Biosynthetic Production of Vanillin - a Historical Perspective
Dr. Ivica Labuda
Biokeys for Flavors, LLC
Norwood, NJ
While biosynthetically produced vanillin cannot replace vanilla, it has an important role in satisfying customer demand for some of vanilla's attributes. During this talk, Dr. Labuda will focus on the science of vanillin formation during the bioconversion of ferulic acid. Within the regulatory and industrial landscape of the time, Dr. Labuda will discuss the journey taken to identify the microorganisms and processing conditions necessary for the accumulation of vanillin. Comparing the bouquet produced by microorganisms to natural vanilla extract was of great interest. Sensory evaluation, LC and LC/MS analyses clearly highlighted the difference between the two. The results clearly indicated that microbial vanillin should not be considered in competition to vanilla extract.
Dr. Ivica Labuda has twenty-three years of research and management experience in food and flavor ingredients industry with a strong reputation for results. Ivica brings together the technical expertise in flavors, biochemistry, microbial physiology, food safety, biotechnology and fermentations for product discovery, secondary metabolites, research and development in the area of unique flavor and bioactive ingredients.
Ivica Labuda’s graduate, post-graduate studies and research were done at Institute of Biochemistry, Komensky University, Bratislava, Slovakia, at Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ and at University of Graz, Austria. Ivica’s experience in industry started at Kraft Foods, continued at Givaudan, Danisco/Cultor and as a Senior Manager at Pepsi-Cola. Besides leading Biokeys as president, she is also an adjunct professor at Georgetown University teaching courses on Food Biotechnology, International Biotechnology and Fermentation technology.
Dr. Labuda’s research was published in 24 peer-review publications and described in 13 patents. Key patents include processes for the production of natural vanillin and nootkatone. She was an invited speaker at conferences such as the Gordon Conference, Wuerman Symposium, ASM, SIM, ACCS and ACS.
