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Taste, Aroma and the Brain

Mar 18th, 2009

Jeb Gleason-Allured, Editor

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“You don’t taste with your mouth or your nose; you taste with your brain,” said Mark Friedman, associate director of Monell Chemical Senses Center (Monell Center), addressing attendees of the recent joint Society of Flavor Chemists (SFC) and Chemical Sources Association (CSA) meeting in Philadelphia. Monell Center’s Marcia Pelchat added, “The interesting thing about flavor in the brain is that the whole is often more than the sum of its parts.”

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'[R]etaining this next generation will depend on continuing to position flavor science as a field where individuals can combine scientific excellence with creativity and real-world impact, shaping how consumers experience food in ways that improve both health and sustainability,' says John Savage, IOFI president and president and CEO of Taste at Kerry.

Leading Through Change: Kerry's John Savage on IOFI, the Future of Flavor and More

"The industry must continue pushing for international coherence, but also remain operationally agile in the face of divergence."

For decades, the flavor and fragrance industry has operated within a relatively stable classification system. Ingredients were broadly categorized as natural extracts, fermentation-derived materials or synthetically produced molecules. These distinctions were largely sufficient when production routes were clearly separated and molecular identity aligned closely with manufacturing method. However, these boundaries are becoming increasingly difficult to define.

When the Molecule Is the Same, but the Label Isn't: How 'Natural' Keeps Its Edge

How maturing biocatalytic production routes are reshaping long-standing distinctions between “synthetic” and “natural” aroma ingredients in the flavor and fragrance industry.

A €5,000 Best Ph.D. Thesis Award will also recognize an outstanding final-year doctoral researcher. The winner will present their work at the annual Savory Flavor & Food Industry Conference in Geneva, Switzerland, connecting with potential employers and industry leaders.

Flavor’s Next Generation: Giract Opens 17th Annual European Ph.D. Flavor Research Awards

The 2026/2027 edition will award six €3,000 bursaries to first-year Ph.D. students conducting research in flavor science, technology, chemistry and related fields.

FEMA# 5044 sakura flower extract (Prunus serrulata flower extract; Cerasus serrulata flower extract) is among the materials included in FEMA's Interim GRAS 32 list.

Catching Up: FEMA's Interim GRAS 32 and Interim GRAS 33 Flavoring Substance Lists

The FEMA GRAS program serves as an important scientific resource for flavor manufacturers, food companies and regulators by providing independent expert evaluations of flavoring substances based on publicly available safety data.

The system demonstrates how generative modeling can reconstruct complex, multi-ingredient taste signatures, including fast-food–style flavor profiles such as a Big Mac–like sensory signature, where layered notes from fat, salt, umami, acid, and aroma compounds are algorithmically approximated rather than manually reverse-engineered.

AI Flavor Platform Maps Taste Science ... and Recreates a Big Mac

AI can now operate at two levels simultaneously: decoding the sensory architecture of flavor and optimizing it toward higher predicted consumer “liking."

'Aroma: Perception resulting from stimulating the olfactory receptors; in a broader sense, the term is sometimes used to refer to the combination of sensations resulting from stimulation of the entire nasal cavity.'

From "Absolute" to "X-Free Essential Oil": IOFI Launches Global Flavor Glossary to Bring Consistency to an Increasingly Complex Industry

Inconsistent terminology can create friction in product development, regulatory compliance, customer communication and advocacy efforts.

Research suggests that odors below the threshold of conscious detection can still shape perception, influence behavior and alter emotional responses.

The Invisible Influence: Why Subthreshold Odors Deserve More Attention

Seemingly innocuous components can elevate a product, but they have the potential to tarnish it too.

Using an advanced all-optical imaging and optogenetics platform in awake mice, researchers found that the olfactory bulb rapidly filters incoming odor information within the first 30–40 milliseconds of a sniff, preserving odor identity while suppressing later, more concentration-dependent signals.

New Mouse Study Reveals the Brain’s 'Temporal Filter' for Odor Identity and Why Concentration May Matter Less Than Timing

Odor perception may be governed less by static receptor maps and more by dynamic temporal coding across neural networks.

Complete with a Ferris wheel at the center of the table, Austria Juice showcased a variety of natural fruit flavors, including yuzu, black currant, pineapple, strawberry and sour cherry.

FlavourTalk 2026 Brings Joy and Curiosity to Consumer Flavor Perception Conversation

This year’s exhibition and conference focused on the underlying neuroscience of flavor and how product developers can leverage this research.

A central concern is the estimated cost of more than £500 million associated with generating and submitting U.K.-specific data packages for substances already registered under EU REACH.

UK Chemicals Industry Warns REACH Divergence Still Threatens Trade, Innovation and SME Viability

A central concern is the estimated cost of more than £500 million associated with generating and submitting U.K.-specific data packages for substances already registered under EU REACH.

FDA officials framed the authorization as a possible new pathway for flavored nicotine products seeking market legitimacy. (Glas products not pictured.)

FDA Opens Door to Flavor Innovation With First Non-Tobacco ENDS Authorizations

FDA officials framed the authorization as a possible new pathway for flavored nicotine products seeking market legitimacy.