Flavor
Flavor, flavour, or taste is the perceptual impression of food or other substances, and is determined primarily by the chemical senses of the gustatory and olfactory system. The "trigeminal senses", which detect chemical irritants in the mouth and throat, as well as temperature and texture, are also important to the overall gestalt of flavor perception. The flavor of the food, as such, can be altered with natural or artificial flavorants which affect these senses.
Flavourings are products not intended to be consumed as such, which are added to food in order to impart or modify odour and/or taste.
A "flavorant" is defined as a substance that gives another substance flavor, altering the characteristics of the solute, causing it to become sweet, sour, tangy, etc. A flavor is a quality of something that affects the sense of taste.
Of the three chemical senses, smell is the main determinant of a food item's flavor. Five basic tastes – sweet, sour, bitter, salty and umami are universally recognized, although some cultures also include pungency and oleogustus. The number of food smells is unbounded; a food's flavor, therefore, can be easily altered by changing its smell while keeping its taste similar. This is exemplified in artificially flavored jellies, soft drinks and candies, which, while made of bases with a similar taste, have dramatically different flavors due to the use of different scents or fragrances. The flavorings of commercially produced food products are typically created by flavorists.
Although the terms flavoring and flavorant in common language denote the combined chemical sensations of taste and smell, the same terms are used in the fragrance and flavors industry to refer to edible chemicals and extracts that alter the flavor of food and food products through the sense of smell. Due to the high cost or unavailability of natural flavor extracts, most commercial flavorants are "nature-identical", which means that they are the chemical equivalent of natural flavors, but chemically synthesized rather than being extracted from source materials. Identification of components of natural foods, for example a raspberry, may be done using technology such as headspace techniques, so the flavorist can imitate the flavor by using a few of the same chemicals present.
In the EU law, the term natural-identical flavouring does not exist. The legislation is very specific on what is a flavouring and what is a natural flavouring.
Flavorants or flavorings
EU legislation defines several types of flavourings:• flavouring substances :
• flavouring preparations :
• thermal process flavourings
• smoke flavourings
• flavour precursors
• other flavourings
Three principal types of flavorings are used in foods, under definitions agreed in Australia:
;Natural flavoring substances
;Nature-identical flavoring substances
;Artificial flavoring substances
Most artificial flavors are specific and often complex mixtures of singular naturally occurring flavor compounds combined together to either imitate or enhance a natural flavor. These mixtures are formulated by flavorists to give a food product a unique flavor and to maintain flavor consistency between different product batches or after recipe changes. The list of known flavoring agents includes thousands of molecular compounds, and the flavor chemist can often mix these together to produce many of the common flavors. Many flavorants consist of esters, which are often described as being "sweet" or "fruity".
| Chemical | Odor |
| Manzanate | Apple |
| Diacetyl, acetylpropionyl, acetoin | Buttery |
| Isoamyl acetate | Banana |
| Benzaldehyde | Bitter almond, cherry |
| Cinnamaldehyde | Cinnamon |
| Ethyl propionate | Fruity |
| Methyl anthranilate | Grape |
| Limonene | Orange |
| Ethyl decadienoate | Pear |
| Allyl hexanoate | Pineapple |
| Ethyl maltol | Sugar, cotton candy |
| 2,4-Dithiapentane | Truffle |
| Ethylvanillin | Vanilla |
| Methyl salicylate | Wintergreen |
The compounds used to produce artificial flavors are almost identical to those that occur naturally. It has been suggested that artificial flavors may be safer to consume than natural flavors due to the standards of purity and mixture consistency that are enforced either by the company or by law. Natural flavors, in contrast, may contain impurities from their sources, while artificial flavors are typically more pure and are required to undergo more testing before being sold for consumption.
Flavors from food products are usually the result of a combination of natural flavors, which set up the basic smell profile of a food product, while artificial flavors modify the smell to accent it.
Unlike smelling, which occurs upon inhalation, the sensing of flavors in the mouth occurs in the exhalation phase of breathing and is perceived differently by an individual. In other words, the smell of food is different depending on whether one is smelling it before or after it has entered one's mouth.
