Food or edible material: processes – compositions – and products – Preparation of frozen or shaped product wherein the product...
Reexamination Certificate
2000-03-09
2003-01-07
Bhat, Nina (Department: 1761)
Food or edible material: processes, compositions, and products
Preparation of frozen or shaped product wherein the product...
C426S565000, C426S100000, C426S101000, C426S139000, C426S656000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06503548
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to the use of antifreeze proteins in ice confections. In particular the invention relates to the use of antifreeze proteins in ice confections to restrict the flow of flavours and/or colour.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
It is a well-known problem that when an ice confection such as a water ice is consumed the flavour and colour is quickly sucked out of the product leaving essentially a block of ice which is of limited enjoyment to eat.
Further in ice confections such as water ice which are comprised of a number of different components, each having a different colour or flavour, the boundary between each component is not sharp and distinct because of the flow of the colour or flavour to a certain extent from one component to another. Consequently it has not been possible to date to provide an ice confection having thin components of a different flavour or colour which remain distinct.
WO 98/04146 (Unilever) discloses that AFPs can be incorporated into frozen food products such as ice confections to provide desirable product properties providing that the product and processing conditions are varied such that the ice crystals provided in the product have an aspect ratio of more than 1.9, preferably from 1.9 to 3.0. The specific examples in WO 98/04146 are all ice cream compositions. WO 98/04146 does not teach that it is possible to restrict the flow of colour and/or flavour in water ice products by the inclusion of an antifreeze protein in the water ice composition.
WO 96/39878 discloses a method for making a frozen composition for storage, the method not requiring a hardening step prior to storage. The frozen composition contains an antifreeze protein, in particular Type I AFP. Examples show the preparation of an aerated ice cream and an aerated frozen yoghurt. WO 96/39878 does not teach that it is possible to restrict the flow of colour and/or flavour in water ice products by the inclusion of an antifreeze protein in the water ice composition.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,118,792 (Warren et al) discloses the addition of fusion proteins, and in particular the fusion protein protein A-Saf5 into foods which are to be consumed frozen, for example, ice cream, frozen yoghurt, ice milk, sherbet, popsicles and frozen whipped cream. No examples are given where a final ice confection product is provided containing such fusion proteins. It is shown in Example 3B that when a popsicle formulation is used within the “splat assay”, growth of the ice crystals is restricted. U.S. Pat. No. 5,118,792 does not teach that it is possible to restrict the flow of colour and/or flavour in water ice products by the inclusion of an antifreeze protein in the water ice composition.
We have now found that the addition of antifreeze proteins to ice confections restricts the flow of flavour and/or colour.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly the invention provides the use of an antifreeze protein within an ice confection to restrict the flow of flavour or colour ions or molecules present as either solutes or a dispersion wherein the ice confection contains no protein other than the antifreeze protein.
By antifreeze protein (AFP) is meant a protein which has significant ice recrystallisation inhibition properties as measured in accordance with Example 1. The AFP provides an ice particle size upon recrystallisation of less than 20 &mgr;m, more preferred from 5 to 15 &mgr;m.
Preferably the ice confection comprises at least 0.0005% by weight antifreeze protein, more preferably 0.0025% by weight antifreeze protein. Typically the ice confection will comprise from 0.0005% by weight to 0.005% by weight antifreeze protein.
For some applications it may be advantageous to include a mixture of two or more different AFPs into the ice confection.
The AFP for use in products of the invention can be any AFP suitable for use in food products. Examples of suitable sources of AFP are for example given in the article “Antifreeze proteins and their potential use in frozen food products”, Marylin Griffith and K. Vanya Ewart, Biotechnology Advances, vol 13, pp375-402, 1995 and in patent applications WO 98/04699, WO 98/04146, WO 98/04147, WO 98/04148 and WO 98/22591.
The AFPs can be obtained from their sources by any suitable process, for example the isolation processes as described in the above mentioned documents.
One possible source of AFP materials is fish. Examples of fish AFP materials are antifreeze glycoproteins (AFGP) (for example obtainable from Atlantic cod, Greenland cod and Tomcod), type I AFP (for example obtainable from Winter flounder, Yellowtail flounder, Shorthorn sculpin and Grubby sculpln), Type II AFP (for example obtainable from Sea raven, Smelt and Atlantic herring) and type III AFP (for example obtainable from Ocean Pout, Atlantic wolffish, Radiated shanny, Rock gunnel and Laval's eelpout). A preferred example of the latter type is described in WO 97/02343.
Another possible source of AFP material is invertebrates. Also AFPs may be obtained from Bacteria.
A third possible source of AFP material is plants. Examples of plants containing AFPs are garlic-mustard, blue wood aster, spring oat, winter cress, winter canola, Brussels sprout, carrot, Dutchman's breeches, spurge, daylily, winter barley, Virginia waterleaf, narrow-leaved plantain, plantain, speargrass, Kentucky bluegrass, Eastern cottonwood, white oak, winter rye, bittersweet nightshade, potato, chickweed, dandelion, spring and winter wheat, triticale, periwinkle, violet and grass.
Both naturally occurring species may be used or species which have been obtained through genetic modification. For example micro-organisms or plants may be genetically modified to express AFPs and the AFPs may then be used in accordance to the present invention.
Genetic manipulation techniques may be used to produce AFPs having at least 80%, more preferred more than 95%, most preferred 100% homology to the AFPs directly obtained from the natural sources. For the purpose of the invention these AFPs possessing this high level of homology are also embraced within the term “AFDs”.
The genetic manipulation techniques may be used as follows: An appropriate host cell or organism would be transformed by a gene construct that contains the desired polypeptide. The nucleotide sequence coding for the polypeptide can be inserted into a suitable expression vector encoding the necessary elements for transcription and translation and in such a manner that they will be expressed under appropriate conditions (for example in proper orientation and correct reading frame and with appropriate targeting and expression sequences). The methods required to construct these expression vectors are well known to those skilled in the art.
A number of expression systems may be utilised to express the polypeptide coding sequence. These include, but are not limited to, bacteria, yeast insect cell systems, plant cell culture systems and plants all transformed with the appropriate expression vectors.
A wide variety of plants and plant cell systems can be transformed with the nucleic acid constructs of the desired polypeptides. Preferred embodiments would include, but are not limited to, maize, tomato, tobacco, carrots, strawberries, rape seed and sugar beet.
For some natural sources the AFPs may consist of a mixture of two or more different AFPs.
Preferably the antifreeze protein is chosen such that it gives an aspect ratio of more than 1.9 to the ice crystal, preferably from 1.9 to 3.0, more preferably from 2.0 to 2.9, even more preferred from 2.1 and 2.8 (see WO 98/04146). Aspect ratio is defined as the maximum diameter of a particle divided by its minimum diameter. The aspect ratio can be determined by any suitable method. A preferred method is illustrated in the Examples (Example 3).
For the purpose of the invention the preferred AFPs are derived from fish. Especially preferred is the use of fish proteins of the type III, most preferred HPLC 12 as described in our case WO 97/02343.
Suitable ice confections which contain no protein other than the AFP inclu
Daniel Adrian
Lacy Ian
Oldroyd Jon Richard
Bhat Nina
Good Humor-Breyer's Ice Cream, division of Conopco, Inc.
McGowan, Jr. Gerard J.
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