In 1908, Dr. Kikunae Ikeda, researcher and professor at Tokyo Imperial University discovered, from experiments with seaweed, that by isolating glutamic acid or glutamate, he found a fifth taste, in addition to the already known ones, sweet, salty , sour and bitter. This fifth taste was named Umami, which means tasty. In 1909, the Ajinomoto company was created, whose name means "essence of flavor". With the advancement of studies and research, it was discovered that monosodium glutamate can also be processed from other natural sources, such as sugarcane derivatives, through a fermentation process. In 1956, Ajinomoto arrived in Brazil and, since then, has been committed to offering the highest quality products, both products for the consumer and inputs for the food, cosmetics, pharmaceutical, animal nutrition and agribusiness. With four industrial units and an administrative headquarters, Ajinomoto employs approximately 2,000 employees and serves both the domestic and foreign markets. The head office is located in Tokyo, Japan. Today, Ajinomoto is present in 21 countries, with 97 factories, generating around 30,000 jobs.