Taste
Under the EU legislation, substances which have exclusively a sweet, sour or salty taste are not considered flavouringsUmami or "savory" flavorants, more commonly called taste or flavor enhancers, are largely based on amino acids and nucleotides. These are typically used as sodium or calcium salts. Umami flavorants recognized and approved by the European Union include:
| Acid salts | Description |
| Glutamic acid salts | This amino acid's sodium salt, monosodium glutamate, is one of the most commonly used flavor enhancers in food processing. Mono- and diglutamate salts are also commonly used. |
| Glycine salts | Simple amino acid salts typically combined with glutamic acid as flavor enhancers |
| Guanylic acid salts | Nucleotide salts typically combined with glutamic acid as flavor enhancers |
| Inosinic acid salts | Nucleotide salts created from the breakdown of AMP, due to high costs of production, typically combined with glutamic acid as flavor enhancers |
| 5'-ribonucleotide salts | Nucleotide salts typically combined with other amino acids and nucleotide salts as flavor enhancers |
Certain organic and inorganic acids can be used to enhance sour tastes, but like salt and sugar, these are usually not considered and regulated as flavorants under law. Each acid imparts a slightly different sour or tart taste that alters the flavor of a food.
| Acid | Description | Formulation | pH |
| Acetic acid | Gives vinegar its sour taste and distinctive smell. | pH 3.91 | |
| Ascorbic acid | Found in oranges and green peppers and gives a crisp, slightly sour taste, better known as vitamin C. | pH 3.59 | |
| Citric acid | Found in citrus fruits and gives them their sour taste. | pH 3.24 | |
| Fumaric acid | Found in bolete mushrooms, Icelandic moss and lichen, Not found in fruits, used as a substitute for citric and tartaric acid. Enhances flavor and sourness. | pH 3.19 | |
| Lactic acid | Found in various milk or fermented products and give them a rich tartness. | pH 3.51 | |
| Malic acid | Found in apples and rhubarb and gives them their sour/tart taste. | pH 3.33 | |
| Phosphoric acid | Used in some cola drinks to give an acidic taste. | pH 3.06 | |
| Tartaric acid | Found in grapes and wines and gives them a tart taste. Also called racemic acid. | pH 3.18 |
Color
The color of food can affect one's expectations of the flavor significantly.In one study, adding more red color to a drink increased the perceived sweetness, with darker colored solutions being rated 2–10% better than lighter ones, though it had 1% less sucrose concentration. Food manufacturers exploit this phenomenon; different colors of Froot Loops cereal and most brands of gummy bears often use the same flavorings.
Restrictions and regulations
In the EU, Regulation No 1334/2008 on flavourings and certain food ingredients with flavouring properties for use in/on foods, i.e. the “EU Flavouring Regulation”, was adopted on 16 December 2008 and entered into force on 20 January 2009. It applies from 20 January 2011.Regulation No 1334/2008 lays down general requirements for safe use of flavourings and provides definitions for different types of flavourings. The Regulation sets out substances for which an evaluation and approval is required. The Union list of flavouring substances, approved for use in and on foods, was adopted on 1 October 2012 and was introduced in Annex I of this Regulation
Regulations on natural flavoring
In the EU, in order to be labelled as natural flavouring substance, many conditions have to be fulfilled: ‘Natural flavouring substance’ shall mean a flavouring substance obtained by appropriate physical, enzymatic or microbiological processes from material of vegetable, animal or microbiological origin either in the raw state or after processing for human consumption by one or more of the traditional food preparation processes listed in Annex II. Natural flavouring substances correspond to substances that are naturally present and have been identified in natureMore detailed information on the Production of Natural Flavouring Substances and Flavouring Preparations can be found on the European Flavour Associarion Guidance Document
UK Food Law defines a natural flavor as:
The UK follows the above EU legislation which remains in force until 31st December 2020. The European Union Act 2018 provides that from 1st January 2021, this directly applicable EU legislation will be converted into UK law with minor corrections to enable it to operate effectively as UK law. These corrections have been made by Statutory Instrument 2019 No. 860.
