The group first shared with Dr. Eduardo Agosin and Gerard Casaubon, to know how they had come to pursue careers related to Science and Technology, so as to inspire the vocation of the young people; they also spoke of how important it can become to know well and to control the aroma and flavor parameters of a product for its market success, referring to the work which has been done to promote wine as an ambassador of Chile's exports.
In a second phase, the students were divided into groups and animatedly evaluated several samples that should be identified.
In the first module, they were excited and challenged to identify odors; they strove to find the right word, while other stated associations like "smell as Mom's kitchen" when evaluating cooked green beans or "this scent reminds me when I eat bananas "and it was palm honey.
The second module was to evaluate several examples of the 5 basic tastes, seeking also to teach concepts of healthy eating. As an example, when they tried the sweet taste, which included sugar, it was also compared with natural sweeteners like stevia; in the salty taste they compared regular salt with salt substitutes and briefly we told them about the importance of avoiding excesses in their consumption. But one of the most attractive activities was when they did a test that reveals that had a specific gene that makes them more sensitive to bitter taste also known as "supertaster". While some wrinkled their nose when tasting the bitterness from just a few droplets, others laughed because they were not sensitive to it!
Finally, in the third module commercial products were presented to reinforce concepts to eat healthy, as normal and lactose-free milk, chocolate cereals with different sweeteners, breads with regular and reduced salt and the last one, a fun new challenge to show the important role of vision in the evaluation of juice whose color was altered and they should identify which was the fruit flavor in each sample.
We invite you to review what was published in different media which covered the event.
http://www.flickr.com//photos/58099257@N06/sets/72157629118619243/show/
http://www.chileva.cl/doctor-eduardo-agosin-tenemos-que-transformar-nuestro-vino-si-queremos-ser-potencia-alimentaria
http://www.chileva.cl/taller-de-aromas-y-sabores
http://buscador.emol.com/vermas/El%20Mercurio/Noticias_El%20Mercurio/2012-01-31/6373083c-cbb9-4265-af16-958b9cb03ee8/Aprenden_a_identificar_sabores_y_olores_para_encantarse_con_la_ciencia/

Contact for further press information:
Juan Carlos Gómez
Journalist
Marketing and Corporate Communications
DICTUC - A subsidiary of the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile
Phone: (56-2) 3541429
E-mail: periodista@dictuc.cl

Vicuña Mackenna # 4860, Macul
Santiago - Chile
www.dictuc.cl