Food or edible material: processes – compositions – and products – Products per se – or processes of preparing or treating... – Flavor or flavor adjunct – acidulant or condiment
Reexamination Certificate
2000-04-26
2002-09-03
Wong, Leslie (Department: 1761)
Food or edible material: processes, compositions, and products
Products per se, or processes of preparing or treating...
Flavor or flavor adjunct, acidulant or condiment
C426S534000, C426S650000, C426S654000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06444253
ABSTRACT:
The present invention concerns a flavor delivery system which can be used to produce finished drinks and foods wherein the flavors are unexpectedly stabilized against flavor degradation and off note development.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The flavorants which are to be used in the flavor delivery system of the present invention include in particular edible, or essential, oils. While it is well known to extract these essential oils from plants and meat, they are generally sensitive to air and temperature, and have a short life. It has been difficult to preserve these oils as flavorants in stable form in end products such as fruit drinks where a considerable time may elapse between formulation and consumption of the end product. While the problem is often circumvented by resorting to stable artificial flavors and fragrances, there remains a consumer preference for natural flavors and fragrances.
Natural flavorant oils are generally provided In the form of emulsions. Emulsions, including microemulsions, are usually classified as oil and/or fat emulsified in water (O/W) or water emulsified In oil and/or fat
2. Description of the Related Art
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,320,863 entitled “Transparent oil-in-water microemulsion flavor concentrate” (Chung et al) teaches a stable transparent oil-in-water microemulsion concentrate consisting essentially of:
(i) water; (ii) one or more hydrophobic flavor or fragrance oils; and (iii) one or more surfactants wherein the mixing ratio of the water, oil and surfactant is, within a specified range shown in FIG.
1
A. Also described is a process for preparing such transparent microemulsion compositions, a mouthwash containing said transparent microemulsion compositions, a process for preparing same, and a perfume composition containing said transparent microemulsion compositions.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,835,002 entitled “Microemulsions of oil in water and alcohol” (Wolf) teaches microemulsions of flavor oils in a matrix of water for use in certain products such as beverages. The microemulsions contain 25-80 wt. % alcohol (such as propylene glycol), 1-30 wt. % edible surfactant (such as Tween 60) and 1-25 wt. % essential oil, and the balance water to make 100 wt. %. The alcohol may be ethanol, propylene glycol, glycerin, sugar, sugar alcohol, and mixtures thereof. The microemulsions are indicated to be microbiologically and thermodynamically stable for long periods of time under ambient conditions of storage and use. However, water is an indispensable part of this microemulsion, and the ratio by weight of alcohol to surfactant is 8:1 to 20:1.
There remains a need for a more stable, non-aqueous flavor delivery system. Systems containing water are not desirable in some food products. To give a first example, microwave popcorn consists of a mix of corn, salt, oil and flavorings. It is not desirable to add flavors (usually needed at a high level in this product) that contain water to this product. To give a second example, in the manufacture of dry systems (such as beverage powders) the addition of flavors that contain water is not desirable.
Non-liquid forms of flavor delivery systems are known. U.S. Pat. No. 4,232,047 entitled “Food supplement concentrate in a dense glasseous extrudate” (Sair, et al.) teaches a food supplement concentrate of an ingestible agent such as a seasoning, flavoring, oleoresin, essential oil, vitamin, mineral, and mixtures thereof encapsulated, enveloped or otherwise encased as a dispersed microphase within but recoverable from a matrix of encapsulating medium such as a starch, protein, flour, modified starch, gum, and mixtures thereof. The glass-like, unexpanded extrudate is reported to be an excellent matrix for the incorporation of a mixture of lemon flavoring and citric acid. However, the product must be exposed to hot (boiling) water to release of the flavor.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,888,186 entitled “Method for producing flavored popcorn” (Cooley et al) teaches a fat-flavor system prepared by dry-blending solid particles of fat (preferably a partially hydrogenated vegetable oil such as cottonseed, soybean and mixtures thereof) with a flavoring. The fat has a melting point of no less than about 95° F. so that the fat-flavor system comprises free-flowing particles at room temperature. The fat-flavor system is sprinkled onto hot, popped corn wherein the fat melts and the flavoring is adhered to the popcorn producing a flavored popcorn having an even flavor distribution and without a waxy-mouth feel. This system is not designed for delivering heat or oxidation sensitive ingredients such as citric acid, is not readily incorporated into a drink or food, and is not a liquid at room temperature.
It is also known to micro-encapsulate flavor oils: however, this method is complex and expensive In terms of requirements in skilled labor and materials.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,343,823 entitled “Liquid seasoning compositions IV” (Todd et al) teaches a homogeneous liquid condimental composition, useful in flavoring or coloring foods and beverages and which is dispersible in both oil and water, consisting essentially of (1) monoglyceride of caproic and/or caprylic and/or lauric acid, (2) polyglycerol ester of at least one fatty acid, and (3) one or more condiments selected from edible flavorings and edible colorings, the ratio by weight of (1) plus (2) to (3) being at least 1:4, preferably at least 1:3, especially about 1:1, the condiment portion (3) preferably comprising at least one condiment selected from the group consisting of (a) spice oleoresins, (b) essential oils, and (c) edible colorings, the ratios by weight of (2) to (1) preferably being between about 1:3 and 3:1, and the condiment portion (3) preferably comprising oleoresin black pepper.
Flavored oils are well known, but these are not what is referred to herein as a flavor delivery system. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,320,862 entitled “Edible, multipurpose flavored oil substantially free of flavoring agent particles” (La Tona) teaches a method for preparing a pre-flavored oil substantially free of flavoring agent in a particulate form. In accordance with the method of this invention, a vegetable or nut oil is contacted with a garlic or onion flavoring agent in a particulate form at a temperature between 100° C. and 200° C. for 15 minutes to 90 minutes. After this heating period flavoring agent in particulate form is removed from the oil. This system thus provides a flavored cooking oil, not a concentrated flavor delivery system.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,607,715 entitled “Flavored cooking oil having reduced room aroma” (Beharry et al) disclosed flavored oils for use in deep frying, stir-frying and marinating, which when heated, exhibit reduced aroma. The flavored oils consist essentially of an edible oil (98.5%-99.94%), a flavoring agent (0.01% to 1%) and a polyoxyethylene sorbitan monoester such as Tween 80 (0.05 to 0.5%) incorporated in the edible oil but not the flavoring. This composition would be referred to as a flavored cooking oil, not a concentrated flavor delivery system.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention was made and based on the surprising discovery that an anhydrous flavor delivery system being liquid at a temperature of 30° C. can be produced by combining
(a) 10-40% by weight of a flavoring composition,
(b) 20-50% by weight of a surfactant system consisting essentially of one or more surfactants,
(c) 20-50% by weight of an alcoholic composition, consisting essentially of one or more alcohols with two or more hydroxy groups per molecule, and, optionally,
(d) up to 10% by weight of at least one other additive typically used in flavor and/or food manufacturing,
wherein the total amount of ingredients (a), (b), and (c) is at least 90% by weight.
In the above definition, the term “surfactant system” characterizes individual, or combinations of, surfactants, and the term “alcoholic composition” characterizes individual, or combinations of, (polyhydric) alcohols.
Although the term “Microemulsion” might be a proper term for describing the flavor delivery syst
Bauer Klaus J.
Conklin Garry K.
Huber Michelle E.
Suessle Eberhard
DRAGOCO Gerberding & Co. AG
Pendorf & Cutliff
Wong Leslie
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