Tag Archives: Taste

Cilantro appreciation is all in the genes

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CilantroWhen making a cup of tea at work, my colleague Rosie and I were chatting about our most loved and hated foods. Interestingly the herb Cilantro (known as Coriander to the Brits) came up very quickly and she told me there was some sort of genetic reason behind some people really hating it. This made me want to understand more.

After a bit of digging into research articles, I found that Rosie was spot on! A study in 2012 which looked at twins, found that 80% of identical twins shared their like or dislike or cilantro, whilst only 50% of familial twins shared this connection. This suggested there is a genetic component involved which another study investigated in more detail.

This further study, published in Flavour journal in 2012, found a proportion of the population detects a soapy flavour in cilantro, which is linked to their genes. Everyone has a sequence of DNA (single nucleotide polymorphism) called rs72921001, which lies among our odour receptor genes. This DNA sequence can vary between people and depending on whether the sequence, known as a genotype, is AA, AG or GG, can determine an individual’s sensitivity to the soapy note. The location of this DNA sequence in the genome can be near a particular gene, OR6A2, which codes for an odour receptor which is highly specialised to binds to specific aldehyde molecules, which can be found in both cilantro and soap. Since odour sensitivity directly relates to flavour perception, detecting these aldehyde aroma compounds impacts the flavour of cilantro, leading to some people describing it as soapy.

Although the proportion of the population detecting the soapy note in cilantro can vary between 4 and 14% depending on ethnicity and other genetic factors, the study found that these genes can influence the liking of this particular herb. So next time you’re sitting down for a meal full of coriander and someone complains it tastes like soap, it isn’t their fault, it’s all in the genes!

Soft Drinks

Sugar wars – The attack of the chef

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Sugar is in the headlines again this week and battle lines are being drawn.  Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver has launched an attack on sugar in a Channel 4 documentary to be shown later this week on UK TV, and the Food and Drink Federation has already hit back in defense.  This couldn’t be more topical following the recent SACN guidelines aiming to reduce sugar consumption to 5g a day.

Jamie Oliver and his team are aiming to introduce a tax on soft drinks with added sugar.  The sugary drinks tax would increase beverage costs by 20p per litre, which would add around 7p onto the cost of canned soft drinks.  Soft drinks have been singled out in Jamie’s manifesto as he states they are the largest single source of sugar consumption for children, providing high calorie intakes and impacting dental health.  Although a 20p per litre cost increase may not sound like much, the cost increase would be too large for manufacturers to absorb themselves and would therefore be passed directly on to consumers with the intention to reduce sugary drink consumption, increase overall public health, improve dental health and potentially reduce obesity levels.  Other countries have already introduced this tax with varying degrees of success, including France, Hungary, and most recently Mexico where a 10% tax on sugar-sweetened beverages is projected to decrease consumption by around 12% and could substantially reduce the prevalence of obesity.

However the Food and Drink Federation has already hit back, stating sugar consumption in the UK is in decline, with increasing consumption of diet product offerings.  The regulatory body also insists that sugary soft drinks are not the largest source of calories consumed by children, with director general Ian Wright suggesting that government legislation of sugar consumption won’t work by “Demonising one nutrient out of a range on the national menu is not a healthy way to proceed.”  Since many food and beverages are already taxed, the federation suggests any additional taxes would not be proven effective at driving long-term dietary changes, as found with the sugary drink tax in France showing initial decreases in consumption followed by normal patterns resuming.

This debate got me thinking, how can we define what is a “sugary drink”?  What about natural sugars?  Plenty of products already state “No Added Sugar” on the label, would these be exempt from the sugar tax?  Fruit juices can contain similar amounts of fructose as the levels of added sugar in soft drinks, would these need to be taxed even though the sugar isn’t “added”.  With the ever increase demand for natural products, will including natural sources of sweetness such as fruit juices and honey be included in this tax too?

