Senomyx
Encyclopedia
Senomyx is an American
biotechnology
company that works toward developing additives to amplify certain flavor
s and smell
s in foods. Their website claims that it has essentially reverse engineered the receptors
in humans that react for taste and aroma, and they are capitalizing on these discoveries to produce chemicals that will make food taste better.
Senomyx was founded by prominent biochemist
Lubert Stryer
in 1999. In May 2001 Stryer returned to his professorship at Stanford University
and resigned from Senomyx, but continues to be the Chairman of the Scientific Advisory Board.
The company developed Substance 951, a potentiator
used to amplify the sweetness
of sugar
in food products, thereby allowing the manufacturer to reduce the amount of sugar used.
The chemistry of Susbtance 951 has drawn criticism from certain people even after it passed FDA regulations. Its ratio in testing was low enough to fall through a certain FDA loophole. Any items containing Substance 951 (commonly called Senomyx) are not required to mention it. It can be listed on the ingredients label as an "artificial flavor".
Using information from the human genome sequence, Senomyx has identified hundreds of taste receptors and currently owns 113 patents on their discoveries. Senomyx collaborates with seven of the world’s largest food companies to further their research and to fund development of their technology. Ajinomoto Co., Inc., Kraft Foods
, Cadbury Adams, PepsiCo
, Firmenich SA
, Nestlé SA
, and Solae
all collaborate with Senomyx, but decline to specify where its additives may be found in their many food categories.
Senomyx’s products work by amplifying the intensity of flavors. Because very small amounts of the additive are used (reportedly less than 1 part per million) Senomyx’s chemical compounds will not appear on labels, but will fall under the broad category of “artificial flavors.” For the same reason, the company’s chemicals have not undergone the FDA’s usual safety approval process for food additives. Senomyx’s MSG-enhancer gained the Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) status from the Flavor and Extract Manufacturers Association
, an industry-funded organization, in less than 18 months, which included three months of tests on rats.
According to Senomyx’s website, it “received a positive review by the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives, which determined that there were no safety concerns with the use of the Company’s savory flavor ingredients in foods. The positive assessment by JECFA is expected to expedite regulatory approvals in a number of countries, particularly those that do not have independent regulatory approval systems.”
Two of Senomyx’s newest innovations include a Cool Flavor Program that seeks to enhance cooling, menthol sensations, and a Bitter Blocker Program. According to Senomyx’s website, the company is collaborating with Solae, the international soy ingredients supplier, “to develop new bitter blockers that better modulate and control bitterness in certain soy-based products.” Senomyx has identified the receptors in the mouth responsible for sensing bitter taste and developed a chemical additive to knock out these receptors when eaten with hydrolyzed soy protein and other soy derivatives.
Senomyx’s revenues for the last quarter of 2007 were up 87 percent from the same period in 2006 and it's stock prices are rising. CEO Kent Snyder reports that corporate goals include “continuing to achieve significant progress in all of our discovery and development programs such as regulatory approval for our S2383 sucralose enhancer and selection of a sucrose enhancer for regulatory development. We also expect expanded commercialization of food products containing our savory flavor ingredients and additional new business development accomplishments.”
Senomyx lists several large corporate partners or "collaborators" on its website, such as PepsiCo and Nestle. Campbell Soup Company
had been a corporate partner since 2001, according to the website. In response to a question from the pro-life group about the alleged use of fetal cells, Campbell stated that it had ended its partnership with Senomyx earlier in March. It was not clear if the Campbell's decision had anything to do with the alleged use of fetal cells.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
biotechnology
Biotechnology
Biotechnology is a field of applied biology that involves the use of living organisms and bioprocesses in engineering, technology, medicine and other fields requiring bioproducts. Biotechnology also utilizes these products for manufacturing purpose...
company that works toward developing additives to amplify certain flavor
Flavor
Flavor or flavour is the sensory impression of a food or other substance, and is determined mainly by the chemical senses of taste and smell. The "trigeminal senses", which detect chemical irritants in the mouth and throat as well as temperature and texture, are also very important to the overall...
s and smell
Smell
Smell may refer to:* Olfaction, sense of smell, the ability of humans and other animals to perceive odors* Odor, the percept resultant from the sense of smell...
s in foods. Their website claims that it has essentially reverse engineered the receptors
Receptor (biochemistry)
In biochemistry, a receptor is a molecule found on the surface of a cell, which receives specific chemical signals from neighbouring cells or the wider environment within an organism...
in humans that react for taste and aroma, and they are capitalizing on these discoveries to produce chemicals that will make food taste better.
Senomyx was founded by prominent biochemist
Biochemist
Biochemists are scientists who are trained in biochemistry. Typical biochemists study chemical processes and chemical transformations in living organisms. The prefix of "bio" in "biochemist" can be understood as a fusion of "biological chemist."-Role:...
Lubert Stryer
Lubert Stryer
Lubert Stryer is the Mrs. George A. Winzer Professor of Cell Biology, Emeritus at the Stanford University School of Medicine. He was a Helen Hay Whitney Research Fellow from 1961 to 1964 before initiating his own research program at Stanford...
in 1999. In May 2001 Stryer returned to his professorship at Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
and resigned from Senomyx, but continues to be the Chairman of the Scientific Advisory Board.
