London Flavour Day 2024 delves into the factors shaping our food preferences
Leading experts from the flavour industry gathered in London (8 April 2014) for London Flavour Day, hosted by the UK Flavour Association.
The event, held at the prestigious Wellcome Collection in London, explored the crucial role of flavour in food, the choices consumers make, the impact of these on diet and how the flavour industry can be as sustainable as possible.
London Flavour Day 2024 also celebrated the work of final year students from the University of Nottingham who took part in a flavour industry challenge earlier this year.
This year’s event began with two inspiring talks by leading research psychologists who each investigate different elements of flavour and its impact on our behaviour related to food choices.
The University of Bristol’s Professor of Experimental Psychology Jeff Brunstrom focussed on the role flavour plays in everyday dietary and food decisions. He offered an alternative view that until now, the human ability to gauge the nutritional value of food has been underestimated and is in fact more influenced by social and cultural factors.
The morning session concluded with Dr Laura Wilkinson, Associate Professor in Psychology from Swansea University, who focused on multi-component food items and how they impact eating behaviours. Dr Wilkinson discussed ongoing her research which offers the possibility of product reformulation with health and sustainability in mind.
Chaired by Helen McNair, technical director at Lionel Hitchen and a member of the IOFI Sustainability Working Group, the afternoon session focused on the ever-pressing need for food, flavour and our choices to become more sustainable.
McNair kicked-off the afternoon by providing an overview of the IFRA-IOFI Sustainability Charter – what it is, why sign up and more details about the organisations behind it.
Attendees also heard from the University of York’s Professor of Green Chemistry Avtar S Matharu, who discussed green chemistry and opportunities from unavoidable food supply chain waste.
James Smith, vice president and managing director of Kalsec talked about the journey to gaining B-Corp certification in 2020, and how the company is harnessing the power of Kalsec’s business to solve social and environmental problems.
Chair Helen McNair discussed EcoVadis, whose intelligence and evidence-based ratings monitor and improve the sustainability performance of their trading partners. What EcoVadis is, how it works, and the pros/cons will all be examined.
The final talk from Symrise UK’s sustainable development manager Mimie Ravaroson, who is passionate about nature, sustainability and vanilla produced in her home country of Madagascar.
Ravaroson explained how Symrise is supporting vanilla farmers in Madagascar’s Sava region who face many challenges when producing high-quality vanilla for world-wide consumers, from pollination to harvest.
Janis Sinton, vice chair of the UK Flavour Association and founder director of TasteTech, noted how sharing best practices, new ideas, research findings and skills is exactly why events such as London Flavour Day benefit the sector.
She praised the important work of the speakers in highlighting the need for ongoing research in the flavour sector and how it can adapt to the ever-changing requirements for food and the flavour industry as it works to become as sustainable as possible.
She continued: “I’m delighted that the next generation of flavour experts is being celebrated today as well. It was a pleasure for the UK Flavour Association to sponsor students from the University of Nottingham in their final-year project, and we hope that being a part of London Flavour Day will inspire them to successful careers in the flavour industry.”
The students’ winning project – about chewing gum flavour matching – was displayed at the event.
Two of the students involved, Megan Burrows and Gemma Green, were on hand to discuss their work with delegates.
