Glutamate

Description

Sodium salt of glutamic acid, which is found in many natural foodstuffs (plants, algae, meat).

Glutamate arises through the breakdown of proteins (hydrolysis) and is responsible, for example, for the flavour-enhancing effect of seasonings or seasoning sauces.

Other salts of glutamic acid exist and also are approved as flavour enhancers (E 621-625).

Application

Sodium glutamate has the property to fortify weak, pre-existing salty or sweet flavours and to suppress the undesirable sour or bitter components of a taste.

• It is primarily applied in savoury food products such as ready-to-eat soups, convenience products, conserves of meat , fish or vegetables and snacks such as potato chips.

Gene technology

Glutamates are produced from glutamic acid in a variety of industrial processes. In recent years, biotechnological processes have gained in significance.

• It may be assumed that genetically modified micro-organisms (Corynebacterium glutamicus) have been used in the manufacture of glutamic acid. Global market leaders in the production of glutamic acid are Japanese concerns. With regard to the organisms and the genetic processing used in Japanese production, no details are known globally.
• As is the case with all fermentation processes, the employed micro-organisms utilise specific nutrients. Examples of such may be starch or glucose from maize, which may stem from genetically modified plants.

Labelling: Additives that have been produced with the aid of genetically modified micro-organisms in closed systems need not be llabelled as such, provided that the additive is question has been purified and contains no micro-organisms.

If the employed micro-organisms have received nutrient materials (substrate) from genetically modified plants, the additive remains exempt from labelling.