SFC Symposium 2024

Welcome message and event housekeeping details will be shared.

Product development timelines continue to condense as our customers accelerate their drive for new innovation. In a GLP-1 agonist, Post-COVID, social-media-driven environment, how do food companies respond to ever-changing influences? How do we navigate customer interactions differently at small, midsize, and large corporations…or do we? And how do we address consumer trends toward healthy, functional food while acknowledging that taste will always be more important than anything else?

From genetics to AI, the field of receptor biology is advancing rapidly. New insights into receptor mechanisms responsive to salt, sour and alkaline stimuli are answering old questions and presenting new ones. Meanwhile, the application of advanced mathematical modeling and optogenetic techniques is deepening our understanding of how sweet, bitter and umami taste chemicals are detected and can be modulated. New cellular and genetic models have led to more effective taste modulators and greater insight into the biological and environmental factors altering taste function. Widespread loss of taste and smell resulting from the SARS-COV2 virus provided impetus to explore the role of infection and inflammation on taste cell production and function. This work is revealing the intimate role the immune system holds in controlling and shaping our taste cell populations. These advancements are expanding our understanding of taste perception and preference into new dimensions for the design of flavor systems that promote healthy eating and improved sustainability.

Abstract: Flavors and fragrances are ancient wonders, each with a soul, telling their own story through scent and taste. For many Flavorists, particularly those working at F&F houses, the world of perfumery lies just beyond their grasp: a realm of collaboration filled with untapped potential for groundbreaking discovery. Alison’s inspiring talk will take you to the vibrant intersection where Flavorists and Perfumers meet, while offering a glimpse into Perfumers’ invaluable perspectives. She’ll share some of the latest scientific innovations that straddle the two professions and reveal how, through creativity and connection with Perfumers, Flavorists can unlock entirely new dimensions in their craft—turning the ordinary into the extraordinary.

Flavorists today still create delightfully tasting products that must hold up well in the end food or beverage application.  On top of that, clients may ask for “pictorial” ingredients or profile notes to be delivered, and might even request that certain materials are avoided, whether to meet some retail establishment’s advertised “No-No” list or to support a consumer’s religious or dietary needs, be that Halal or Kosher, or food allergens avoidance.  Between making the best-tasting product on the market, and managing the client’s brief, flavorists also need to know WHERE the products will be sold and thus WHAT jurisdictions might limit what is allowed in their mixing bowl.
Lorna and Sandra will take a wander with you through the ever-changing landscape that is the World of Flavor Regulations .. as it is today .. no guarantees for tomorrow!

The U.S. citrus industry is in the midst of an existential crisis that is the result of two major threats: the spread of the devastating disease Huanglongbing (HLB, a.k.a., “citrus greening”), and the precipitous drop in consumer preference for fruit and fruit juice due to flavor alterations. This presentation explores metabolomics-based approaches for conducting flavor research during the HLB era.

We all have our favorite raw materials. I have, all too often, had it pointed out that I have used one of my favorites “yet again”. At the other end of the scale there are raw materials that seem to be entirely restricted to one obvious, but narrow, category. In addition there are raw materials that seem so complex that their use is difficult to intuit.
We all create under escalating time pressure and it is only natural to take the clearest and most obvious approach. This is fine, but spending a little time unearthing “Hidden Gems” can be very rewarding and elevate creations to a new level.

In your day to day professional responsibilities you are able to sell what you do over and over again to customers and co-workers.  You can explain in minute detail the essence of how you create a flavor, imagine a product, set your team up for that “Gold Win”.  Have you ever thought about how to take that kind of care and consideration as to how you sell ‘you’…. not just what you do?  Personal branding goes beyond what you do, but includes who you are and where you want to be…. personally and professionally. In this session we will discuss the ways in which you should celebrate, and influence, you for what you want to accomplish in your career.

Neo-natural compounds are defined as those not produced by human chemical synthesis, but which also are not found anywhere in the natural environment. Following this definition, neo-natural compounds can only be made through biotechnology. Because they are directly made by living organisms, they cannot be considered synthetic, yet because they are the result of human artifice, they cannot be considered completely natural either. The concept of neo-natural compounds present several opportunities for researchers in the flavor industry, including providing a route to complex designer molecules that would otherwise be very difficult to produce in significant quantities. This presentation provides insights into neo-natural terpenoid esters, including how organisms can be modified to create them, their unique sensory characteristics, and their promising applications in the flavor industry.

Chemesthesis is widely used in the flavour industry in applications such as confection, oral care and savoury,  at levels where sensation can be clearly recognized by the consumer.
This presentation will aim to give a short review of the types of materials which typically impart a sensation, and what we mean by sensation. We will then take a look at how Chemesthetic materials can influence broader taste aspects when used at sub threshold levels and how Chemesthesis can influence other factors beyond taste.

Eric Robbins' donation of a new 6 Vol. set of The Essential Oils by Ernest Guenther​​​​ will be raffled off to non Apprentice or Certified members of the SFC.

Standard business meeting with all voting members to determine new membership & other items for discussion.