Processed Foods with Natural Flavour: The Use of Novel Recovery Technology

Briefly outlines the role of new distillation technology in the recovery and management of natural flavours. Often processing leads to the loss or deterioration in the flavour characteristics of foods and drinks,especially when compared with fresh starting materials. Aims to show that some of these effects can be mitigated by good process engineering;and uses the role of spinning cone distillation processes, on which the author currently is researching, to illustrate the argument. Summarizes the principal features of spinning cone technology, together with the advantages of the technology for flavour recovery: these include high selectivity and efficiency, mild operating conditions, low residence times and multistage operation, which, inter alia, allow low stripping rates, while producing flavour concentrates. Briefly mentions some current applications including flavour management in the production of fruit concentrates, the production of reduced alcohol drinks, and, in the context of clean technologies, the use of the technology for flavour recovery and odour removal.