The science behind taste perception has advanced greatly in recent years. This has resulted in new opportunities from ingredient technologies and product formulation approaches to a better understanding of consumer preferences. With a goal of empowering the development of successful products, this presentation looked at sweetness perception as determined by two sensory-neural pathways and conveyed the latest insights into how these pathways may impact reward, metabolic status and perceived flavor. Additional factors such as genetic considerations, oral enzymes and hormonal status that influence flavor perception and preference were covered. Lastly, the pros and cons of alternative screening methods for sweeteners as tools for ingredient development were briefly discussed.
Nancy E. Rawson, Ph.D., Associate Director, Monell Chemical Senses Center speaking on “No Calorie Makes No Sense” at the 2017 Sweetener Systems Conference.
