Food Companies Test Flavorings That Can Mimic Sugar, Salt or MSG

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>> Food Companies Test Flavorings That Can Mimic Sugar, Salt or MSG

>>By MELANIE WARNER

>>

>>Published: April 6, 2005

>>

>>

>>Several big food and beverage companies are looking at a new ingredient in

>>the battle for health-conscious consumers: a chemical that tricks the

>>taste buds into sensing sugar or salt even when it is not there.

>>

>>Kraft Foods, Nestlé, Coca-Cola and Campbell Soup are all working with a

>>biotechnology company called Senomyx, which has developed several

>>chemicals, most of which do not have any flavor of their own but instead

>>work by activating or blocking receptors in the mouth that are responsible

>>for taste. They can enhance or replicate the taste of sugar, salt and

>>monosodium glutamate, or MSG, in foods.

>>

>>

>>By adding one of Senomyx's flavorings to their products, manufacturers

>>can, for instance, reduce the sugar in a cookie or salt in a can of soup

>>by one-third to one-half while retaining the same sweetness or saltiness.

>>

>>Now, for instance, a 10 3/4-ounce can of Campbell's Home-style chicken

>>soup, which the company says contains two and a half servings, has more

>>than 2,300 milligrams of sodium. That would probably be cut to a little

>>over 1,500 milligrams when the chemical is added. (The government

>>recommends consumption of no more than 2,400 milligrams of sodium a day.)

>>

>>Unlike artificial sweeteners, Senomyx's chemical compounds will not be

>>listed separately on ingredient labels. Instead, they will be lumped into

>>a broad category - "artificial flavors" - already found on most packaged

>>food labels.

>>

>>"We're helping companies clean up their labels," said Senomyx's chief

>>executive, Kent Snyder.

>>

>>Senomyx, based in San Diego, uses many of the same research techniques

>>that biotechnology companies apply in devising new drugs. Executives say

>>that a taste receptor or family of receptors on the tongue or in the mouth

>>are responsible for recognizing a taste. Using the human genome sequence,

>>the company says, it has identified hundreds of those taste receptors. Its

>>chemical compounds activate the receptors in a way that accentuates the

>>taste of sugar or salt. It is still experimenting to determine the most

>>potent compounds, its chief scientist, Mark Zoller, said.

>>

>>While food safety experts applaud efforts to reduce salt, MSG and sugar,

>>they expressed concerns about the new chemicals, saying that more testing

>>needed to be done before these were sold in food.

>>

>>But Senomyx maintains that its new products are safe because they will be

>>used in tiny quantities.

>>

>>Kraft, Nestlé, Coca-Cola and Campbell Soup have contracted with Senomyx

>>for exclusive rights to use the ingredients in certain types of food and

>>beverages, although the companies declined to identify those categories.

>>

>>Elise Wang, an analyst at Smith Barney, said that Kraft was planning to

>>use Senomyx's sweet flavoring to reduce the sugar in powdered beverages

>>like Kool-Aid by one-third. Campbell Soup, she said, is looking at cutting

>>sodium levels by a third with the salt flavoring.

>>

>>"There's applicability for our soups, sauces and drinks like V8," a

>>spokesman for Campbell, John Faulkner, said.

>>

>>A Kraft spokesman declined to offer specifics on the company's

>>relationship with Senomyx, but said that Kraft was committed to reducing

>>the sugar and salt levels in many products. Nestlé and Coke also declined

>>to comment.

>>

>>Senomyx's salt enhancer, in particular, has the potential to be a boon to

>>the food industry. For years, corporate scientists have been looking in

>>vain for ways to reduce sodium levels in packaged food without losing

>>flavor.

>>

>>"It's a real challenge," said Christine M. Homsey, senior research food

>>scientist at Food Perspectives, a consulting firm in Plymouth, Minn.

>>"Nobody's come up with anything even close to ideal."

>>

>>The Center for Science in the Public Interest, an advocacy group based in

>>Washington, is seeking to get the Food and Drug Administration to pay more

>>attention to the high sodium levels in packaged foods. In February, it

>>filed a lawsuit seeking to force the F.D.A. to regulate salt as a food

>>additive. The effort, if successful, could spur companies to limit salt in

>>their products.

>>

>>Mr. Synder said that Senomyx's salt enhancers were still in the

>>development phase and would not appear in foods for at least two years.

>>The company's most advanced product, he said, is its replacement for MSG,

>>which last month received safety approval from the Flavor and Extract

>>Manufacturers Association. He expects food items with this product to

>>appear in supermarkets sometime in the first half of next year.

>>

>>While doctors and consumers have recognized the dangers of too much salt

>>and sugar, MSG is not as well understood as a potentially harmful food

>>additive. Used as a flavor enhancer, it is found in flavored chips,

>>sauces, dry soups and meat products.

>>

>>According to Sara Risch, a food scientist and professor at Michigan State

>>University, food companies are eager to find replacements for MSG because

>>some people are allergic to high levels of it.

>>

>>"There's a negative consumer perception held by some people regarding

>>MSG," said Mr. Snyder, who came out of retirement in 2003 to become

>>Senomyx's chief executive. "Some school districts, for instance, won't

>>sell MSG-containing snacks."

