Food or edible material: processes – compositions – and products – Inhibiting chemical or physical change of food by contact... – Treating liquid material
Reexamination Certificate
2001-06-25
2002-10-15
Pratt, Helen (Department: 1761)
Food or edible material: processes, compositions, and products
Inhibiting chemical or physical change of food by contact...
Treating liquid material
C426S478000, C426S580000, C426S582000, C426S583000, C426S589000, C426S590000, C426S654000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06465030
ABSTRACT:
I. THE TECHNICAL FIELD
This invention relates generally to a process concentrate and dairy products made therefrom.
II. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Numerous drinks and foods are available for consumption. Most drinks and foods do not take advantage of under utilized resources—whey, milk and their components.
Cow (bovine) milk contains about 87 percent (%) water, 3% casein, 0.65% whey protein, 4.5% to 5.0% lactose, 3% to 4% milk fat, 0.3% to 0.7% mineral salt plus a variety of water and fat soluble vitamins, lactic and citric acids, urea, free amino acids and polypeptides. In the manufacture of cottage cheese or casein, the milk fat is first separated centrifugally (as cream) and the casein fraction of the milk is then precipitated at its isoelectric point by the addition of acid. The precipitated casein, about {fraction (1/10)}th of the original weight of the milk, is then treated to yield the desired casein product. The remainder of the original milk, containing all of the other components listed above, is called whey.
For other cheeses, the process varies somewhat. The whole or part skim milk is treated with an enzyme (such as rennet, porcine pepsin or a vegetable enzyme) to coagulate and precipitate casein. The precipitated casein, called “curd”, is cut and treated in a suitable manner to yield the desired cheese, with the remainder of the original milk, called whey, being drained off the curd.
The average composition of whey obtained from ordinary cow milk (whole milk) is 93 (weight percent) wt. % water, 1 wt. % protein, 0.3 wt. % fat, 5 wt. % carbohydrates and 0.7 wt. % ash. Whey often has a pH in the range of about 4 to about 7 but raw whey can be neutral, acidic or basic. For example, cheese whey from Cheddar, Swiss or Italian cheese has a pH of 5.8 to 6.2 whereas whey from cottage cheese has a substantially lower pH.
Whey, because of its about 5.6 to about 6.5 wt. % solids content, has long been recognized as a serious pollutant. However, its protein content (about 0.6 to about 0.8 wt. %) has untapped commercial value and the unusual property of being acid soluble. Whey protein also has an excellently well balanced ratio of essential amino acids making it a satisfactory source of protein for food fortification. The water and other solids of whey and milk do not now have high commercial value.
Whey can be subjected to filtration to produce a retentate and permeate that, for example, can be incorporated into a drink. European Patent Application Nos. 0 019 415 (Stauffer Chemical Company) and 0 364 053 (DMV-Campina P. V.) disclose drinks made from retentate and permeate, respectively.
It would be desirable to add value to milk, whey and their components. The present invention satisfies this desire.
III. SUMMARY OF INVENTION
Methods of making a process concentrate suitable for use to make a batch concentrate or a dairy product are disclosed. The process concentrate contains a liquid dairy base (1) which is sterilized, (2) to which is added an aliquot of the total amount of the preservative in the batch concentrate (which preferably yields the correct amount of preservative that is in the dairy product) or (3), when the dairy base is a retentate or dairy water, to which is added substantially all of the preservative in the dairy product. The batch concentrate contains either (1) water, the remainder of the preservative and the process concentrate or (2) the process concentrate and other components. The dairy base can be retentate or permeate of a dairy starting material, e.g., milk, defatted milk, whey, defatted whey, retentate and defafted retentate or the dairy water obtained from a dairy starting material.
If the dairy base is a permeate and the dairy product is a drink, it is important to stability that only an aliquot of the preservative be present in the process concentrate. If the total amount of the preservative is present in the process concentrate then the preservative could crystallize out at room temperature. The present method enables the production of process concentrate and batch concentrate that are stable at room temperature.
The process concentrate of alternate (2), above, to make the drink can be made by mixing the liquid dairy base and the preservative aliquot, preferably at an elevated temperature, for a time period effective to form a homogeneous mixture. The pH of the dairy preservative mixture is reduced to a pH at which the preservative is effective, i.e., a pH below about 7. The temperature of the process concentrate can then be lowered to room temperature. The preservative is present in an amount effective to have a preserving effect on the process concentrate and remain in solution at the room temperature.
The batch concentrate, from the process concentrate of alternate (2), above, used to make the drink can preferably be prepared by mixing the remaining preservative with water followed by mixing with the process concentrate. The total amount of preservative in the batch concentrate preferably is an amount that remains in solution at room temperature and provides both a preserving effect and the total amount of preservative in the dairy product.
The retentate and permeate are produced by the filtration of the dairy starting material. The composition of the retentate and permeate depend upon the starting material and the type of filtration. The dairy water is the permeate from the reverse osmosis of the dairy starting material.
The dairy product can be a drink, cheese spread, dip, dessert or the like made from the process or batch concentrate. The drink can be produced by mixing the batch concentrate with water.
The dairy product also can be used in a method of treating a urinary tract of a patient in need of such treatment by administering an effective amount of the dairy product including the dairy base and lowering the pH of the patient's urine and urinary tract. Treatment of a patient's urinary tract can be effected in a convenient manner by administering the dairy product in drink form.
Dairy products produced by any of the above-described methods provides another use for milk, defatted milk, retentate and defatted retentate and a beneficial use for whey and defatted whey. The present methods enable the use of permeate or retentate without requiring an additional treatment such as the hydrolysis of lactose. Production of the process concentrate and batch concentrate provides value to the dairy starting material and facilitates further processing.
Numerous other advantages and features of the present invention will become readily apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments and the appended claims.
IV. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Although this invention is susceptible to embodiment in many different forms and will be described in detail, presently preferred embodiments of the invention are described. It should be understood, however, that the present disclosure is to be considered as an exemplification of the principles of this invention and is not intended to limit the invention to the embodiments illustrated.
A process concentrate can be used to make a batch concentrate or a dairy product. The process concentrate includes a liquid dairy base (1) which is sterilized, (2) to which is added an aliquot of the total preservative in the batch concentrate or (3), when the dairy base is a retentate or dairy water, to which is added substantially all of the preservative in the dairy product.
The process concentrate of alternate (2), above, preferably is stable and made from permeate, includes the steps of mixing the dairy base and the preservative aliquot to form a homogeneous mixture and reducing the pH of the mixture by mixing food grade acid therewith. Preferably, the preservative and the dairy base are mixed prior to mixing the acid therewith. Preferably, the mixing is performed at an elevated temperature. Optionally, the method also includes the step of lowering the temperature of the process concentrate to room temperature. The preservative aliquot in the process concentrate is an
Pratt Helen
Tryzna Peter K.
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