Mitsuru Tanaka Lab. Food Analysis, Department of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Faculty of Agriculture, Kyushu University

When humans chew and swallow food products, they perceive the taste and odor components released into the oral cavity as gustatory and olfactory information (chemical sensation) and the texture of the food as tactile information (physical sensation). However, current analytical techniques cannot evaluate all flavor components and textures simultaneously. Moreover, the mechanism to determine the food palatability based on the perceived flavor and texture is largely unknown. In this study, we aim to construct a “Visualized comprehensive flavor and texture mapping” that visualizes the spatial distribution of taste and odor components, as well as the texture, by our developing technology to digitize the flavor and texture of foods. The proposed flavor and texture mapping would make it possible to objectively explain chemosensory information and contribute greatly to the understanding of deep “SHITSUKAN” obtained by maximizing the five-senses-recognition for the food palatability.