I've been pretty sluggy recently about blogging, having been thrown off my game by the Thanksgiving interlude and some low-grade depression. Not that you asked.

One of the obvious topics I should have tackled no later than Monday morning was the "60 Minutes" segment on food flavorists, which was reminiscent of a chapter in Eric Schlosser's seminal "Fast Food Nation." The money quote from Morley Safer's piece came in this exchange near the beginning, as transcribed by Bruce Bradley on his blog (Givaudan is the company that gave access for the story):

Givaudan [Dawn Streich]: In our fruit flavors we're talking about, we want a burst in the beginning. And maybe a finish that doesn't linger too much so that you want more of it. 
Givaudan [Jim Hassel]: And you don't want a long linger, because you're not going to eat more of it if it lingers.
Morley Safer: Aha. So I see, it's going to be a quick fix. And then ...
Givaudan [Hassel]: Have more.
Safer: And then have more. But that suggests something else?
Givaudan [Hassel]: Exactly.
Safer: Which is called addiction?
Givaudan [Hassel]: Exactly.
Safer: You're tryin' to create an addictive taste?
Givaudan [Hassel]: That's a good word.

So there you have it: "Addiction" is a good goal for food technologists. This isn't new, of course, but it is nice, in a dismaying sort of way, to hear it, directly, in so many words, from the experts who are working at it. 

It's not going to surprise those of us who are paying attention, that food corporations are using biology and science to manipulate the market into buying more product. But it's going to help us alert the rest of  the world. 

Here's the full segment, including an interview with Dr. David Kessler, who is to this subject what Schlosser is to the fast-food industry: