China's economic online sea on March 28 (Reporter Li Zhiguo) research report shows that after entering the 21st century, people's food structure has undergone greater changes. The proportion of self-sufficient food consumption has been declining year by year, and the demand for some new industrialized foods that are nutritious, convenient, leisure and green has increased year by year. Under the premise of structural adjustment and economic growth, the proportion of meat processing in 2005 has increased from 4% in the late 1990s to 10%; the proportion of grain processing has also increased from around 8% to around 15%. The high-tech and engineering of food has created a rare opportunity for the development of food additives.

According to experts, there are more than 2,000 kinds of flavorants in the United States, and there are about 3,000 kinds of flavors in the EU. There are about 1,500 kinds of flavors approved in China. There are many types of flavorings, which can be divided into four categories according to the form of their final products, namely beverages, savoury foods, dairy products and other foods. In the highly competitive food market, the survival rate of new products on the market is estimated to be only about 20%. Doug Tough, Chairman and CEO of International Fragrance Group, said: “The Group's new plant in Guangzhou, built to the highest standards for food ingredients in the world, has been completed, which will provide edible ingredients for fast-moving consumer goods in the company's regional and global regions. With the completion of the new plants in Singapore and New Delhi in 2012 and the new factory in Guangzhou in 2013, International Spices will support our customers' growth in the Asia Pacific region and globally with better advantages. We will maintain with constant confidence. Our strategic development in the Asia Pacific region and our firm commitment to the development of emerging markets.” He said that companies around the world are paying attention to the research and development of flavors, and even investing in application research and development far exceeds the food industry. Among them, the fragrance bases of different styles of amino acids and carbohydrates which are heated by the reaction, Maillard reaction, are recognized by international authorities and belong to the category of “natural flavors”. In addition, the use of biotechnology (fermentation or enzyme preparation) to treat natural raw materials, and then concentrated, sprayed, dried and processed to make spices with more flavor or unique characteristics, has become a popular product developed by major multinational companies and scientific research institutions. Therefore, the market's high monopoly and large investment in research and development have made the threshold for the new company to enter the spice industry significantly improved.

Experts say that with the advancement of analytical instruments and technology, more food-characteristic aroma compounds and their precursors will be discovered in the future. The study on the changes of the precursors of aroma compounds in food processing and their mechanism provides different models for the theoretical research and further development of reactive flavors, and also provides a research direction for the safety evaluation of reactive food flavors.

(Source: China Economic Net)