ABSTRACT

Vanilla belongs to the most valued as well as the most expensive spices of the world. It represents the most important aromatic avor, whose production constitutes a multimillion dollar a year for the industry (Krueger and Krueger, 1983). Worldwide production of vanilla observed is 2000 metric tons per year. Vanilla extracts are used extensively in chocolate and baked products, but most commonly in ice cream. The main avor-active ingredient of vanilla extracts is vanillin. Industrial chemical synthesis of vanillin started more than 130 years ago (Tiemann and Haarmann, 1874). It is one of the most widely used avoring components currently used in the avor industry. The total consumption of vanillin is estimated to be at 12,000 metric tons per year (Euro ns Newsletter, 2003), about 82% for avor purposes, 5% for fragrances and cosmetics, and 13% for pharmaceutical intermediates. The demand for it far outweighs its natural supply. Bensaid (Euro ns Newsletter, 2003) states that only 0.33% of the consumed vanillin originate from vanilla beans. Natural vanillin can be 100 times more expensive than vanillin from synthetic origin-in some years even more, depending on the harvest (Euro ns Food Newsletter, 2007). This price difference in combination with the “biotrend” and the demand for natural products has induced the avor industry to develop alternative sources of natural vanillin, for example, based on the biotransformation of natural compounds.