SNACK FLAVOUR DEVELOPMENT Andrew Belstead KERRY EMEA
Over 40 Years in Taste Eating vs flavour & taste Eating An experience which quickly recognise this as rosemary (appearance, smell, flavour, texture) Flavour & taste Dissect the various compounds: wood, floral and spice tones, camphor and eucalyptus That s the difference between smelling and experiencing eating and tasting/savouring.. What is taste? Stimulus Sense Response Perception
Colour or appearance of food - stimulus Colour and food appeal are closely related Appearance criteria need to be satisfied for food to be appetising Some products fail because visually they don t appeal, even if they taste right Colour generates an expectation Quality, freshness and flavour are associated with colour Darker or brighter colours are often thought to be stronger Food colour acceptance varies per country Blue is an appetite suppressant and therefore not often used in food in nature blue food does not exist We don't have an automatic appetite response to blue Our primal nature avoids foods that are poisonous To our ancestors blue, purple and black were warning signs of potentially lethal food Greens, browns, reds, yellows are more familiar and generally acceptable Fast food restaurants tend to use red and yellow Basic tastes Taste buds are found on the surface of the tongue, other parts of mouth, pharynx and oesophagus. Basic tastes are perceived by taste receptor cells located in the taste buds. Basic taste molecules interact with the receptor cells This interaction differs depending on the basic taste SALT SOUR SWEET BITTER UMAMI What is flavour? A practical example the pinch test Hold your nose and taste the sample of jelly beans provided. What can you taste? DO NOT RELEASE YOUR NOSE. NOW: Release your nose and what is it? 75% what we describe as flavour is in fact smell
Volatiles aromatics: how do we perceive? During the chewing phase, volatiles or aromatics are released in the mouth Volatiles travel up retro nasally to the olfactory epithelium, where volatiles are detected Signals from here are processed in the brain and associations made Once associated with a compound, object, memory or food only then do we recognize and RESPOND Olfactory epithelium orthonasal retronasal Snack flavour and applications Snack flavours or seasonings defined Salt, herbs, or spices added to food to enhance the flavour (OED 2016) Blend of functional and flavouring ingredients to deliver desired flavour and function in a predefined application
Typical ingredients Basic tastes components Enhancers and fillers Dehydrated powders Vegetable / fruit powders Yeast powders and extracts Cheese & dairy powders Sugars / sweeteners Acids Herbs & spices Flavour ingredients Flavourings Reaction flavours Smoke flavourings Colours Functional ingredients Ingredients and processing real food to powder Majority of ingredients are powdered yet real food ingredients Dehydration Spray drying is most common form of drying foods, most cost effective Good encapsulation capability Draw backs flavour loss foods dried are exposed to temperatures of ca. 200 C Oven drying enclosed insulated chamber, hot air passed over and through food Less harsh compared to spray drying and commonly used for herbs, spices, vegetables Roller / drum drying used for drying of more viscous liquids pastes or purees Micro film of material distributed on a heated surface causing water to evaporate Very good for creating flakes to add visual interest to our products Ingredients important to flavour Yeast extracts Yeast powder Autolysed yeast powder / extract Yeast extract Hydrolysed vegetable protein Vegetable proteins processed under high heat high pressure together with acid Hydrolyse / break up long amino acid chains to deliver savoury tasting rich ingredients Typically used in meaty applications Acids Citric acid / malic acid / lactic acid Sodium diacetate / vinegar compound Natural Ingredients Herbs & spices Cheese powders & vegetable powders All dried and processed lose flavour
Flavourings Flavourings compounded from chemicals to deliver a specific aroma 75% of taste experience is driven by aroma Innumerable aroma chemicals in nature and synthesised from nature these define flavour what makes a prawn a prawn or onion not an apple Flavouring REGULATION (EC) No 1334/2008 Flavouring substances creative blend of aroma chemicals to deliver a flavour Flavouring preparations and natural flavourings preparations of flavouring compounds derived from nature compounded flavourings from aroma chemicals found in nature Non-natural flavourings compounds not found in nature artificially synthesised by man (this includes Nature Identical classification) Thermal process flavourings reaction of protein and reducing sugars under controlled conditions to deliver meaty dark roasted type flavourings Smoke flavourings flavourings derived from the burning of wood distilling and purifying the resulting smoke Snack flavour construction Dry blending of ingredients liquids and powders Varying particle sizes and bulk densities >95% consists of basic taste components ca. 20% is flavouring and defining Flavouring <5% Basic taste Components salt, sugar sweet, acid, fillers Base taste and bulk ingredients Salt Taste Oldest taste enhancer and preservative known to man Important for process control and measuring application Fillers and bulking agents play a bulking role and functional