Another thought is about the level of sugar in these drinks.  Would a blanket price increase be introduced, as requested in Jamie’s manifesto, or would the level of tax be based on the amount of sugar in a product?  Would providing sugar tax bands, or a sliding tax scale support the food and drinks industry to reduce sugar levels, and encourage consumers to make healthier choices?

I look forward to this documentary to find out more details, answer these questions and really understand the options, opportunities and challenges facing us to reduce sugar in the UK population’s diet.

Sweets in jars

Flavour… more than meets the mouth

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Recently brought to my attention, here is a fascinating summary of the perception of artificial flavourings, published by the BBC last year.

My colleague Sam sent me this interesting article, as she was intrigued by how the origin of flavouring can impact consumer perceptions, with some ‘artificial’ flavours possibly originating from less frequently consumed varieties of foods we know and love.  The author Chris Baraniuk uses banana flavourings to great effect, highlighting how sensory and flavour chemistry can be used to trick consumer perceptions.  On his journey through flavour he steps into the world of the full sensory experience and cross-modal interaction with Charles Spence, and even flavour encapsulation, which provides such hope for the food industry to deliver key flavours and product attributes, albeit with varying levels of success at this early stage.

Thank you Sam for sending me this article.  It summarises nicely the challenges faced by the food and drinks industry to deliver flavoursome, natural tasting foods.  This is particularly important for current FMCG trends, as shown by the 2015 Insights Show, highlighting how consumers are demanding more and more different and exciting flavour options.

The not so sweet taste of fat

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Fat

Another exciting study has hit the world of taste research.  Researchers from Purdue University, have found new evidence to suggest we can perceive the taste of fat, termed ‘Oleogustus’.  In a study published this month, Mattes and his team have found new evidence that fats can have a distinct taste, different sensation to the basic tastes of sweet, sour, salty, bitter or umami.

In this study, volunteers were screened for their taste ability through a series of discrimination (spot the similar samples) tests.  Screening selected 69% of volunteers, with 36% showing higher taste acuity.  Successful participants wore nose clips, to reduce the impact of aroma and flavour, and sorted a variety of taste samples into groups using an adapted Taxonomic Free Sorting approach.  The samples were matched for texture, so volunteers focussed on taste differences when describing what united samples that they placed in the same groups.

Sorting results found participants grouped samples into salty, sweet, sour and bitter tastes, with the fat samples generally placed separately to all these basic tastes.  Whilst some overlap was observed with certain fats considered to be have elements sour, umami and bitter tastes, follow-up assessments found participants could isolate the fat samples specifically. Some short chain fatty acids were found to be slightly sour, whilst medium length chain fatty acids had some cross-over with umami compounds such as Monosodium Glutamate.  Interestingly, long chain fatty acids were found to have some bitter associations for consumers, and these findings led the study authors to conclude that the taste of fat may not be entirely pleasant, and even considered unpalatable.

Despite fat delivering a specific sensation we can detect on the tongue, it is the combination of these tastes, aromas, textures and flavours that contribute to the full sensory experience.  Fats can aid flavour delivery and provide texture cues to a wide range of products such as the melting mouthfeel of chocolate and ice cream, so even though it may be unpalatable when isolated, fat is easily accepted in the full context of foods and beverages.  Nevertheless, this greater understanding of what we perceive when we eat, can help industry develop low fat alternatives and fat replacers, knowing the role this essential ingredient plays in the mouth, and how we can perceive it.

This is a fascinating finding for both sensory research and the food industry as a whole, particularly for those developing low fat products with fat free alternatives.  This study highlights that fat has a taste which could be important to mimic in low fat products, as well as indicating the levels that isolated fatty acids can detected by consumers.  The concentrations of fats used in this study are around the levels in fermented and rancid products and could help explain the unpalatable nature of fat samples by consumers.  This new study suggests the taste of fat could play more of a role in food perception than we all realise, beyond the texture and mouthfeel characteristics we recognise in some of our favourite foods like chocolate!