Technology Search:
Spice and Flavor Sparing

A global food manufacturer is seeking to identify ingredients, formulations, technologies or process methods to increase consumer perception of flavor intensity while using less flavor ingredients in salty snacks and hot cereals. They define flavor to include "characterizing" qualities, e.g. cheese, maple, strawberry, lime, etc. and to exclude basic tastes (salt, sweet, bitter, sour and Umami).

The successful technology will:

• Enhance flavor delivery in the first 30 seconds of food consumption (initial bite through swallow for snack foods)
• Enhance flavor intensity over the bowl-life of a freshly prepared hot cereal
• Use ingredients or components that are food grade or generally recognized as safe (GRAS) or that have potential to be approved for use in food
• Not significantly alter the flavor profile or character of existing products (just the intensity)
• Preferably, the technology will reduce the cost-in-use of using all-natural flavor ingredients

The following approaches are NOT of interest:

• Equipment offers
• Non-food-approved ingredient approaches
• Significant capital equipment investment to exercise technology
• Taste modifiers, e.g., sweet or salty enhancers, bitter blockers, etc.