>>

>>In the 1970's, after it was shown to induce brain lesions and nervous

>>system disorders in laboratory animals, baby food manufacturers removed it

>>from their products.

>>

>>Mr. Zoller, the company's chief scientist, said the replacement for MSG

>>could also be used in place of common flavor enhancers like hydrolyzed

>>vegetable protein and autolyzed yeast extract. These ingredients have been

>>closely linked to MSG because they contain high levels of glutamic acid,

>>the main component of MSG.

>>

>>Since Senomyx's flavor compounds will be used in small proportions (less

>>than one part per million), the company is able to bypass the lengthy

>>F.D.A. approval process required to get food additives on the market.

>>Getting the Flavor and Extract Manufacturers Association status of

>>generally recognized as safe, or GRAS, took Senomyx less than 18 months,

>>including a 3-month safety study using rats. In contrast, the maker of the

>>artificial sweetener sucralose spent 11 years winning F.D.A. approval and

>>is required to list the ingredient on food labels.

>>

>>Michael Jacobson, executive director of the Center for Science in the

>>Public Interest, endorsed Senomyx's ability to reduce salt, sugar and MSG,

>>but cautioned against a new chemical entering the food supply without

>>rigorous testing. "A three-month study is completely inadequate," he said.

>>"What you want is at least a two-year study on several species of

>>animals."

>>

>>Senomyx responded that in contrast to artificial sweeteners, which are

>>used at levels of 200 to 500 parts per million, its flavorings would be

>>added in such small quantities that they would pose no safety risk. These

>>low-use levels are also what allow Senomyx's chemicals to be classified as

>>artificial flavors.

>>

>>According to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Kraft

>>Foods, Nestlé, Coca-Cola and Campbell Soup have collectively paid Senomyx

>>$30 million to finance research and development. When the flavorings are

>>incorporated into foods, Senomyx has said it will collect royalties of 1

>>percent to 4 percent of a product's sales.

>>

>>Although the company is several years away from turning a profit, its

>>stock price has nearly doubled since it went public last June, closing

>>yesterday at $11.91. Last fiscal year, Senomyx lost $19.7 million on

>>research revenue of $8.3 million. Ms. Wang of Smith Barney has projected

>>that royalties from food product sales will be $50 million in 2008.

>>

>

 

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> " arlen baden " <nyvegan

>FW: Food Companies Test Flavorings That Can Mimic Sugar, Salt or

>MSG

>Tue, 12 Apr 2005 22:50:09 -0400

>

>

>

>> " arlen baden " <nyvegan

>>nyvegan

>>Food Companies Test Flavorings That Can Mimic Sugar, Salt or MSG

>>Sun, 10 Apr 2005 22:04:45 -0400

>>

>>

>>

>>

>>

>>

>>

>>

>> Food Companies Test Flavorings That Can Mimic Sugar, Salt or MSG

>>By MELANIE WARNER

>>

>>Published: April 6, 2005

>>

>>

>>Several big food and beverage companies are looking at a new ingredient in

>>the battle for health-conscious consumers: a chemical that tricks the

>>taste buds into sensing sugar or salt even when it is not there.

>>

>>Kraft Foods, Nestlé, Coca-Cola and Campbell Soup are all working with a

>>biotechnology company called Senomyx, which has developed several

>>chemicals, most of which do not have any flavor of their own but instead

>>work by activating or blocking receptors in the mouth that are responsible

>>for taste. They can enhance or replicate the taste of sugar, salt and

>>monosodium glutamate, or MSG, in foods.

>>

>>

>>By adding one of Senomyx's flavorings to their products, manufacturers

>>can, for instance, reduce the sugar in a cookie or salt in a can of soup

>>by one-third to one-half while retaining the same sweetness or saltiness.

>>

>>Now, for instance, a 10 3/4-ounce can of Campbell's Home-style chicken

>>soup, which the company says contains two and a half servings, has more

>>than 2,300 milligrams of sodium. That would probably be cut to a little

>>over 1,500 milligrams when the chemical is added. (The government

>>recommends consumption of no more than 2,400 milligrams of sodium a day.)

>>

>>Unlike artificial sweeteners, Senomyx's chemical compounds will not be

>>listed separately on ingredient labels. Instead, they will be lumped into

>>a broad category - " artificial flavors " - already found on most packaged

>>food labels.

>>

>> " We're helping companies clean up their labels, " said Senomyx's chief

>>executive, Kent Snyder.

>>

>>Senomyx, based in San Diego, uses many of the same research techniques

>>that biotechnology companies apply in devising new drugs. Executives say

>>that a taste receptor or family of receptors on the tongue or in the mouth

>>are responsible for recognizing a taste. Using the human genome sequence,

>>the company says, it has identified hundreds of those taste receptors. Its

>>chemical compounds activate the receptors in a way that accentuates the

>>taste of sugar or salt. It is still experimenting to determine the most

>>potent compounds, its chief scientist, Mark Zoller, said.

>>

>>While food safety experts applaud efforts to reduce salt, MSG and sugar,

>>they expressed concerns about the new chemicals, saying that more testing

>>needed to be done before these were sold in food.

