The Research Institute of Food Science and Technology hosted a scientific webinar on "Scent- based taste: Innovative Applications of Retronasal Olfaction" on Monday, July 17, 2023, which was presented by Dr. Sara Diana Garduno Diaz, Director of Air Up Company in Germany, while having the presence of faculty members, RIFST's graduate students as well as the managers of Grwonida Innovation Center and Abfam Company.
In this event, general concepts about the role of tongue and brain in identifying tastes and also the role of the sense of smell in perceiving them were mentioned. Dr. Sara Diana Garduno Diaz mentioned that 80% of our understanding of taste is through the sense of smell. Contrary to popular belief that taste is acquired entirely through the tongue and taste receptors, in reality, the tongue is partially responsible for the taste experience. The new product of Air Up Company, which is a bottle with a straw and a special filter in the upper part, can create a unique experience of achieving different flavors in the consumer.
Based on the innovation used, in this product, the person who drinks the water experiences the flavored water by using the sense of smell. One of the advantages of this product is flavoring water without adding any flavoring or sweetener to it, which of course can encourage people to consume more water. The scents inside the filters of this product are obtained exclusively from natural ingredients such as fruits, spices and plants. These fragrances are coated on air-permeable carriers. In the following, the mutual effect of the senses in understanding the surrounding environment was mentioned and examples of commercial products based on this capability were presented.
At the end of the session, Dr. Sara Diana Garduno Diaz answered the questions of the attendees and Dr. Behrouz Quraani, the Director of the International Scientific Cooperation Office, while thanking Dr. Sara Diana Garduno Diaz and the sponsor of the program, Grownida Innovation and Development Center (Alis), pointed out that this meeting is held in line with the development of international scientific cooperation and in the form of a series of meetings with speeches by experts in the field of science and food industry and industry managers in other countries.