The UK Food industry, in collaboration with the flavouring industry, has developed guidance on what to consider when declaring a pictorial representation of a food ingredient on the label of a pre-packed product.
The U.S. Code of Federal Regulations describes a "natural flavorant" as:
Dietary restrictions
Food manufacturers are sometimes reluctant to inform consumers about the source and identity of flavor ingredients and whether they have been produced with the incorporation of substances such as animal byproducts. Some flavor ingredients, such as gelatin, are produced from animal products. Some, such as glycerin can be derived from either animal or vegetable sources. And some extracts, such as vanilla, may contain alcohol. Many Jews, Jains, Hindus, and Muslims adhere to religious dietary laws, and vegans to personal convictions, which restrict the use of animal byproducts and/or alcohol in foods unless subject to oversight and inspection by their respective religious authority or moral beliefs. In many Western countries, some consumers rely on a Jewish kosher pareve certification mark to indicate that natural flavorings used in a food product are free of meat and dairy. The Vegan Society's Sunflower symbol can also be used to see which products do not use any animal ingredients.Similarly, persons with known sensitivities or allergies to food products are advised to avoid foods that contain generic "natural flavors" or to first determine the source of the flavoring before consuming the food. Such flavors may be derived from a variety of source products that are themselves common allergens, such as dairy, soy, sesame, eggs, and nuts.
In the EU, nevertheless, this information is available in the labelling. Regulation No 1169/2011 on the provision of food information to consumers, states in article 9 that any ingredient or processing aid listed in Annex II or derived from a substance or product listed in Annex II causing allergies or intolerances used in the manufacture or preparation of a food and still present in the finished product, even if in an altered form must be included in the labelling
Flavor creation
and beverage companies may require flavors for new products, product line extensions, or changes in formula or processing for existing products. In 2011, about US$10.6 billion were generated with the sale of flavors; the majority of the flavors used are consumed in processed and packaged food.Most flavors represent a mixture of aroma compounds, the raw material that is produced by flavor companies. In rare cases, a single synthetic compound is used in pure form. Artificial vanilla flavors vanillin and ethylvanillin are a notable exception, as well as the artificial strawberry flavor. The ubiquitous "green apple" aroma is based on hexyl acetate.
The flavor creation is done by a specially trained scientist called a "flavorist", whose job combines scientific knowledge of the chemical palette with creativity to develop new and distinctive flavors. The flavor creation begins when the flavorist receives a brief from the client. In the brief, the clients attempt to communicate exactly what type of flavor is sought, in what application it will be used, and any special requirements. The communication barrier can be quite difficult to overcome since most people are not experienced at describing flavors. The flavorist uses his or her knowledge of the available chemical ingredients to create a formula and compound it on an electronic balance. The flavor is then submitted to the client for testing. Several iterations, with feedback from the client, may be needed before the right flavor is found.
Additional work may also be done by the flavor company. For example, the flavor company may conduct sensory taste tests to test consumer acceptance of a flavor before it is sent to the client or to further investigate the "sensory space". The flavor company may also employ application specialists who work to ensure the flavor will work in the application for which it is intended. This may require special flavor delivery technologies that are used to protect the flavor during processing or cooking so that the flavor is only released when eaten by the end consumer. The flavor obtained is determined not just by the simple presence of a flavorant or a mixture of flavorants, but also by their concentrations. Thus, even if a non-flavored ingredient is added/removed to/from a food or beverage, this can noticeably affect the final flavor if it dilutes or otherwise changes the concentrations of the remaining flavored ingredients.
Determination
Few standards are available or being prepared for sensory analysis of flavors. In chemical analysis of flavors, solid phase extraction, solid phase microextraction, and headspace gas chromatography are applied to extract and separate the flavor compounds in the sample. The determination is typically done by various mass spectrometric techniques. A flavor lexicon can aid the development of objective language for food.Scientific resources
- Flavour and Fragrance Journal
- H. W. Schultz : Symposium on Foods: the Chemistry and Physiology of Flavors. The fourth in a series of symposia on foods held in Oregon State University., AVI Pub, Co., Westpoint Conn. 1967, LCCN 66024813.