>>

>>But Senomyx maintains that its new products are safe because they will be

>>used in tiny quantities.

>>

>>Kraft, Nestlé, Coca-Cola and Campbell Soup have contracted with Senomyx

>>for exclusive rights to use the ingredients in certain types of food and

>>beverages, although the companies declined to identify those categories.

>>

>>Elise Wang, an analyst at Smith Barney, said that Kraft was planning to

>>use Senomyx's sweet flavoring to reduce the sugar in powdered beverages

>>like Kool-Aid by one-third. Campbell Soup, she said, is looking at cutting

>>sodium levels by a third with the salt flavoring.

>>

>> " There's applicability for our soups, sauces and drinks like V8, " a

>>spokesman for Campbell, John Faulkner, said.

>>

>>A Kraft spokesman declined to offer specifics on the company's

>>relationship with Senomyx, but said that Kraft was committed to reducing

>>the sugar and salt levels in many products. Nestlé and Coke also declined

>>to comment.

>>

>>Senomyx's salt enhancer, in particular, has the potential to be a boon to

>>the food industry. For years, corporate scientists have been looking in

>>vain for ways to reduce sodium levels in packaged food without losing

>>flavor.

>>

>> " It's a real challenge, " said Christine M. Homsey, senior research food

>>scientist at Food Perspectives, a consulting firm in Plymouth, Minn.

>> " Nobody's come up with anything even close to ideal. "

>>

>>The Center for Science in the Public Interest, an advocacy group based in

>>Washington, is seeking to get the Food and Drug Administration to pay more

>>attention to the high sodium levels in packaged foods. In February, it

>>filed a lawsuit seeking to force the F.D.A. to regulate salt as a food

>>additive. The effort, if successful, could spur companies to limit salt in

>>their products.

>>

>>Mr. Synder said that Senomyx's salt enhancers were still in the

>>development phase and would not appear in foods for at least two years.

>>The company's most advanced product, he said, is its replacement for MSG,

>>which last month received safety approval from the Flavor and Extract

>>Manufacturers Association. He expects food items with this product to

>>appear in supermarkets sometime in the first half of next year.

>>

>>While doctors and consumers have recognized the dangers of too much salt

>>and sugar, MSG is not as well understood as a potentially harmful food

>>additive. Used as a flavor enhancer, it is found in flavored chips,

>>sauces, dry soups and meat products.

>>

>>According to Sara Risch, a food scientist and professor at Michigan State

>>University, food companies are eager to find replacements for MSG because

>>some people are allergic to high levels of it.

>>

>> " There's a negative consumer perception held by some people regarding

>>MSG, " said Mr. Snyder, who came out of retirement in 2003 to become

>>Senomyx's chief executive. " Some school districts, for instance, won't

>>sell MSG-containing snacks. "

>>

>>In the 1970's, after it was shown to induce brain lesions and nervous

>>system disorders in laboratory animals, baby food manufacturers removed it

>>from their products.

>>

>>Mr. Zoller, the company's chief scientist, said the replacement for MSG

>>could also be used in place of common flavor enhancers like hydrolyzed

>>vegetable protein and autolyzed yeast extract. These ingredients have been

>>closely linked to MSG because they contain high levels of glutamic acid,

>>the main component of MSG.

>>

>>Since Senomyx's flavor compounds will be used in small proportions (less

>>than one part per million), the company is able to bypass the lengthy

>>F.D.A. approval process required to get food additives on the market.

>>Getting the Flavor and Extract Manufacturers Association status of

>>generally recognized as safe, or GRAS, took Senomyx less than 18 months,

>>including a 3-month safety study using rats. In contrast, the maker of the

>>artificial sweetener sucralose spent 11 years winning F.D.A. approval and

>>is required to list the ingredient on food labels.

>>

>>Michael Jacobson, executive director of the Center for Science in the

>>Public Interest, endorsed Senomyx's ability to reduce salt, sugar and MSG,

>>but cautioned against a new chemical entering the food supply without

>>rigorous testing. " A three-month study is completely inadequate, " he said.

>> " What you want is at least a two-year study on several species of

>>animals. "

>>

>>Senomyx responded that in contrast to artificial sweeteners, which are

>>used at levels of 200 to 500 parts per million, its flavorings would be

>>added in such small quantities that they would pose no safety risk. These

>>low-use levels are also what allow Senomyx's chemicals to be classified as

>>artificial flavors.

>>

>>According to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Kraft

>>Foods, Nestlé, Coca-Cola and Campbell Soup have collectively paid Senomyx

>>$30 million to finance research and development. When the flavorings are

>>incorporated into foods, Senomyx has said it will collect royalties of 1

>>percent to 4 percent of a product's sales.

>>

>>Although the company is several years away from turning a profit, its

>>stock price has nearly doubled since it went public last June, closing

>>yesterday at $11.91. Last fiscal year, Senomyx lost $19.7 million on

>>research revenue of $8.3 million. Ms. Wang of Smith Barney has projected

>>that royalties from food product sales will be $50 million in 2008.

>>

>

 

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