevant benefits too – for example, the potential for a cleaner label,” said Cai. THE FUTURE OF UMAMI As time goes on, the need for healthy, affordable, great-tasting food products, with labels that customers understand, will only grow. “The development of our toolbox has taught us how sophisticated umami solutions need to be, but also how much can be achieved with the right technology and expertise. But there’s also a need for further innovation to improve on what we have today. So, we’ll keep on improving our toolbox, and building on our expertise in areas like fermentation. By reflecting on the complexity of the ‘fifth taste’, creating and refining umami is therefore a neverending process,” concluded Muilwijk. FBA REFERENCES 1 Yu H, Wang R, Zhao Y, Song Y, Sui H, Wu Y, Miao H, Lyu B. Monosodium Glutamate Intake and Risk Assessment in China Nationwide, and a Comparative Analysis Worldwide. Nutrients. 2023 May 24;15(11):2444. doi: 10.3390/nu15112444. PMID: 37299405; PMCID: PMC10255718. The key then is the synergy between solutions and technologies – and the knowhow to combine them and deliver exactly the right solution for a specific customer CONCENTRATION LEADS TO COST SAVINGS Muilwijk added: “We’re always upfront about the kind of cost savings manufacturers can
Page 1 and 2: FEBRUARY / MARCH 2024 www.foodbever
Page 3 and 4: www.anugafoodtec.com International
Page 6 and 7: EDITOR’S NOTE Into the new world
Page 8 and 9: NEWS Kemin industries introduces ne
Page 10 and 11: NEWS Fazer launches limited edition
Page 12 and 13: MARKET INSIGHTS How food manufactur
Page 14 and 15: MARKET INSIGHTS The global ramifica
Page 16 and 17: MARKET INSIGHTS Navigating food fra
Page 18 and 19: Shaping the future of Malaysia's be
Page 20 and 21: BITING ISSUES Mintel Leap: New mark
Page 22: BITING ISSUES Vegetarians dissatisf
Page 25: order to know which methods were us
Page 29 and 30: INGREDIENTS Furthermore, scalabilit
Page 31 and 32: INGREDIENTS MAINTAINING MOBILITY Op
Page 33 and 34: INGREDIENTS growing consumer demand
Page 35 and 36: INGREDIENTS So why is it struggling
Page 37 and 38: Sesame bars on a production line, s
Page 39 and 40: ON THE TABLE connect with the new w
Page 41 and 42: ON THE TABLE In the US, the applica
Page 43 and 44: PROCESSING AND PACKAGING However, r
Page 45 and 46: PROCESSING AND PACKAGING McTaggart
Page 47 and 48: PROCESSING AND PACKAGING maintain v
Page 49 and 50: Together with Lubomir Neubauer, are
Page 51 and 52: PROCESSING AND PACKAGING processing
Page 53 and 54: PROCESSING AND PACKAGING addition,
Page 55 and 56: PROCESSING AND PACKAGING Additional
Page 57 and 58: Tosaf's new PFAS-free processing ai
Page 59 and 60: Processing & Packaging Success with
Page 61 and 62: Sidel has introduced EvoFILL PET, i
Page 63 and 64: International exhibitors and visito
Page 65 and 66: 9 - 12 5th Global Food Security Con
Page 67: Surpassing Growth to Enrich Indones

Food & Beverage Asia February/March 2024

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?