IFT First 2025: Biospringer by Lesaffre showcases yeast-based “bitter blockers” for enhanced flavor innovation

Biospringer by Lesaffre is advancing flavor innovation through its yeast-based ingredients to target “intense” sensory profiles in foods. Its fermentation-derived Springer Mask 102 solution blocks bitterness and neutralizes off-notes in alternative sweeteners, while the Maxarome Prime yeast extract enhances flavors by boosting umami, meaty, and salty notes in savory foods.

The company showcased these solutions at the recently concluded IFT First in Chicago, US (July 14-16), with product tastings to demonstrate the ingredients’ versatile applications in savory food formulations.

Andrew Vasina, the North America culinary center manager, tells Food Ingredients First that the Maxarome product range includes ingredients “naturally high in umami-containing compounds.”

“It’s a synergistic mix of naturally occurring I+G and glutamic acid, which intensifies and creates strong flavor profiles in a wide array of food products. It brings fullness in the mouth and boosts salty, savory, and meaty flavors — a great tool for delivering strong, intense flavor profiles to food.”

I+G stands for two natural compounds from yeast that boost flavor — disodium inosinate and disodium guanylate. On their own, they are mild, but when combined with glutamic acid, they work synergistically to make foods taste more savory and meatier.

The ingredient can help manufacturers create intense, natural flavors in savory foods.

“I+G, glutamic acid, or a blend of both, are great sources of natural umami, like in Maxarome Prime. When you think of bouillon, you think of depth and mouthfeel; for cheese, it’s creaminess and that flavor punch. Umami helps enhance all those qualities and brings forward the strong natural flavors that people crave in their food,” explains Vasina.

Targeting bitter notes

Biospringer’s by Lesaffre’s yeast-based Springer Mask 102 targets undesirable off-notes in alternative sweeteners. The company launched it for the North American market at IFT First this year.

Andrew Vasina, North America culinary center manager at Biospringer by Lesaffre.“These are unique bitter blockers that work by targeting the bitter receptors in the mouth, which allows you to tone down and sometimes completely remove some of the off-notes that come with alternative sweeteners, botanicals, and other bitter compounds,” Vasina tells us.

“Mask 102 is a cultured yeast extract that’s especially effective at masking earthy notes from botanicals and plant proteins — those grassy or bitter flavors that can sometimes make food unpleasant.”

It also allows formulators to avoid using ingredients with “less clean label” or adding more salt or sugar to cover bitterness. With Springer Mask, they can maintain the desired flavor profile without those additions, helping preserve the nutritional value of the final product.

Fermentation for clean label benefits

Vasina highlights that Biospringer by Lesaffre focuses on fermentation-based ingredients for the F&B industry. The natural process allows the firm to extract “clean label components directly from nature in a transparent way.”

“The fermentation process is simple. Most of our ingredients, including the Maxarome and Mask ranges, are derived from yeast, the same yeast bakers use to make bread. We apply our fermentation know-how to extract the best of these yeast strains, creating powerful umami flavor enhancers or bitter-blocking molecules.”

Since yeast-based ingredients naturally deliver robust umami notes, manufacturers can also incorporate them in sodium-reduced formulations to help negate the loss of salty taste perception in such foods.