Comax Flavors of Melville, New York announced that the company is offering a stevia masking flavor, a new addition to its extensive line of Special Effects flavors.

“With more and more food and beverage manufacturers choosing stevia as their natural sweetener of choice, we’ve mastered the science to assist them in overcoming the taste distortions that are imparted by stevia, the highly desirable, FDA-approved, ‘green’ sweetener,” Dr. John Cavallo, President, Comax Flavor, said.

Combining proprietary technology with familiarity with stevia and applications expertise

Although Comax’s stevia masking flavor is a new offering, Catherine M. Armstrong, Comax Flavors’ Vice President, Marketing, pointed out that Comax has been working with stevia prior to its approval by the FDA in December of 2008. She commented that naturally-derived stevia is an authentic natural sweetener, making it particularly desirable as a sugar replacement. Correspondingly, it is acknowledged that because stevia extracts may be 300 times sweeter than table sugar, it requires careful management of its use. In this regard, Ms Armstrong maintained, “We’ve captured the proprietary technology to create our one-of-a-kind stevia masking flavor and are supporting it with our substantial applications know-how. That’s why we have been successful in modulating its use for maximum effectiveness. Our stevia masking product not only overcomes bitterness caused by stevia but also deflects the lingering or clinging sweetness that interferes with the enjoyment and acceptability of the finished product. We are already assisting customers who are formulating with stevia and we are providing customized support to those customers who up to now have been hesitant to work with stevia because of the taste distortions it could impart,” Ms Armstrong stated.

Stevia Masking Flavor, part of Comax’s ‘Special Effects’ flavor line

Ms Armstrong explained that stevia masking flavor is part of Comax’s line of Special Effects flavors that do more than ‘cover up’ taste distortions.  The line also includes flavors such as Bitter Blocker, Acid Reduction, Caffeine Mask and Sweetness Enhancers. Special Effects flavors, a Comax offering for the past several years, provide the taste and aroma sensations that consumers want. “We know what consumers prefer through a proprietary research tool that Comax employs to pinpoint consumer trends. We use our findings to evaluate the potential success of the products we create. In fact, our stevia masking flavor has been evaluated by our sensory panels in prototype samples.  The results validate the effectiveness of our recent stevia masking creation,” Ms Armstrong added.

“Our extensive applications work with stevia represents our company-wide grasp of the taste challenges in healthier formulations. While our work with stevia masking has been largely focused on beverage and bakery applications, our stevia masking technology can be customized to meet specific applications across many other segments,” Ms Armstrong reported.

“We are proud that our proprietary technology allows us to make stevia even more desirable through the elimination of off tastes. We know what it takes to provide great taste in food and beverage products that include fortified ingredients or are formulated to reduce fat, sugar and salt content,” said Ms Armstrong.

Customers can rely on Comax being at the ‘forefront of flavor’

Dr. Cavallo concluded, “Our advances in successfully working with stevia are a reflection of all that has happened at Comax over the three decades since we were founded. Today, we have expanded globally through strategic partnerships in Latin America and Asia. The Comax team is working together to provide the products, services and personalized customer support that are uniquely available at a family-owned, hands-on business such as ours. Our aroma chemical creation and manufacturing expertise is a real advantage. And we’re living up to our positioning as the company that is at the ‘forefront of flavor’ through our dynamic focus on flavor development for future foods and beverages that feature more diverse and complex functional ingredients without taste distortions.”

For more information contact Catherine Armstrong, V.P. Marketing, Comax Flavors, at 800-992-0629 or email her at carmstrong@comaxflavors.com. You may also contact Maria Garvey, Delfino Marketing at 914-747-1400 or email maria@delfino.com.

Founded in 1977, Comax is a major innovator in flavor technology by using vertical integration to effectively manage the critical steps in the flavor creation process. From its considerable investment in R&D, to its specialized extraction processes, to its advanced manufacturing capabilities, Comax is in a unique position to bring its customers to the ‘forefront of flavor’ by offering them a wide variety of good-tasting, cost-effective flavor solutions that also meet consumers' growing demand for nutritious products.