Talking Flavor's Future at the 11th Annual FlavourTalk

Apr 18th, 2019

Ryan Daily

Flavour Horizons, in association with the British Society of Flavourists, held the 11th annual FlavourTalk event on March 13-14, 2019 at the Barbizon Palace Hotel, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Whilst the weather was far from kind and Brexit was looming large around the corner, this did not seem to dampen the spirits of the 240 delegates, or the 28 exhibitors, who presented 187 raw materials during the round table sessions on day one. The conference on day two considered the important topic of "Flavour and Health: the role of Flavour in Healthy Living," whether that be during space travel to Mars, or on a more ‘down to earth’ level, for a more health-conscious and aging population.

Commenting after the event, organizers David Baines and Melanie Brown said: “The FlavourTalk Amsterdam Exhibition and Conference increases in popularity each year, with 2019 being the largest exhibition to date. The feedback from both delegates and exhibitors was extremely positive, with flavorists and other delegates/food product developers finding it a very valuable opportunity for sampling and discussing a wide range of flavor raw materials under one roof. The FlavourTalk conference addressed a variety of current flavor-related topics, stimulating discussion and networking among delegates.”

Round Table Highlights

Each of the 28 exhibitors was allocated a roundtable from which to present their products. Delegates then moved around these tables in 20-minute rotations. With a maximum of four sessions, giving a maximum possible of 15 presentations per delegate, apologies to any exhibitor not visited in the time available!

In line with the theme of the event being the role of flavors in healthy living, current dietary and lifestyle trends were reflected. All things plant rather than animal-derived, flowers, fruits, herbs and spices predominated, as well as flavor enhancers suitable for low sugar, alcohol, fat or vegan/dairy -free foods and beverages. Those giving extra boost to fruitiness, creaminess and freshness aspects were of particular interest.

Omega Ingredients’ naturally-derived, sustainably-sourced and fully traceable KiiNotes were on display, including its blood orange, Timut pepper (which develops a tingle in the mouth and could be used to mimic alcohol in non-alcoholic beverages, becoming very popular in the UK), juniper (an aqueous extract, particularly suitable for non-alcoholic gin products), Inca berry, basil (wonderful in chocolate), yuzu, hibiscus and Spanish saffron.

Natural ingredients from Payan & Bertrand included its Tonka resinoid extra, with a bitter, almond kernel, earthy, coumarine flavor profile, suggested for use in beverages, chocolates, candies, dairy products and ready-cooked meals; Verbena oil, ginger fresh oil extra, myrrh resinoid extra and patchouli absolute extra were also on show.

Lionel Hitchen Ltd showed citrus and floral products from its flavor ingredients range including lemon, lime and geranium oils (terpeneless), and fenugreek and pink peppercorn soft extracts, Zatar spice blend, and fennel, marjoram and oregano oleoresins from the herbs and spice extracts range. Oregano infusion is one of a range of natural infusions catering to this current trend in the beverage industry.

Lluch focussed on yuzu cold pressed, folded lemon and grapefruit premium essential oils, emphasizing the seasonality of production and the Spanish origin of these premium citrus oils. Fresh ginger essential oil premium is sourced from West Africa and “due to the rhizomes being ground and distilled as soon as they are dug from the ground, the full spectrum of the root’s flavors with the characteristic lemon tone is retained,” according to Lluch.

Robertet’s theme was “Let’s have a break,” complete with a table place setting for each participant. They have noticed a lot of requests for cereal notes, illustrated by rice bran absolute in a milk, as also was cocoa extract (a big item for them). The sweetness of ambrette seeds extract liquid was shown with a bite-sized pancake to taste. They now have their own fields which “helps them to create a more stable market,” according to Laurent Gallet. “Everybody wants to be strong in natural, but in order to do this you have to invest in the origin,” he said. Also demonstrated were the zesty, Jambu oleoresin Inc 30% and orange peel oil colorless mid-season, with Nepal pepper C02 extract and blackcurrant buds absolute featuring in fizzy candy.

Taking inspiration for its impressive table setting from the Danish well-being concept of Hygge, which encourages savoring the simple pleasures, Mane introduced cocoa resinoid, with a powerful dark chocolate note and coffee robusta Laos alcoholic resinoid, offering roasted coffee, smoky bitterness, from certified Laos origin organic coffee. Another nod towards infusions, sweet clover infusion, offers coumarine notes for brown and vanilla aromas for drinks and finally, the “very interesting,” natural vinyl gaiacol, which can be used for any sweet application, dairy and beverage, giving phenolic, spicy, clove-like and smoky sweet notes.

ACS International demonstrated dihydro jasmone, said to increase the salty taste of mayonnaise, which could be a way to reduce the salt content in culinary preparations; milk lactone which “turns peach flavor into a juicer, fresh-picked version” suitable for yogurts and ice-creams, and MVP 50% TEC (methoxy vinyl phenol) which can “deliver a stronger roasted note to enhance the feeling of fresh brewed coffee or a reduce the candy note of coke and broaden the body with natural spicy effect of cloves.”

Bedoukian’s tropical fruit theme was exemplified by apritone, tropical dienoate and 9-decenoic acid + guavanate. Lychees are growing in popularity in beverages and also in desserts, apritone gives a “luscious, juicy natural fruit character excellent for enhancing pit fruit flavours such as apricot and lychee.” Tropical dienoate is excellent for fresher, juicier pineapple notes and also great for enhancing the ripe, juicy aspects of a variety of tropical fruit including mango and passion fruit. Products including coconut are on the rise including candy, cookies, cereal and dairy. 9-Decenoic acid + guavanate can be used to enhance creamy notes of coconut and sweet dairy flavors.

Created by proprietary fermentation from glucose feedstock, which can help avoid the volatility in the availability, quality and pricing of natural compounds, citrus flavors from Isobionics were natural δ-cadinene 95%, natural β-bisabolene 90% and natural nootkatone 70%. “We create stability and a cost price advantage. Our production process uses renewable materials and has a low carbon/energy footprint,” says the company.

New products from Advanced Biotech include hexyl phenylacetate, citronellyl propionate natural and allyl phenylacetate natural which give a variety of fruity, honey, floral or green flavors, whilst Symrise naturals on show included limettol natural, vinyl guaiacol natural 10% TRI, ethyl decanoate trans, cis-2,4 natural and Symcool natural which were demonstrated in a variety of different usage scenarios, including boosting fruitiness and freshness aspects.

Riverside Aromatics represents Natural Advantage in Europe, and they demonstrated nine products, including one of the few meaty flavors, the brand new (-)4-methyloctanoic acid, natural offering a lamb fat or goaty taste, whilst trans-2-cis-6-nonadienal, natural gives cucumber, melon and watermelon flavors. “Natural is very, very important and forms 90% of our business,” according to CEO Peter Cannon.

Biospringer’s new taste modulators include Springer Precursor, which is a yeast extract giving meaty flavors, whilst Springer Mask 101, derived by fermentation, can be used in vegan-suitable applications such as plant-based dairy alternatives and low sugar or sugar-free beverages.

Besmoke highlighted their proprietary Puresmoke technology for flavor enhancement, including PureGrill, PureSmoke and the brand new, Puremami, which was launched that day to cater to the vegan trend. It is said to give “extraordinary flavor enhancement properties at very low dose levels.” It can be used to deliver meat notes to vegan proteins, aid salt and sugar reduction, create a creamy profile in vegan milks, boost umami and mask acidity, according to CEO Huw Griffiths.

Full list of event exhibitors: