Product Development Process

High-throughput Screening and Identification of Potential New Ingredients.

The next step in our process is to use our proprietary taste receptor-based assays to identify potential new flavor ingredients that bind to taste receptors, known as hits. We use automated high-throughput screening to rapidly evaluate our extensive libraries of diverse synthetic and natural samples. These libraries currently include more than 800,000 natural and synthetic samples that we believe are likely to be safe and economical for use in packaged food and beverage products.

We are using our SavoryScreenHT, SweetScreenHT, SaltScreenHT, SaltScreenEP and BitterScreenHT assay systems to screen the samples in our libraries for their effects on specific taste receptors. These systems use many of the same technologies that pharmaceutical companies use to discover medicines. We also use these systems to assist us in optimizing our lead ingredient candidates by rapidly and iteratively testing the potency and other characteristics.

A panel of taste testers then evaluates the taste effect of the most potent hits. Based on multiple evaluations, we designate hits that exhibit a positive taste effect as proof-of-concept samples, and the most promising are selected for optimization.