HEK293 originally came from a healthy, electively aborted baby whose cells were then harvested and cloned. The receptors are made from HEK293 - HEK stands for Human Embryonic Kidney cells, with 293 denoting that the HEK was from the 293rd experiment. That’s a testing system that provides scientists with biochemical responses and electronic readouts when a flavor ingredient interacts with their patented receptor, letting researchers know whether or not their flavor enhancer is effective. Senomyx develops patented flavor enhancers by using “proprietary taste receptor-based assay systems.” Senomyx is a high tech research and development business that is “dedicated to finding new flavors to reduce sugars and reduce salt.” But their focus is not on whole, organic fruits and vegetables, or grass-pastured meats, dairy and eggs. It’s all a bit complicated, but probably explains Senomyx and how their process works the best: Today we want to tell you a little more about how this testing process works, and who else, besides Pepsi, uses it. PepsiCo is one of the major American corporations that has a contract with Senomyx to test their food and drink products. As we reported yesterday, biotech company Senomyx uses fetal cells from aborted babies to test food additives.
