Food or edible material: processes – compositions – and products – Products per se – or processes of preparing or treating... – Fat or oil is basic ingredient other than butter in emulsion...
Reexamination Certificate
2000-05-09
2001-05-15
Paden, Carolyn (Department: 1761)
Food or edible material: processes, compositions, and products
Products per se, or processes of preparing or treating...
Fat or oil is basic ingredient other than butter in emulsion...
C426S601000, C554S231000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06231914
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to fat blends suitable, amongst other things for manufacturing margarine and w/o spreads having a lower fat content than margarine but otherwise having similar plastic spreading properties, also to a method of preparing such fat blends, to margarine fat containing such fat blend and to fat products, in particular margarine and w/o spreads prepared therewith.
Despite the great variety of fat blends for margarine and suchlike fat spreads some consumers express various requirements for such fat blends such as vegetable origin, high level of unsaturated fatty acids and a low level of trans-unsaturated fatty acids, e.g. below 10%, preferably below 5%, particularly below 2% and most preferred between 0 and 1%.
It does not need explanation that the usual requirements of easy spreadability, and good organoleptic properites including good mouthfeel should be met.
EP-A-70,050 discloses randomly interesterifying a mixture of 45-75% oil having at least 20% linoleic acid and 25-55% of a fat having at least 80% saturated fatty acids having a chain length of 16 C-atoms or more, fractionating this mixture to obtain a stearin and an olein fraction, the latter having a solids fat content:
N
10
=25-53
N
20
=8-28
N
30
=1-6
N
35
=0-4
and mixing 50-90% of this olein with 10-50% of an oil having at least 40% linoleic acid.
The solid fats content in this description and claims is being expressed as N-value, essentially as defined in Fette, Seifen, Anstrichmittel 80 180-186 (1978), although modified as regards temperature stabilisation: the samples were stabilized at 0° C. for 16 hours and tempered as described for ½ h at the respective measuring temperatures.
EP-A-109,721 describes a similar process, wherein at least 20% of the olein fraction is mixed with 0-60% of the esterified mixture and 0-65% of an oil having no solids at 10° C. or a mixture of such oil with an oil having a melting point of 28-43° C. As exemplified, the margarine fats of EP-A-109,721 comprise components originating from sunflower oil hydrogenated to a slip melting point of 32° C., incorporated either as such or as a component of the mixture that is interesterified. As a result, the margarines comprise 9-12% trans fatty acid calculated on the margarine fat. The olein fractions exemplified have N
20
values of 23.3 and 7.9, the prescribed solid content values for the olein are N
10
=25-60, N
20
=8-30, N
30
=1-7, N
35
=0-4.
Although with these processes considerable progress as regards increase of unsaturates content and with the former reduction of trans content can be achieved, are improvements still possible, also as regards spreadability and organoleptic properties.
Notably, the variety of products that can be produced with the olein fractions as described in these references is relatively small, limiting their usefulness. The approach taken in these disclosures results in rather high costs related to the specific properties of the applied fractionation processes. With the process of EP-A-70,050 it was found in some cases not to be possible for a pre-required firmness at ambient temperature, to achieve good spreadability at refrigerator temperature. Also the perceived coolness upon eating the product was found to be sub-optimal. With respect to these last two issues, we found that better, but still not optimal results can be achieved with the process of EP-A-109,721, however, this is achieved by incorporating some trans fatty acid into the product. There is a consumer need for products with a still lower content of trans fatty acids than those of EP-A-109,721 and of the combined amount of saturated and trans fatty acids than those of both EP-A-70,050 and EP-A109,721.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
We have found that with respect to these issues improvements can be achieved. Adapting the mixing ratio of the components in the mixture to be interesterified and changing the fractionation giving an olein with a higher solids content at 20° C., are necessary to be able to obtain such benefits. Other advantages can be obtained as well, as will be described below.
Accordingly, in a first aspect, the invention provides a process for producing a fat blend, usable in particular in margarine and w/o spreads comprising:
(1) interesterifyinq a mixture containing 30-55 wt % of a liquid vegetable oil (i) and 45-70 wt % of a fat (ii) in which at least 80% of the fatty acid residues is saturated and has a chain length of at least 16 carbon atoms;
(2) fractionating the interesterified mixture thus obtained to obtain an olein having the following solid fat content:
N
10
=54-85, preferably N
10
=5-80
N
20
=32-70, preferably N
20
=32-60
N
30
=4-30, preferably N
30
=7-25
N
35
<18, preferably N
35
<15
and separating the higher melting stearin.
The invention also relates to a fat blend obtainable by these processes. Such fat blend can be used as such e.g. as frying oil, bakery fat or shortening, or it can be used as such as the margarine fat used for making margarine or spread.
The invention also provides a margarine fat that can be used for preparing margarines or w/o spreads comprising a liquid vegetable oil, and a structuring amount of a hardstock fat. The hardstock fat preferably consists of the fat blend of the invention, but if so desired, for modifying properties like plasticity and spreadability up to 40% of the olein fraction or fat blend may be substituted by another structuring fat having an N20≧20 such as preferably palm kernel oil, dry fractionated palm oil stearin, another lauric fat or a mixture thereof. Such mixture may or may not have been interesterified. The trans fatty acid content of the margarine fat does not exceed 10%.
For crystallisation purposes small amounts of trans-hardened fats may be used, both in the mixture to be interesterified or in the structuring fat. The amount thereof should preferably be such that the trans-level in the final product is kept as low as possible, e.g. not exceeding the level as found in natural butter, i.e. preferably it is 0-6%, more preferably 0-3% calculated on the weight of the fat.
The invention also provides a margarine or w/o spread comprising a fat essentially consisting of the margarine fat of the present invention.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
With the adapted composition of components being interesterified, the fractionation conditions can readily be chosen to provide the solids profile of the olein as described above. To fractionate the interesterified mixture, solvent fraction e.g. with acetone, or Lanza fractionation, i.e. with water and surfactants, can be employed. Preferably, however, to obtain a more natural product as perceived by the consumer, a fractionation process without using water or organic solvent, a so-called dry fractionation process is employed. Compared with the above mentioned prior art processes, such dry fractionation can be carried out in a similar manner except that typically a higher separation temperature will be applied. Whereas in the above mentioned references separation-temperatures of 33-35° C. are used, in the present process when using dry fractionation the separation temperature is typically about 40° C. or higher, e.g. up to 54° C., preferably 40-52° C., especially 43-51° C.
The present fat blend differs from those of the prior art particularly in that it has solid contents at 20° C. higher than those of the prior art. As is illustrated in the examples, associated with this is a different solids profile as a function of temperature for the fat blend and margarine fat prepared therewith, which in the resulting margarine or spread becomes perceivable as a better balance of sensoric properties. The N
20
of the fat blend most preferably is 35-58. The N
10
most preferably is in the range 57-75. Most preferably N
30
is 8-20, while N
35
most preferably is 5-13.
As is illustrated in the examples, with the present process in the fractionation, better separation efficiencies (indic
Huizinga Hindrik
Sassen Cornelis Laurentius
van den Kommer Marcelle
Vermaas Leo Frans
Honig Milton L.
Paden Carolyn
Van den Bergh Foods Co. Division of Conopco, Inc.
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