A chemical that tricks you into "tasting" sugar or salt when it is not really there may soon be added to a variety of foods, including some made by Kraft Foods, Nestlé, Coca-Cola and Campbell Soup. The result? Processed foods could contain less salt or sugar (one-third to one-half less than regular products) and the product would still taste the same.

Senomyx, the biotechnology company behind the new food additive, has already developed several chemicals that, although they contain no flavor of their own, activate or block receptors in the mouth that taste. The chemicals can mimic or enhance the taste of sugar, salt and monosodium glutamate (MSG).

The chemical compounds will not be listed on ingredient labels. Instead, they'll be included with a general ingredient category already on most processed food labels: "artificial flavors."

Flavor Chemicals Able to Bypass FDA Approval Process

The compounds will be used in small amounts (less than one part per million), which means Senomyx does not have to go through the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) approval process typically necessary to release food additives. Instead of the lengthy FDA process, the company only had to be classified as "generally recognized as safe" by the Flavor and Extract Manufacturers Association--a task that took less than 18 months (including a three-month safety study on rats).

Consumer groups and food safety experts have pointed out that while the chemicals' ability to reduce salt, sugar and MSG in foods could be beneficial, one three-month safety study is not enough to guarantee safety. They say more rigorous testing is needed before the compounds are released onto the market.

Senomyx says the flavorings would be used in such minute amounts that they would pose no safety risk. In contrast to the flavorings being used at 1 part per million, artificial sweeteners are used at levels of 200 to 500 parts per million.

Kraft Foods, Nestlé, Coca-Cola and Campbell Soup have paid Senomyx a total of $30 million for research and development and have contracted for exclusive rights to use the flavorings. Senomyx will receive royalties of 1 percent to 4 percent of product sales when the flavorings are added to food products.

Kraft plans to use the flavorings to reduce sugar in Kool-Aid, while Campbell hopes to use them to reduce salt in soups and beverages like V8.

New York Times April 6, 2005

Dr. Mercola's Comments:

The New York Times has cast a bright light on new food additives created by the San Diego-based company Senomyx, including this chemical that tricks your taste buds into tasting sugar or salt even when it isn't there. If you're not concerned yet, consider this: The Senomyx chemicals were formulated using many of the same research techniques that biotechnology companies apply in creating new drugs. Two more things to keep in mind: Unlike artificial sweeteners, Senomyx's chemicals will be lumped into the artificial flavors labeling on processed foods, and will not be listed separately, so how will you really know what's in that can of reduced salt chicken soup or those reduced sugar cookies? And, because the company says only small amounts of the chemicals will be used, they weren't required to go through the FDA's regular food additive approval process. I don't know about you, but I'd like to stick with my own taste buds as a guide to how sweet or salty something is. Something about eating a chemical that blocks or enhances taste receptors in the mouth is unsettling, even if it has been granted the "generally recognized as safe" status. Other food additives have also been regarded as safe and later side effects galore are uncovered, at least that was the case with Olestra, Nutrasweet and Splenda. Since these latest compounds will be lumped in as "artificial flavors," you won't know if they're in your food--unless you stick with unprocessed foods. So if you want healthy soup, the best way to ensure that it's healthy for you is not to rely on Campbell's to reduce the salt in theirs--it's to make it yourself using real ingredients that you pick out personally. You can even make your own healthy cookies--like the Girls' Sprout Cookies in my Total Health Program--that you can enjoy without worrying about what chemicals may be hiding in them. Cooking your own foods does take planning and more time, but the nutrient quality, purity and taste that you'll get from your own home cooking are vastly superior to any store-bought variety. Related Articles: Beware of Chip Labels Without Olestra Scientists Patent a Natural Compound That Blocks Bitter Tastes Research Shows That Foods That Taste Bad Are Good For You