Base taste sweet / acid Beginning of definition to build taste Sweet and acid balanced depending on desired result Higher acid levels for lemon + combinations for instance Vinegar based flavours would have high levels of acids Sweeteners Sugar Dextrose Lactose Artificial sweeteners Taste enhancers Taste enhancement Enhancement and moreishness Enhancers has physiological function stimulate saliva production and taste receptor sensitivity Increased saliva = increased solubility of taste and flavour components Monosodium Glutamate Yeast extracts and powders naturally rich in ribonucleotides Hydrolysed vegetable protein Ribonucleotides Real ingredients Real ingredients Starting to define flavour and build up to overall taste Real ingredient and familiarity to consumers Typically dried ingredients, low on flavour and taste NOT holistically responsible for taste Mouthfeel and kokumi Store Cupboard Ingredients Real food Process Flavourings Cheese & Dairy Powders Vegetable Powders
Herbs, spices & processing aids Herbs & spices Support real ingredients both in taste and declaration Add further flavour and definition Natural colours Visual interest Processing aids Important for seasoning functionality Flowability Anticaking properties Flavourings and topnotes Flavouring compounds Innumerable aroma chemicals in nature and synthesised from nature these define flavour what makes a prawn a prawn or onion not an apple Most important part of a snack seasoning, bringing final character and definition Every flavour designed to have a specific character Provides aroma and headspace Contains aroma chemical molecules and essential oils Lowest inclusion of all ingredients = highest impact and flavour Trends & challenges Salt / sodium reduction Salt in salty snacks under constant scrutiny Government authorities across EMEA focussed on reducing salt intake per capita Since 1991 the industry has reduced salt in savoury snacks by more than 50%* 2010-2016 reduced salt by more than 2,620,000kg* Snacks only responsible for 2% of the dietary salt intake* More salt in 2 slices of bread than standard bag of crisps Salt has functional role in snack flavours Sodium in salt is the culprit and not salt itself 39.4% of salt is sodium Salt although the biggest contributor is NOT the only All ingredients from natural sources contain sodium Sodium is the most abundant alkali metal and found in all living plants and animals
Trends & challenges Reducing sodium Salt is the biggest contributor for sodium Salt replacers like potassium chloride are effective tools in reducing salt Taste drawbacks impart a bitter / metallic unpleasant aftertaste if used in high concentrations Emerging health concerns over excessive potassium intake Replacing or reducing sodium there is no magic bullet No one out one in solution Careful consideration of total taste space Flavour rebalancing NaCl Taste modulators Yeast extracts and powders have shown to be very effective in helping to rebalance taste and bring back flavour Trends & challenges Flavour enhancers (MSG) Very cost effective ingredient used as flavour enhancer Physiological effect in mastication stimulates saliva production and taste receptor sensitivity Bad publicity (unfounded) has lead to non consumer friendly ingredient Effectively replaced naturally high in ribonucleotide yeast extracts and natural equivalents Flavour technology is an important player to achieve the reduction and removal of artificial flavour enhancers Provenance and real ingredients Consumers constantly looking for more store cupboard and familiar back of pack declarations Natural Ingredients in its native form has textural and taste properties Processing ingredients to deliver a powder usable ingredient loses key tonalities and taste Inclusion in finished food typically <2%. Bulk of the snack as sold is crisp / nut base Flavour and taste is built back using concentrated alternatives and flavourings Trends & challenges E numbers and non-natural Constant pressure for more real and consumer friendly labelling Some e-numbers are essential to deliver tasty snacks examples Acid E330 Colour E160c, E100 Antioxidant E392 etc. E-numbers not consumer or marketer friendly Alternative LEGAL alternative to labelling these and education is key fear of the unknown Citric acid = Acid E330 Paprika extract = Colour E160c Rosemary antioxidant = Antioxidant E392 Natural flavourings Natural vs non-natural Not all flavouring compounds are available naturally
Snack flavour application Snack seasonings or flavours are powdered ingredients typically applied to snacks Snack categories Potato chips Hard & soft extruded snacks Reformed potato snacks Nuts Pellet snacks Tortilla chips Baked snacks Popcorn Depending on snack base, different application methods employed Flavour application systems for snacks Dust-on Topically dry ambient application. Snacks are coated with dry powder Slurry Seasoning mixed with oil and sprayed onto snacks common for extruded snacks Marinating Uncooked (fried) potato chip is passed through a water based marinade system before frying In-base flavour systems - baking Coating & double coating Filling Sandwich crackers and wafer straws Thank you