Food or edible material: processes – compositions – and products – Products per se – or processes of preparing or treating... – Gels or gelable composition
Reexamination Certificate
1999-08-25
2001-05-29
Sayala, Chhaya D. (Department: 1761)
Food or edible material: processes, compositions, and products
Products per se, or processes of preparing or treating...
Gels or gelable composition
C426S601000, C426S654000, C426S656000, C426S658000, C426S807000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06238720
ABSTRACT:
This invention relates to a gelled and sterilized emulsion product; for example meat or fish analogues. The invention also relates to a process for preparing the gelled emulsion product and to the use of chitosan as a binder for the gelled emulsion products.
Gelled emulsion products are commonly used as foodstuffs. This is especially the case in the pet food industry where they are used as meat or fish analogues. However they are also used in other fields such as the sausage field. In the pet food industry, these products are usually provided in cans and in one of two forms; loaf type products and chunk-type products.
The loaf type products are usually prepared by comminuting meat or fish material and mixing the material with other protein sources and fats, if necessary, and water, salt, spices, curing agents, gelling agents to provide a batter. The batter is then heated. The heated batter is then filled into cans to form, after retorting and cooling, a meat or fish loaf.
The chunk-type products may be produced in a similar manner; the primary difference being the selection of specific gelling agents to provide a harder, tougher structure. For example, as described in European patent application 001 8153, a gelling system made up of a carrageenan and a glucomannan may be used to prepare chunks-type products. The components making up product are mixed together, heated to above 100° C. to form a gel, filled into cans, and then sterilized at 130° C. for 50 to 60 minutes.
Alternatively, the chunk-type products may be produced in the form of formulated emulsions which closely simulate the appearance of meat or fish. One example of a process for producing these formulated emulsions is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,781,939. Here, a viscous emulsion is prepared from meat, proteinaceous materials (for example wheat gluten and soy flour), vitamins, minerals and the like. The viscous emulsion is then run through a high-speed emulsion mill in which the emulsion is rapidly heated. The emulsion leaving the emulsion mill is then allowed to coagulate to form a solid emulsion product. This solid emulsion product is then cut into chunks. A similar process is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,132,137.
In all cases, once the emulsion products have been filled into cans, the cans are subjected to retorting to sterilize the emulsion products. The retorting operation is severe with temperatures up to 130° C. being reached for relatively long periods of time. This may result in release of fats and starch from the emulsion product; a phenomenon known as “cook out”. The phenomenon is particularly prevalent in emulsion products with a high water content. If cook out occurs, the appearance of the product is adversely affected; often to a significant extent. This may greatly reduce consumer acceptability.
Therefore, it is an object of this invention to provide an emulsion product with reduced susceptibility to cook out. Accordingly, in one aspect, this invention provides a sterilized, gelled emulsion product containing protein, lipid, carbohydrate and a binder; the binder comprising chitosan. Preferably the gelled emulsion product is provided in the form of chunks in a liquid. The liquid may be a sauce or gravy.
Surprisingly, gelled emulsion products in which the binder comprises chitosan are able to withstand normal sterilization procedures with limited cook out of lipids and starch. This remains the case even for products with relatively high concentrations of lipids. Further, the gelled emulsion products have improved texture in that they exhibit improved firmness and have good elasticity.
Preferably the binder further comprises a food grade polyphosphate; for example a sodium diphosphate.
In another aspect, this invention provides a process for producing a sterilized, gelled emulsion product, the process comprising:
forming an emulsion containing protein, lipid, and carbohydrate;
adding a binder, which includes chitosan, to the emulsion;
heating the emulsion to above about 65° C. to cause the emulsion to gel;
forming the gelled emulsion into chunks;
filling the chunks and a liquid into containers; and
sterilizing the containers at above about 120° C. to provide the sterilized, gelled emulsion product.
In further aspect, this invention provides the use of chitosan and a food grade polyphosphate as a binder in the preparation of a sterilized, gelled emulsion product.
Embodiments of the invention are now described, by way of example only. The invention provides a sterilized, gelled emulsion product that contains protein, lipid, carbohydrate and a binder.
The protein may be provided in the form of a meat material, animal or diary proteins, and vegetable proteins, or mixtures of these. Any suitable type of meat material may be used, for example, muscular or skeletal meat, meat by-products such as hearts, liver, kidneys, tongue, or a mixture of meat and meat by-products. Further, the material may be obtained from any suitable source such as from livestock, poultry, and fish. Also, the meat material may be in the form of meat meals such as poultry meal, fish meal, red meat meal and mixtures thereof. Suitable animal or dairy proteins which may be used include egg proteins, gelatin, whey, and casein, or mixtures of these. Suitable vegetable proteins which may be used include wheat gluten, soy flour, soy protein concentrates, soy protein isolates, pea protein isolates, etc, or mixtures of these. The exact choice of protein used will depend upon factors such as availability, cost and palatability. Typically, the protein comprises about 5% to about 15% by weight of the gelled emulsion product.
The lipid may be provided in the form of suitable animal or vegetable fats and oils, or both. If the protein is provided in the form of a meat material, the meat material may well provide the desired amount of lipids and hence addition of further lipid may not be necessary. Suitable examples of animal fats are tallow, chicken fats, pork fats, beef fats, and the like. Suitable examples of vegetable fats and oils are hydrogenated palm oil, corn oil, sunflower oil, rapeseed oil, and the like.
Typically the emulsion product contains a maximum lipid level of about 25% by weight. Conveniently, the amount of lipid in the emulsion is in the range of about 2% to 15% by weight; more preferably about 5% to about 12% by weight.
The carbohydrate is preferably provided in the form of a starch or flour. Suitable carbohydrate sources are wheat starch, potato starch, corn starch, wheat flour, corn flour, oat flour, rye flour, rice flour, and the like. Sugars may also be added. Typically, the carbohydrate, in the form of starch or flour, comprises about 3% to about 15% by weight of the gelled emulsion product.
Additional ingredients such as salts, spices, seasonings, flavoring agents, minerals, and the like may also be included in the emulsion product. The amount of additional ingredients used is preferably such that they make up about 0.5% to about 5% by weight of the emulsion product.
The binder includes chitosan. The chitosan preferably comprises about 0.05% to about 2% by weight of the emulsion product; more preferably about 0.1% to about 1% by weight. Further, in addition to the chitosan, the binding agent preferably includes a food grade polyphosphate; for example a diphosphate such as Na
4
P
2
O
7
. The polyphosphate preferably comprises about 0.05% to about 2% by weight of the emulsion product; more preferably about 0.1% to about 1% by weight.
The emulsion product may be prepared by emulsifying the protein, carbohydrates and lipids to provide a primary emulsion. The additional ingredients such as salts, spices, seasonings, flavoring agents, minerals, and the like may be added at this time. Water may also be included in the primary emulsion to provide from about 50% to about 90% by weight of the primary emulsion. If sufficient moisture is present in the protein, especially if the protein is provided as a meat material, water need not be added. A higher speed emulsifier or homogeniser is particularly suitable for preparing the primary emuls
Ekstedt Susanne
Hermansson Anne-Marie
Popper Gerhard
Walkenström Pernilla
Bell Boyd & Lloyd
Nestec S.A.
Sayala Chhaya D.
LandOfFree
Gelled emulsion products containing chitosan does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Gelled emulsion products containing chitosan, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Gelled emulsion products containing chitosan will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2493687