International symposium discusses diet and the importance of flavor | Press

Event brought together around one hundred participants, including industry and academic professionals.

The city of São Paulo hosted, on the 27th, at the Hotel Pullman São Paulo Ibirapuera, the international symposium “The Importance of Flavor in Food.” The event, organized by the International Life Sciences Institute (ILSI), featured speakers from England, Japan, and Peru, who addressed points related to the symposium’s main theme: food acceptance and the chemical, metabolic, and neural action aspects.

The event opened with a brief presentation by ILSI president Aldo Baccarin, who spoke about the organization and where it operates. Next, Professor Felix Reyes of Unicamp, the symposium’s scientific coordinator, thanked the speakers and explained that it is possible to have a diet that is both healthy and tasty.

Teresa Blanco, a professor at the Peruvian University of Applied Sciences, kicked off the day’s talks with the theme “Amino Acids, Peptides, and Proteins in the World of Flavor.” “Flavor makes us feel a pleasant sensation. Our job is to ensure everyone can eat better while still enjoying healthy food,” she explained. She also gave examples of substances naturally present in foods that play different roles in the body and are commonly linked to energy production and enhancing food flavor.

The second speaker of the day was Shintaro Yoshida, representing the Umami Information Center, with the talk: “Physiology and Benefits of Umami Taste — the Fifth Basic Taste.” The Japanese expert showed how umami is received by the body and the reactions that occur when we come into contact with it. Yoshida also presented a study showing how umami can improve seniors’ diets and increase gastric juice secretion to aid digestion, since the stomach has specific receptors for these substances. In addition, he showed how umami substances can help reduce sodium in foods.

Researcher and professor Edmund Rolls, from Oxford’s Centre for Computational Neuroscience, closed the day’s lectures with “The Neuroscience of Umami Taste: What Makes It Delicious.” Rolls explained how gustatory stimuli act in distinct areas of the brain and why umami makes foods more appetizing. He also pointed out that combining umami taste with aroma makes it even better. “Combining vegetable aromas with umami taste makes it even better—and more than just a taste,” said the professor, adding that cognitive action can create an even more positive association with umami.

The audience included professionals from the food field—such as physicians, nutritionists, pharmacists, and food engineers—as well as health-focused journalists.

Umami book

At the end of the event, the book Umami and Glutamate — Chemical, Biological, and Technological Aspects was launched. The publication highlights several studies on the fifth basic taste, umami, and its main representative: the amino acid glutamic acid (also known as glutamate). Distributed by Plêiade Publishing, the book has a didactic foundation and will be donated to educational and research institutions. It will also be donated to industry professionals who need additional information on metabolism, safety, and the application of umami substances in foods.

About the Umami Committee of Brazil

The Umami Committee of Brazil is a group created to discuss topics related to the discovery of the fifth basic taste of the human palate—umami. The group has a direct relationship with the Umami Information Center, a non-profit organization dedicated to research on the subject.

UMAMI

It is the fifth basic taste of the human palate, discovered in 1908 by Japanese scientist Kikunae Ikeda. It was scientifically recognized in 2000, when researchers at the University of Miami confirmed the existence of specific receptors for this taste on the taste buds. The amino acid glutamic acid and the nucleotides inosinate and guanylate are the main umami substances. The two main characteristics of umami are increased salivation and a lingering taste for a few minutes after eating. To learn more, visit www.portalumami.com.br.