Food or edible material: processes – compositions – and products – Products per se – or processes of preparing or treating... – Noncarbohydrate sweetener or composition containing same
Reexamination Certificate
2000-11-15
2002-10-01
Wong, Leslie (Department: 1761)
Food or edible material: processes, compositions, and products
Products per se, or processes of preparing or treating...
Noncarbohydrate sweetener or composition containing same
C426S453000, C426S454000, C426S549000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06458401
ABSTRACT:
The invention relates to a process for the continuous manufacture of a powder containing crystalline particles of maltitol.
Maltitol is the result of hydrogenation of maltose.
It is already known how to manufacture crystallized maltitol, for example by inducing the crystallization of said maltitol in a syrup sufficiently rich in this product and sufficiently purified.
The various prior art methods for preparing anhydrous crystals of maltitol or a powder containing crystalline particles of maltitol include molasses separation method, spray drying method, fluid granulating method or block disintegration method.
But all the above methods are disadvantageous in that it is difficult to make the apparatus simple and continuous due to the long time needed to age the crystals.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,304,388 concerns a method for manufacturing a powdery or granular crystalline maltitol.
More precisely, the method comprises adding seed crystals of maltitol at a temperature lower than the melting point of the said seed crystals of maltitol to an aqueous solution of maltitol with 1-15% by weight of moisture content.
But this process needs a step of kneading the mixture in the presence or absence of additives selected from the group consisting of fat, an oil and a surface-active agent, and particularly, makes crucial the step of continuously applying a shearing force to the kneaded mass.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,583,215 concerns a crystalline mixture solid containing maltitol and a process for producing it.
The process requires the supplying of an aqueous solution of maltitol to an extruder provided with elongated cooling and kneading zones, cooling and kneading the aqueous solution of maltitol in the presence of seed crystals to form a maltitol magma, and extruding continuously said magma from a nozzle.
But the process has the disadvantage of requiring the use of an aqueous solution of maltitol having a concentration in the range of 80-98% by weight and a maltitol content in the solid component in the range of 80-99% by weight that has to be supply to the extruder provided with four successive zones that have their temperature precisely controlled.
EP 937,733 focuses on making improvements to these methods for continuous making of maltitol molasses containing crystals.
It describes a manufacturing method comprising continuously supplying an aqueous solution of maltitol to an extruder having a slender kneading and cooling zone, subjecting it to continuous cooling and kneading in the presence of seed crystals to produce a maltitol magma which is continuously extruded from a nozzle.
Subsequent steps of rough disintegration, aging, drying, etc, are also mentioned in relation to producing a final powdery product.
But in this process, the cooling is used to effect crystallization by increasing the degree of supersaturation of the solution. So it is necessary to reduce viscosity by heating the solution having a high concentration of maltitol at a high temperature so that the seed crystals are homogeneously dispersed within a short time.
This process presents the disadvantage of absorbing a lot of power because it needs the formation of a “massecuite”, i.e. a seed crystal containing supersaturated substance, having a high concentration of maltitol, up to 98 w/w % of maltitol, and a viscosity that is lowered by supplying heating at high temperature by heating apparatus by means of a jacket using a steam of about 110° C. at a pressure of 142 kPa.
It is also necessary to use this particular heating apparatus for preventing the deterioration of a mixing and dispersing ability as a result of an increase in viscosity due to lowering of the temperature and it is crucial to keep the low viscosity for dispersing and mixing of the seed crystals in a short time.
On the other hand, the process requires another step of disintegration during crystallization that makes the process more complex and time consuming.
Moreover, all the methods known in the prior art present the disadvantage of being expensive, complex and time consuming.
The invention has, as its particular aim, the providing of a process for manufacturing a powder containing crystalline particles of maltitol which are less susceptible to the aforementioned disadvantages and which enables a powder containing crystalline particles of maltitol having desirable properties to be efficiently obtained.
According to the present invention, there is provided a process for the manufacture of crystalline particles of maltitol, that does not need very high concentration of maltitol or any effort undertaken to control or measure precisely the temperature during the granulation/crystallization step.
Moreover, the process of the invention does not involve formation of massecuite, neither application of a shear force or kneading, instead just relying on concurrent coating, agglomeration, and induction of crystallization by allowing the agglomerated mixture mature at a temperature below the melting point of the maltitol, to form solid granules.
According to the present invention, there is provided a process for the manufacture of a powder containing crystalline particles of maltitol, which comprises continuously mixing maltitol syrup having a dry matter content of at least 70% by weight and a maltitol content of at least 85% by weight on a dry matter basis, the mixing being effected by simultaneously dispersing the maltitol syrup and maltitol containing seeds into an open rotating receptacle containing maltitol based granules whereby the maltitol syrup and maltitol containing seeds are mixed at the surface of the maltitol based granules contained in the receptacle, collecting maltitol based granules from the receptacle and crystallizing maltitol contained in said granules, the maltitol based granules in the receptacle being maintained in motion by the rotation of the receptacle.
In carrying out the process of the invention, the maltitol syrup is preferably introduced into the receptacle in a sub-divided form, for example in the form of drops or globules, jets, or bundles of jets.
According to a preferred method of carrying out the abovementioned process, a maltitol syrup, with a content in dry matter of at least 85 weight % is brought to a temperature of at least 80° C. and is continuously mixed in a receptacle with maltitol containing seeds, the seed/syrup ratio, the dimensions, the orientation of the axis of rotation and the speed of rotation of the receptacle being selected so that the product collected from the receptacle appears in the form of granules of an average diameter of from about 500 to 10,000 &mgr;m.
The process of the invention may be carried out in an apparatus comprising an open rotating receptacle, with a rotation axis possibly horizontally inclined, means for bringing to an area situated inside the receptacle, above the mass which partially fills it, and dispersing therein some maltitol syrup, preferably sub-divided into the forms referred to above and some maltitol containing seeds and means to ensure the mixing of the maltitol syrup and maltitol-containing seeds on the surface of the moving mass partially filling the receptacle.
The maltitol based granules are collected preferably by overflow at the outlet of the receptacle and may be matured to increase their crystallinity by transferring the granules to a rotating cylinder with dimension characteristics such that the duration of stay of the granules coming from the receptacle is sufficient to ensure crystallization of the maltitol. The granules may then be passed to a dryer to reduce the residual moisture content, and subsequently to a means for grinding and sifting.
In carrying out the process of the invention, a maltitol syrup, of the type available in the trade, that is to say which may contain other polyalcohols such as sorbitol, and the dry matter of which is at least 70%, and having a content in maltitol of at least 85% on a dry matter basis is dispersed at a temperature of about 80° C. inside an open rotating receptacle in the form of an open tank or drum having a substantially flat bottom, the axis
Beauregard Guy
Jorgenson Mike
Moser Ben
Parady Tom
Henderson & Sturm LLP
Roquette Freres
Wong Leslie
LandOfFree
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