Fat tastes in food put to the test

Aug 20, 2003

The National Centre of Excellence in Functional Foods, an initiative of the National Food Industry Strategy, conducted a special lecture by a visiting American expert into fat tastes in food.

Professor Richard Mattes from Purdue University, Indiana, spoke on the subject of "Fat -- The Sixth Taste -- Implications for Health on 20 August at the University of Wollongong.

Professor Mattes has more than 25 years' experience dealing with food, nutrition and sensory research. His major research interest areas include hunger and satiety, regulation of food intake in humans, taste and smell as well as food preferences.

His talk focused on the accumulating evidence indicating that there is a taste component for fat in humans, especially for unsaturated fatty acids.

Professor Mattes' research has looked at how properties like fibre content, protein and palatability can be maximised.

His Australian universities tour is sponsored by the National Food Industry Strategy Ltd.