Cleaning of fruit, vegetables, and meats comprising...

Details Cleaning of fruit, vegetables, and meats comprising... Cleaning of fruit, vegetables, and meats comprising...

2001-03-28

2002-08-13

Ogden, Necholus (Department: 1751)

Cleaning compositions for solid surfaces, auxiliary compositions

Cleaning compositions or processes of preparing

For cleaning a specific substrate or removing a specific...

C510S422000, C510S470000, C426S478000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06432892

ABSTRACT:

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 of DE 100 15 126.4, filed Mar. 28, 2000 in the German patent office, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates generally to the cleaning of fruit and vegetables.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
It is generally known and recognized among consumers that fruit and vegetables should be thoroughly washed before eating to remove dirt and other unwanted residues which can undesirably adhere to their surfaces. In addition, some consumers like to remove the artificial “wax-like” coating which is applied to some fruit in order to delay the loss of moisture for an extended life and to improve appearance. A majority of consumers are aware of the need for thorough cleaning but generally use only tap water for this purpose. Only a small percentage of consumers use a domestic cleaner—normally a manual dishwashing detergent—to achieve more thorough cleaning. However, dishwashing detergents are only suitable to a limited extent for this application because they are generally characterized by vigorous foaming and a stable foam which makes them difficult to remove from the fruit and vegetables washed with them. The formulation of really effective compositions for cleaning fruit and vegetables, particularly those which can be safely used by individual consumers, also represents a particular problem insofar as many known cleaning ingredients do not appear suitable for use in direct contact with foods from which they might not be able to be completely removed again.
In addition, it would be particularly desirable to provide effective, toxicologically safe compositions for cleaning fruit and vegetables in the form of substantially low-foaming liquid solutions which are clear or at least only very slightly cloudy. Liquid solutions are convenient for the user because they can be directly applied to “dirty” fruit and vegetables and then rinsed off with tap water. The clarity of the liquid signifies cleanliness to the user and is thus particularly desirable. The low foaming is another important attribute which guarantees quick and easy removal of the solution by rinsing. In addition, it would be of advantage if such compositions could be formulated as concentrates which can be diluted by the consumer before use and/or sprayed directly onto the fruit and vegetables.
In addition, many toxicologically safe cleaning ingredients do not meet the above-mentioned need for clear, low-foaming, dilutable liquid products. Thus, many surfactants form cloudy or even opaque suspensions in water. Moreover, many surfactants are actually formulated to be high-foaming. Also, concentrated surfactants form phases that are relatively difficult to handle.
Water-based compositions for cleaning fruit and vegetables which contain oleic acid or oleate are known from International patent applications WO 95/12326 A1, WO 97/01288 A1, WO 97/01289 A1, WO 97/01290 A1, WO 97/15202 A1 and WO 98/18352 A1. C
10-18
alkyl polyglucosides are disclosed as optional nonionic surfactants. Unfortunately, the compositions in question tend to cloud undesirably in both concentrated and dilute form, particularly where they are used with hard water.
The problem addressed by the present invention was to overcome some or all of the difficulties mentioned above and to provide a clear composition for cleaning fruit and vegetables which would develop high cleaning performance, particularly in removing waxes, and wetting power and which would remain clear even in the presence of hardness elements introduced into the cleaning process both via water and via the dirt on the fruit/vegetables to be cleaned.
This problem is surprisingly solved by the use of C
4-9
alkyl polyglycosides.
DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, the present invention relates to the use of one or more C
4-9
alkyl polyglycosides for cleaning fruit and/or vegetables.
Accordingly, in a second embodiment, the present invention relates to a water-based composition suitable for cleaning fruit and/or vegetables containing one or more C
4-9
alkyl polyglycosides.
The composition according to the invention is also suitable for cleaning meat. Accordingly, in a third embodiment, the present invention relates to the use of a composition according to the invention for cleaning fruit, vegetables and/or meat.
In the context of the teaching according to the invention, fruit is understood in particular to be the fruit—edible raw—of perennial trees and bushes growing wild or in plantations.
Vegetables in the context of the teaching according to the invention are understood in particular to be any annual plants or parts thereof which are used raw or processed for human nutrition.
Meats in the context of the teaching according to the invention are understood in particular to be any parts of animals, for example ungulates, such as cattle or pigs, and of fowl, fish and other saltwater and freshwater animals.
Substances which also serve as ingredients of cosmetic preparations may be referred to in the following by their names under the INCI nomenclature (INCI=
Intemational Nomenclature of Cosmetic Ingredients
). Chemical compounds bear an INCI name in English while vegetable ingredients are all referred to by their Latin names according to Linné, so-called trivial names such as “water”, “honey” or “sea salt” also being shown in Latin. The INCI names can be found in the International Cosmetic Ingredient Dictionary and Handbook—7th Edition (1997) which is published by the Cosmetic, Toiletry and Fragrance Association (CTFA), 1101 17th Street, NW, Suite 300, Washington, D.C. 20036, USA and which contains more than 9,000 INCI names and references to more than 37,000 commercial names and technical names, including the associated distributors from more than 31 countries. The
International Cosmetic Ingredient Dictionary and Handbook
assigns the ingredients to one or more chemical classes, for example
Polymeric Ethers
, and one or more functions, for example
Surfactants—Cleansing Agents
, which in turn are explained in detail and to which reference may also be made in the following.
The initials CAS mean that the following sequence of digits is a reference number of the Chemical Abstracts Service.
Unless otherwise stated, the embodiments of the invention described in the following always relate to all three subjects of the invention, i.e. uses, compositions and procedures, even when they are explicitly disclosed for only one subject, for example a composition or a use.
In selecting the ingredients to be used, the expert routinely takes into account the requirements arising from the particular application envisaged for the composition.
Alkyl Polyglycosides
The short-chain C
4-9
alkyl polyglycosides (APG-I) essential to the invention preferably correspond to general formula I:
R
1
O(AO)
a1
[G]
x1
  (I)
in which
R
1
is a linear or branched, saturated or unsaturated alkyl group containing 4 to 9, preferably 5 to 9, more preferably 6 to 9, most preferably 7 to 9 and, in one most particularly preferred embodiment, 8 to 9 carbon atoms,
[G] is a glycosidic sugar unit, more particularly a glucose unit,
x1 is a number of 1 to 10, preferably 1.1 to 3, more preferably 1.2 to 2, most preferably 1.3 to 1.8 and, in one most particularly preferred embodiment, 1.4 to 1.6,
AO is a C
2-4
alkyleneoxy group, preferably an ethyleneoxy and/or propyleneoxy group and more preferably an ethyleneoxy group and a1 stands for the average degree of alkoxylation of 0 to 20, preferably 0 to 10, more preferably 0 to 5 and most preferably 0.
The group (AO)
a1
may also contain different alkyleneoxy units, for example ethyleneoxy and propyleneoxy units, in which case a1 stands for the average total degree of alkoxylation, i.e. the degree ethoxylation and the degree of propoxylation added together. The alkyl group R
1
is preferably saturated and more particularly saturated and linear. Unless indicated in detail or otherwise indicated in the foll

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