Flavours

Description

As a rule, the flavours that are found in nature are a mixture of a multitude of single compounds that often are very complex. There are circa 4,500 natural flavours known in foodstuffs. Prepared flavourings found on the market also mostly are comprised of several substances.

• Declaration: the list of ingredients of foodstuffs containing flavourings mostly declares only Flavour. This indicates that the flavouring in question also is found as a chemical compound in nature. Closer information on provenance, manufacture and raw materials is not included. Today, Flavour also encompasses the erstwhile common declaration of nature-identical flavour. When nature flavour explicitly is declared, the flavouring in question must come from natural components or be animal- or plant-derived
  In the EU, only 15 artificial flavours remain allowed. These must be identified as such on the list of ingredients.
• Approval: with the exception of artificial flavours, flavours do not require explicit approval. They may be applied freely under the general legal conditions of due diligence.

Application

Today, flavours are applied to countless foodstuffs, foremost in the case of processed foods and ready-to-eat products. Flavours are responsible for the taste and smell of a product, irrespective of the quantity and taste intensity of the ingredients that are used. Commercial flavours compensate for losses of flavour which occur during production and impart a typical, aromatic "profile" to products. Particularly in the case of ready-to-eat products, flavours must satisfy high demands such as being stable in microwave ovens or after being frozen and thawed.

• Today, the flavour industry disposes of a rich palette which encompasses thousands of flavours spanning all nuances. These flavours possess a variety of technical characteristics that are adapted to the product in question and to industrial production.

Gene technology

Fundamentally, a variety of applications of gene technology are possible with flavours that are produced or won industrially. Nonetheless, precise information which refers to individual flavours or flavouring preparations is not available.

• Microorganisms: today, a variety of flavours are produced with the aid of microbes. In such cases, specific yeasts, moulds or bacteria manufacture flavoured substances. Such microorganisms are not genetically modified as a rule. However, processes have been developed in which genetically modified organisms manufacture flavours that originally were derived from plants. Such flavours include vanillin or the sweetener thaumatin. To date, such new processes have been of little or no commercial importance.
• Nutrients for microorganisms: as nutrients upon which flavour-manufacturing microorganisms will grow, starch, glucose or sugar may be considered. These may be derived from genetically modified plants. See also: diacetyl (butter flavour).
• Enzymes: act on specific compounds and separate flavours from these. Such enzymes may be produced with the aid of genetically modified organisms. Examples of flavours won with the aid of enzymes are:
  - cheese flavours: from milk fats (lipases) or milk proteins (proteases)
  - meat-like flavours produced by the enzymatic hydrolysis of yeast or plant proteins (proteases)
  - citrus and fruit flavours produced by the enzymatic breakdown of plant cells (e.g., with pektinases)
• Reaction flavours: in their production, flavour-intensive chemical reactions are simulated as they would take place in frying or baking, for example. Basic components of such flavours are most often a variety of amino acids or plant proteins (e.g, from soja), that react with specific sugars. In this manner, various flavours from baking and frying or from meat are won. Soja proteins also often are the starting material for flavours that are produced enzymatically.
• Fats and fatty acids are a basic component of a variety of flavours, particularly for cheeses. Fatty acids are modified chemically or with the assistance of enzymes (transesterification). The fats may stem from genetically modified plants (such as soja or rapeseed).
• Amino acids: commercial flavouring preparations often contain amino acids to adjust or reinforce the flavour in question. A range of amino acids are produced with the aid of genetically modified microorganisms and this also applies to inosinic acid and guanylic acid,as well as to their compounds.
• Carrier substances for flavouring preparations: intended for stabilisation but also in order to facilitate transportation and dosage, flavours often are sprayed onto carrier substances or enclosed in micro-capsules. Such procedures suit dextrin, sorbitol and xanthan gum, for exemple.

Labelling: as a rule, applications of gene technology in flavourings are not subject to labelling, with the exception of flavoured suibstances that are produced directly from genetically modified plants.

• Flavours that are produced with the aid of genetically modified organisms must not be labelled as such if they have been purified and contain no microorganisms.