Glutamic acid from tomato juice enhances salt flavour

LycoRed is in advanced negotiations with manufacturers interested in using glutamic acid from tomato juice - a waste product of lycopene production - as a flavour enhancer.

Clear tomato concentrate (CTC), which LycoRed separates from tomato pulp in the lycopene extraction process, contains 2.5% glutamic acid and 3% potassium, said Dr Zohar Nir, vice president of new product development and scientific affairs at LycoRed.

"CTC is great for reduced salt savoury snacks, as it enhances the flavour of the salt already in the product - plus, it has a slight savoury flavour. However, we can also modify it for use in sweet products."

There was also a growing market for tomato fibre, another by-product of LycoRed's core lycopene extraction process, he said. "It's a clean-label means of adding viscosity to things like ketchup."

LycoRed, which invests 10% of its turnover in R&D, was also launching self-dehydrating cherry tomatoes that looked like raisins and were ideal for adding to cereals, snacks and trail mixes.

LycoRed has developed strains of tomatoes with more than 200ppm of lycopene - well above the 40-80ppm in standard varieties, said company agronomist Eran Harel. "We are working on varieties with up to 300ppm, but once you go above a certain level, you see a drop in yield."