The company developed Substance 951, a potentiator
Potentiator
In clinical terms, a potentiator is a reagent that enhances sensitization of an antigen. Potentiators are used in the clinical laboratory for performing blood banking procedures that require enhancement of agglutination in order to detect the presence of antibodies or antigens in a patient's blood...
used to amplify the sweetness
Sweetness
Sweetness is one of the five basic tastes and is almost universally regarded as a pleasurable experience. Foods rich in simple carbohydrates such as sugar are those most commonly associated with sweetness, although there are other natural and artificial compounds that are sweet at much lower...
of sugar
Sugar
Sugar is a class of edible crystalline carbohydrates, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose, characterized by a sweet flavor.Sucrose in its refined form primarily comes from sugar cane and sugar beet...
in food products, thereby allowing the manufacturer to reduce the amount of sugar used.
The chemistry of Susbtance 951 has drawn criticism from certain people even after it passed FDA regulations. Its ratio in testing was low enough to fall through a certain FDA loophole. Any items containing Substance 951 (commonly called Senomyx) are not required to mention it. It can be listed on the ingredients label as an "artificial flavor".
Using information from the human genome sequence, Senomyx has identified hundreds of taste receptors and currently owns 113 patents on their discoveries. Senomyx collaborates with seven of the world’s largest food companies to further their research and to fund development of their technology. Ajinomoto Co., Inc., Kraft Foods
Kraft Foods
Kraft Foods Inc. is an American confectionery, food and beverage conglomerate. It markets many brands in more than 170 countries. 12 of its brands annually earn more than $1 billion worldwide: Cadbury, Jacobs, Kraft, LU, Maxwell House, Milka, Nabisco, Oscar Mayer, Philadelphia, Trident, Tang...
, Cadbury Adams, PepsiCo
PepsiCo
PepsiCo Inc. is an American multinational corporation headquartered in Purchase, New York, United States, with interests in the manufacturing, marketing and distribution of grain-based snack foods, beverages, and other products. PepsiCo was formed in 1965 with the merger of the Pepsi-Cola Company...
, Firmenich SA
Firmenich
Firmenich SA is a private Swiss company in the perfume and flavor business, it is the largest privately-owned company in the perfume and flavor business, and ranks number two worldwide., Firmenich has created many of the world’s favorite perfumes for over 100 years and produced a number of the most...
, Nestlé SA
Nestlé
Nestlé S.A. is the world's largest food and nutrition company. Founded and headquartered in Vevey, Switzerland, Nestlé originated in a 1905 merger of the Anglo-Swiss Milk Company, established in 1867 by brothers George Page and Charles Page, and Farine Lactée Henri Nestlé, founded in 1866 by Henri...
, and Solae
Solae
Solae may refer to:*Solae , an elevator testing tower in Inazawa City, Japan*Solae , Solae LLC, a joint venture between DuPont and Bunge Limited...
all collaborate with Senomyx, but decline to specify where its additives may be found in their many food categories.
Senomyx’s products work by amplifying the intensity of flavors. Because very small amounts of the additive are used (reportedly less than 1 part per million) Senomyx’s chemical compounds will not appear on labels, but will fall under the broad category of “artificial flavors.” For the same reason, the company’s chemicals have not undergone the FDA’s usual safety approval process for food additives. Senomyx’s MSG-enhancer gained the Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) status from the Flavor and Extract Manufacturers Association
Flavor and Extract Manufacturers Association
The Flavor and Extract Manufacturers Association of the United States was founded in 1909 by several flavor firms in response to the passage of the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906. Founding members were McCormick & Company, Ulman Driefus & Company, Jones Brothers, Blanke Baer Chemical Company,...
, an industry-funded organization, in less than 18 months, which included three months of tests on rats.
According to Senomyx’s website, it “received a positive review by the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives, which determined that there were no safety concerns with the use of the Company’s savory flavor ingredients in foods. The positive assessment by JECFA is expected to expedite regulatory approvals in a number of countries, particularly those that do not have independent regulatory approval systems.”
Two of Senomyx’s newest innovations include a Cool Flavor Program that seeks to enhance cooling, menthol sensations, and a Bitter Blocker Program. According to Senomyx’s website, the company is collaborating with Solae, the international soy ingredients supplier, “to develop new bitter blockers that better modulate and control bitterness in certain soy-based products.” Senomyx has identified the receptors in the mouth responsible for sensing bitter taste and developed a chemical additive to knock out these receptors when eaten with hydrolyzed soy protein and other soy derivatives.
Senomyx’s revenues for the last quarter of 2007 were up 87 percent from the same period in 2006 and it's stock prices are rising. CEO Kent Snyder reports that corporate goals include “continuing to achieve significant progress in all of our discovery and development programs such as regulatory approval for our S2383 sucralose enhancer and selection of a sucrose enhancer for regulatory development. We also expect expanded commercialization of food products containing our savory flavor ingredients and additional new business development accomplishments.”
Backlash from Pro-Life Groups
In March of 2010, it was asserted by the pro-life group Children of God for Life, which monitors the use of cells from aborted babies, that Senomyx uses aborted fetal cells in its products and testing, making use of Human Embryonic Kidney 293 cells (HEK 293). Senomyx has not confirmed this, but the pro-life group cited the Senomyx paper "Human receptors for sweet and umami taste" in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.Senomyx lists several large corporate partners or "collaborators" on its website, such as PepsiCo and Nestle. Campbell Soup Company
Campbell Soup Company
Campbell Soup Company , also known as Campbell's, is an American producer of canned soups and related products. Campbell's products are sold in 120 countries around the world. It is headquartered in Camden, New Jersey...
had been a corporate partner since 2001, according to the website. In response to a question from the pro-life group about the alleged use of fetal cells, Campbell stated that it had ended its partnership with Senomyx earlier in March. It was not clear if the Campbell's decision had anything to do with the alleged use of fetal cells.