Glutamate Association Disputes Givaudan Claims on Umami Taste

Givaudan claim that at the heart of the 'clean label' movement is the desire to remove taste enhancers such as MSG (monosodium glutamate). MSG is widely used in savoury and snack foods to provide an umami sensation which enhances the overall flavour intensity.

26 Aug 2009 --- The industry body the Glutamate Association has disputed claims made last week by Givaudan, the Swiss flavor producer, promoting the company's flavor compounds. “They ignore the role that glutamate plays in diet and nutrition and encourage food companies to stigmatize a safe and beneficial ingredient,” the Association has claimed.

Last week Givaudan reported that it is conducting new and extensive scientific and culinary research into umami through its TasteSolutions programme. Combining culinary knowledge of umami, together with scientific expertise in receptor research and taste analysis, Givaudan has developed an extensive palette of natural taste ingredients which focus on umami. This enables its flavourists to create flavours which provide a new level of deliciousness and authenticity in foods without having to rely on the addition of declarable taste enhancers. Givaudan claim that at the heart of this 'clean label' movement is the desire to remove taste enhancers such as MSG (monosodium glutamate). MSG is widely used in savoury and snack foods to provide an umami sensation which enhances the overall flavour intensity.

However, the Glutamate Association said in a statement that Givaudan's announcement ignores the science that confirms umami as the fifth basic taste. Since the discovery of the umami taste receptor, its mechanism has been defined in detail. Umami taste receptors are especially sensitive to glutamate - the purest taste of umami - whether it derives from corn-on-the-cob, Serrano ham or seasoning. Furthermore, recent work on umami receptors shows that the reason ribonucleotides, such as inosinate, increase umami taste when consumed with glutamate, is that there are specific sites on the umami receptors for these ingredients. “Glutamate and ribonucleotides work synergistically not only in delicious food combinations, like tomato and beef in Bolognese sauce, but at a molecular level. An objective evaluation of Givaudan's flavors shows that they cannot match nature's source of the umami taste,” the Association claimed.

The Glutamate Association said that if Givaudan's compounds were to deliver a true umami taste, they would, ironically, have to be listed in the product's ingredients declaration under their common or chemical name.