Umami Is the Theme of a Latin American Event | Press

Speakers from Japan, Australia, the United States, Brazil, and Spain will discuss topics related to umami taste and its benefits.

On August 16, the “1st Latin American Symposium on Umami: State of the Art in Sensory Aspects” will take place at The Windsor Barra Hotel in Rio de Janeiro. Promoted by the Brazilian Society of Food Science and Technology (SBCTA), the Symposium is a satellite event of Pangborn, the world’s largest Sensory Science Congress. It aims to present benefits and new developments related to umami taste—one of the five basic tastes of the human palate—as well as its physiological aspects in the oral, gastrointestinal, and brain systems. Speakers from Japan, Australia, the United States, Brazil, and Spain—leading references on umami—will discuss topics ranging from taste and flavor perception in newborns to umami taste in the brain.

Félix Reyes, who holds a PhD in Food Science from the University of Campinas (UNICAMP) and is a member of the Technical Committee of the Institute for Glutamate Science in South America (IGSSA), explains that the event is “a great opportunity for the scientific community, health professionals, specialists in sensory science, and students to better understand umami taste and obtain more information about its benefits and sensory aspects in the human palate.”

The presentations will begin with Ana San Gabriel, a researcher in Receptor Physiology at the University of Tokyo and a Master of Nutrition, who will address glutamate mechanisms in the oral and gastrointestinal systems. Next, Hiroya Kawasaki, an agronomist from Kyoto University, will discuss the importance and role of umami taste in gastronomy. After the coffee break, John Prescott, PhD in Philosophy from the University of New South Wales, Australia, will explain “the science of pleasant flavor: umami taste and food preference.”

After lunch, Julie Mennella, PhD in Biopsychology from the University of Chicago, will discuss “the flavor world of newborns.” Ivan Araújo, PhD in Neurophysiology from the University of Oxford, will close the event by addressing “umami taste in the human brain.”

The event, organized by the Umami Committee Brazil—an association responsible for promoting the fifth basic taste in the country—has the support of the Institute for Glutamate Science in South America (IGSSA), the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa), and the International Life Sciences Institute (ILSI).

Pangborn
Considered the world’s largest Sensory Science Congress, Pangborn is in its 10th edition and is being held for the first time outside Europe and North America—from August 11 to 15 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The event will bring together scientists, professionals, and students in sensory and consumer studies and, in addition to promoting the dissemination of new knowledge, aims to enable these groups to share professional experiences and contribute to the development of these fields.

The event was created in honor of Rose Marie Pangborn, an American scientist and pioneer in sensory studies in the food field, who authored more than 180 scientific articles and supervised the graduate work of over 40 students in the area.

Service

Event: 1st Latin American Symposium on Umami: State of the Art in Sensory Aspects
Date: 08/16
Time: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Venue: The Windsor Barra Hotel
Address: Av. Lúcio Costa, 2630 – Barra da Tijuca – Rio de Janeiro
Registration: www.sbcta.org.br/index.php?acao=documento&valor=1095&pg=0 or email: sbcta@sbcta.org.br
Phone: +55 (19) 3241-0527
*Simultaneous translation included.

UMAMI COMMITTEE BRAZIL

Umami Committee Brazil is a group created to discuss and disseminate topics related to the fifth basic taste of the human palate, umami. It is linked to the Umami Information Center (UIC), a non-profit organization dedicated to research on the subject.