Perfumer's Corner

Welcome to the Flavorist’s Corner!

Flavor Creation
The Flavor and Fragrance Industry is a fascinating world whose secrets historically have not been open to the general public. Since 2004, The Perfumer’s Apprentice has been endeavoring to help people learn about the world of perfumery, providing education and materials to students of all levels. Now, The Flavor Apprentice hopes to provide help and information to those interested in the world of flavors as well. Traditionally, flavor and fragrance formulas have been closely guarded as ’Trade Secrets’, and information about them is not normally available to the general public. In the flavor industry, ingredients lists for consumer products are only required to list the non-flavor ingredients, for example Propylene Glycol, Ethyl Alcohol, etc. The actual flavoring ingredients will only be referred to as Natural Flavors, or Artificial Flavors etc. but no further detail is required to be on any flavor label. It is a requirement of the FDA that only certified Food Safe materials are used in the creation of flavors, and flavor manufacturers are inspected regularly, to make sure all requirements are met. However, with the advent of GC/MS analysis, any person has the capability to have a flavor or fragrance analyzed, the end result being a listing and percentage of the raw molecules contained in the blend. In effect, this has resulted in the lessening of the secrecy behind flavor formulation, and has shed more light on the fascinating world of raw materials.
Further information on the Flavor Industry:
A great trade magazine is ’Perfumer and Flavorist’ published by Allured.
http://www.perfumerflavorist.com/magazine
This magazine is also available at certain large libraries (ex. San Francisco Public Library, and the New York Public Library) – There is a website that will help you find out if there are any libraries near you that carry this magazine (or any books you might be searching for) as well
http://www.worldcat.org

There is also a 25-year compilation CD of back issues available on Allured’s website.
The traditional hierarchy of the Flavor Industry is as follows:
Companies that manufacture the raw materials used in flavor and fragrance blends, and who also create flavors used throughout the food industry.
The three largest are
IFF (International Flavors and Fragrances)
http://www.iff.com

Givaudan
http://www.givaudan.com

Firmenich
http://www.firmenich.com

There are other manufacturers that specialize in producing just a few raw materials, and are located all over the world. There are a few distributors that sell these raw materials in kilo and up sizes. Some of the main ones are Vigon International, The John D. Walsh Co., Polarome, Berje Inc., Bedoukian and many more. Perfumer and Flavorist magazine is a great reference for finding these companies. Then there are many flavor manufacturers that use these raw materials to create flavors. In general, these companies do not sell to the retail market. Finally, there are distributors that offer these flavors to the general public. (Like us!)
The History of Flavors
When I set about trying to research the world of flavor creation, one of the first books I collected was Food Flavorings Composition, Manufacture, and Use by Joseph Merory (1968). This was a really fascinating book, which gave me an overview of how flavors were created and used, also including some flavor formulas, which unfortunately are now outdated. The reason formulas become outdated is that new flavor molecules are developed which often are more useful and safer, and which take the place of the traditional materials. Also, some flavor molecules that were traditionally used have not made it onto the ’GRAS’ (Generally Recognized as Safe) list, and so are no longer being used. Another valuable resource both for perfumers and flavorists is ’The Formulation and Preparation of Cosmetics, Fragrances, and Flavors’ by Louis Appell (1994). The book also contains many formulas for both flavors and fragrances, and I learned a lot by blending them, but again, most of the flavor formulas are outdated. A more modern resource would be Allured’s Bookstore
http://www.alluredbooks.com/

Here is a very nice Cola Flavor that demonstrates how essential oils were used to make flavors. This is a concentrate that is basically oil-soluble, since essential oils are not very water soluble. It would be diluted in Ethyl Alcohol in order to become water soluble.

Cola Flavor

40 parts Lemon Essential Oil
20 parts Orange Essential Oil
20 parts Lime Essential Oil (distilled is best)
1 part Cinnamon Bark Essential Oil
15 parts Cinnamic Aldehyde (Cinnamaldehyde)  This is the main component (molecule) of natural cinnamon bark
2 parts Eugenol  the main component of Clove
2 parts Vanillin  this is a crystalline molecule that forms on the outside of vanilla beans.
This is an educational formula only, but it is fun to put together and experiment with! By the way, every ingredient in this formula, with the exception of cinnamon bark, is also a perfumery ingredient, athough the cinnamon molecules would only appear in trace amounts in a perfume. In fact, the majority of flavor ingredients (molecules) are also perfumery ingredients, and with the popularity of ’gourmand’ fragrances, the distinction between the two worlds has blurred even further!
Every molecule used in the flavor and fragrance industry has a unique identifier, called a CAS number (Chemical Abstracts Service Number). Molecules that are also used in the flavor industry will have a FEMA number as well. (Flavor and Extracts Manufacturers Association).
A very informational website for more information on specific molecules is www.thegoodscentscompany.com. In fact, whenever I am researching a new molecule, for example vanillin, I would google vanillin CAS I would then have the CAS number for vanillin, which is 121-33-5. Then I would google CAS 121-33-5 good scents, which would bring up the informational page for vanillin. Very handy!
That’s it for the overview! k If you would like to see other information here, let me know, and I can improve it.