In Defense of Flavors: Blue Marble Biomaterials lands a home-run in advanced flavorings

A few years ago, Michael Pollan wrote a best-seller, In Defense of Food, that leveled an attack on high fructose sweeteners from which the corn industry has not entirely recovered. If you’ve seen an industry effort to relabel “high fructose corn syrup” as something else — anything else — it is because of a consumer backlash that many feel is unfairly centered on flavorings and sweeteners. But unfair or not, corn-based sweeteners have been cast down with the devil by a sizable slice of the product-buying market.

It reminds me of the old joke:

Staffer: “Sir, the customers are revolting.”
Director: (sigh). “Yes, I agree they’re revolting, but we are just going to have to go on putting up with them.”

The customers are revolting over ideas like “natural” and a suspicion that they are being misinformed, gypped or manipulated by Big Food, or Big Flavor, or Big Something, They’re revolting over GMO, over “natural” labeling. Over “healthy” claims. Fairly or unfairly, they feel that way.

So, mark the time in the logbook, as the sea-captain says.  Someone has launched something really innovative right into the midst of this controversy, “like a jug of pure spring water for a perplexed conclave,” as Churchill once remarked. Straight Outta Missoula, you might say.

Blue Marble Biomaterials have launched their natural ester line of products, aptly named “Natural Solutions” — meeting all definitions for “natural” labeling by the U.S. and E.U. Solving a vexing concern voiced “time and again” by experts in the flavors & fragrances sector — the paucity of natural flavors and that only a handful that claimed the distinction could pass third-party isotopic testing.”

By contrast, the “Natural Solutions” ester product line just offered by Blue Marble Biomaterials meet all definitions of U.S. and European Union natural labeling and are produced at Blue Marble’s SQF (Safe Quality Food) Level 2 Certified bio-refinery in Missoula, Montana USA. In addition, each ester meets kosher and food grade regulations. And it’s all non-GMO.

The search for transparency

“We spent the past 12 months and thousands of dollars purchasing ester samples from vendors all around the world on a search for esters that truly were natural”, stated James Stephens, Co-CEO and Chief Science Officer of Blue Marble Biomaterials. “We found that only a very small percentage of vendors offered “natural” labeled esters and of those that did, only a handful of the provided samples passed third-party isotopic testing.”

“The results of this survey were disappointing yet empowering for our team”, said Underwood. “Increasingly, consumers want transparency and honesty in the products that they purchase.”

“We are launching with fourteen unique esters in the “Natural Solutions” line and will be adding more in the coming months. Our goal is to keep material change costs as low as possible for our customers and as we increase the portfolio and production capacity of

this line, we strive to make them cost competitive to their petroleum derived/synthetic counterparts,” said Underwood. “This is the beginning of a series of exciting technological launches for Blue Marble Biomaterials, delivering innovative solutions and monumental changes to the food, beverage, and personal care industries”, said Stephens.

It’s Arabic to Thee and Me

Seen from the consumer point of view, few end-users know anything about flavor formulations. Methyl hexanoate vs Heptyl acetate?  In the end, banks of molecular diagrams look like Arabic.

And for years, formulators have focused on flavor, flavor, flavor. As long as it tickled the palate, who cared where it came from or what the consequences were?

The importance of Natural

According to this report at NewHope.com penned by Cathianne Leonardi at Allen Flavors, 23 percent of food and beverage launches analyzed were labeled as “natural”. The article notes that “The U.S. consumer’s diet continues to demand a return to a simpler time when the “tangible material formerly known as food” as described in Pollan’s book [In Defense of Food] must at minimum come from nature.”

She described “Information, transparency is power,” as the one of the 4 top trends in the flavor business. One only needs to consult the latest app, Facebook page or brand-supported website to understand the origins of food items in question. As information becomes more accessible, consumers may hold increased involvement in knowing what we eat, why we eat it and why we love it.

http://newhope.com/better-you-foods/natural-and-organic-trends-flavor-formulation?page=2

More about Blue Marble Bio

The technology is complex but not complex to describe.

The processes utilize plant material and managed ecosystems of bacteria to produce complex chemical compounds. The process begins with organic material (biomass): food co-products, spent brewery grain, spent coffee and tea, algae, milfoil, agricultural silage, wood chips, and more. Their AGATE system uses cellulosic, lignin, and protein based biomass to produce target products. BMB refines its compounds using green chemistry processes.

Compared to genetically modified organism (GMO) monoculture or bi-culture systems, it’s a polyculture fermentation system offering a wide variety of metabolic pathways to produce chemicals that are non-GMO, drop in replacements and cost competitive to their petroleum cousins. Their magic bugs create Carboxylic Acids, Esters, Thioesters, and Thiols / Mercaptans.

Esters for sampling

Blue Marble Biomaterials will be showcasing the “Natural Solutions” ester product line at the big IFT SHow in Chicago next week. The following esters will be available for sampling:

Benzyl butyrate, Benzyl propionate, Ethyl heptanoate, Ethyl isobutyrate, Ethyl valerate, Heptyl acetate, Hexyl butyrate, Isoamyl propionate, Isobutyl propionate, Methyl hexanoate, Phenethyl acetate, Propyl acetate, Propyl butyrate, Propyl hexanoate.