Food or edible material: processes – compositions – and products – Products per se – or processes of preparing or treating... – Beverage or beverage concentrate
Reexamination Certificate
2002-03-21
2004-06-15
Weier, Anthony (Department: 1761)
Food or edible material: processes, compositions, and products
Products per se, or processes of preparing or treating...
Beverage or beverage concentrate
C426S580000, C426S594000, C426S597000, C426S654000, C426S662000, C426S106000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06749881
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to emulsified beverages which have been filled in airtight storage packages such as PET bottles, cans, drink boxes, paper packages or airtight plastic cups; and which exhibit excellent emulsion stability over a long period of time and maintain good taste even if sold under heating in a vending machine or at storefront, at ordinary temperatures, or under cooling.
2. Discussion of the Background
Emulsified beverages such as milk coffee, milk tea and cocoa usually contain animal fat originated from milk. In recent days, there has been an attempt to replace the animal fat in such drinks with a vegetable fat with a view toward lowering the blood cholesterol level (Japanese Patent Laid-Open Nos. 222553/1992 and 159753/1980).
On the other hand, diglyceride-containing beverages are reported because they are physiologically effective for lowering the neutral fat level in the blood and suppressing body fat accumulation (Japanese Patent Laid-Open Nos. 23941/1996 and 104917/1988).
For effective exhibition of such physiological effects of diglycerides, an increase in their content is desired and intake of them in the beverage form is preferred from the viewpoints of palatability and easy intake.
Incorporation of a large amount of diglycerides in coffee, tea or the like beverage is however accompanied with such a problem that the taste which is the sole merit of such a beverage is impaired rightly after preparation. In particular, sterilization, for example, by heating is indispensable for preparation of a packaged beverage but it causes a marked deterioration in taste. Incorporation of diglycerides in a beverage causes unsatisfactory emulsification or dispersion, though depending on their amount, and tends to deteriorate the appearance or taste of the beverage with the passage of time, for example, a creaming or separating phenomenon between oil phase and aqueous phase occurs during storage or an increase in the size of the emulsified and dispersed particles or precipitation of a solid occurs. Such a change in taste or appearance has posed a severe problem for sales of a packaged diglyceride-containing beverage on the market.
An object of the present invention is therefore to provide a packaged emulsified beverage which contains a large amount of diglycerides, and in spite of a high content, has good taste rightly after preparation even if it has been sterilized and exhibits stable appearance and taste even after long storage.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present inventors have therefore prepared packaged emulsified beverages by adding various components to diglycerides and investigated their taste and stability. As a result, it has been found that a packaged emulsified beverage containing, in combination, a diglyceride having a specific fatty acid constitution and a phospholipid or lipoprotein has good taste even after sterilization by heating and exhibits stable appearance and taste even after storage over long hours.
In the present invention, there is thus provided a packaged emulsified beverage comprising the following components (A) and (B):
(A): a diglyceride, having in the fatty acid constituents thereof, 15 to 90 wt. % of an &ohgr;-3 unsaturated fatty acid; and
(B) a lipid selected from the group consisting of phospholipids, lipoproteins and a mixture thereof.
The packaged emulsified beverage according to the present invention has good taste even after sterilization and is excellent in long shelf life.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Within the context of the present invention, the term “packaged emulsified beverage” as used herein means an emulsified beverage hermetically sealed in a beverage package without dilution.
The diglyceride serving as Component (A) in the present invention contains, in the fatty acid constituents thereof, an &ohgr;3 unsaturated fatty acid in an amount of 1.5 to 90 wt. %, preferably 40 to 75 wt. %, especially 40 to 60 wt. %. Within the above-described ranges, the resulting beverage can exhibit excellent physiological effects which the diglyceride originally has such as neural lipid lowering effects and body fat accumulation resisting effects, and at the same time has emulsion stability and good taste.
The term “&ohgr;3 unsaturated fatty acid ” as used herein means an unsaturated fatty acid having, at the third carbon atom from the &ohgr; position thereof, a first unsaturated bond and having at least two unsaturated bonds. Of such &ohgr;3 unsaturated fatty acids, those having 12 to 24 carbon atoms are preferred, with &agr;-linolenic acid, docosahexaenoic acid and eicosapentaenoic acid being more preferred. As the &ohgr;3 unsaturated fatty acid, &agr;-linolenic acid is especially preferred. Although the diglyceride separated and purified from an oil/fat may be added, an oil/fat containing the diglyceride is usually added to the beverage.
The above-described oil/fat containing the diglyceride serving as Component (A) is available by conventional methods known to those of ordinary skill in the art without undue experimentation, such as by any one of hydrolysis reaction of a linseed coil, perilla oil, soybean oil or rapeseed oil containing an &ohgr;3-unsaturated acyl group, ester exchange reaction of the above-exemplified oil/fat with glycerin, or esterification of a fatty acid derived from such an oil/fat with glycerin. The reacting method may be either one of chemical reaction in the presence of an alkali catalyst or biochemical reaction using an enzyme, which may be immobilized, such as lipase. The resulting oil/fat composition containing the diglyceride may be added with a vegetable oil such as soybean oil, rapeseed oil, palm oil, rice oil or corn oil, or an animal oil such as beef tallow or fish oil; or hydrogenated, fractionated or random ester exchange oil thereof to adjust the content of the diglyceride, monoglyceride, triglyceride and/or free fatty acid in the composition.
It is preferred that from the viewpoint of emulsion stability, the unsaturated fatty acids amount to at least 50 wt. %, more preferably at least 60 wt. %, especially at least 70 wt. % of all the fatty acid constituents of Component (A). The term “unsaturated fatty acids” as used herein embraces not only &ohgr;3 but also &ohgr;9 and &ohgr;6 ones. The unsaturated fatty acids have preferably 12 to 24 carbon atoms, especially 12 to 22 carbon atoms.
The amount of the diglyceride serving as Component (A) is preferably 30 wt. % or greater, more preferably 40 wt. % or greater in the whole oil/fat contained in the emulsified beverage of the present invention. Within the above-described ranges, taste with less greasiness is available.
From the viewpoint of body fat reducing effects, preferred are Component-(A)-containing oils/fats having 0.1 to 74.9 wt. % of triglycerides, 25 to 95 wt. % of diglycerides and 0.1 to 5 wt. % of monoglycerides are preferred, of which those having 5 to 59.9 wt. % of triglycerides, 25 to 90 wt. % of diglycerides and 0.1 to 5 wt. % of monoglycerides are more preferred, with those having 5 to 49.9 wt. % of triglycerides, 50 to 90 wt. % of diglycerides and 0.1 to 5 wt. % of monoglycerides being especially preferred.
When the emulsified beverage is a processed milk product, the diglyceride content in the oil/fat is preferably reduced to 30 wt. % or less in order to supplement triglycerides as a nutrient.
It is preferred to incorporate, in the packaged emulsified beverage of the invention, Component (A) in an amount of 0.1 to 8 wt. %, more preferably 0.1 to 5 wt. %, especially 0.2 to 5 wt. %, still more preferably 0.2 to 2 wt. %. Within the above-described ranges, the emulsified beverage after retort sterilization or UHT sterilization has high emulsion stability while maintaining good taste. Particularly when it is incorporated in a processed milk product, a weight ratio of Component (A) to milk fat preferably falls within a range of 10:90 to 40:60, more preferably 10:90 to 35:65, especially 10:90 to 30:70. Within the above-described ranges, the resulting beverage becomes smooth t
Hoshino Eiichi
Hosoya Naoki
Kataoka Kiyoshi
Ogura Yoshikazu
Kao Corporation
Weier Anthony
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