FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | December 12, 2011

New American Chemical Society video on why people like or dislike foods

WASHINGTON, Dec. 12, 2011 — The wonderful world of flavor chemistry — the science that helps explain why people like or dislike certain foods — is the topic of the latest episode in the American Chemical Society’s (ACS) award-winning Bytesize Science podcast series.

The high-definition video, “Flavor Chemistry,” is available without charge at www.BytesizeScience.com and on the Bytesize Science podcast on iTunes. It is based on an article in the latest issue of ChemMatters, ACS’ quarterly magazine for high school students.

This episode explains that numerous chemical compounds contribute to the flavor of food. Chocolate, for instance, has about 300 flavor compounds, and coffee beans contain more than 800. Identifying these chemicals can help create a variety of artificial flavors that are used in many food products, including potato chips, ice cream, chewing gum and soft drinks.

Media Contact

Michael Bernstein
202-872-6042
m_bernstein@acs.org

Michael Woods
202-872-6293
m_woods@acs.org

People differ in preferences for foods largely because of taste. But other factors come into play, as well. These include the smell of food, its texture, color and temperature. They all contribute to what is more generally known as the “flavor” of food and help people decide whether food is delicious, good, unpleasant or simply unpalatable.

ChemMatters has been connecting chemistry to our everyday lives for the past 28 years. Published quarterly by the ACS Office of High School Chemistry, each issue contains articles about the chemistry of everyday life and is of interest to high school students and their teachers. To request a free copy of ChemMatters, go to http://fs7.formsite.com/ACSEducation/ChemMatters/index.html.

For additional entertaining video podcasts from ACS, go to www.bytesizescience.com.

The Bytesize Science series is produced by the ACS Office of Public Affairs.

For more entertaining, informative science videos and podcasts from the ACS Office of Public Affairs, view Prized Science, Spellbound, Science Elements and Global Challenges/Chemistry Solutions.

To automatically receive news releases from the American Chemical Society contact newsroom@acs.org.

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A new American Chemical Society video focuses
on flavor chemistry.