Food or edible material: processes – compositions – and products – Product with added plural inorganic mineral or element...
Reexamination Certificate
1998-12-01
2003-04-01
Corbin, Arthur L. (Department: 1761)
Food or edible material: processes, compositions, and products
Product with added plural inorganic mineral or element...
C426S648000, C426S649000, C426S806000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06541050
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to salt flavor enhancing compositions and methods for manufacturing such compositions. In particular, it relates to salt flavor enhancing compositions, which include sodium chloride (NaCl), i.e., table salt or salt, in combination with potassium chloride, and calcium or potassium sulfate, or both, such that the total amount of sodium may be reduced without significant reduction in salt flavor. The salt flavor enhancing compositions may also contain calcium chloride or magnesium chloride, or both. Further, it relates to salt flavor enhancing compositions, which include potassium chloride and at least a calcium salt and an additional potassium salt, that may be added to products having intrinsic sodium levels or targeted sodium levels.
2. Description of Related Art
Salt or table salt, as those terms are generally used, is added to processed and cooked foods to provide palatability and a desirable salty taste. Chemically, salt comprises about 60 percent elemental chlorine and about 40 percent elemental sodium. Sodium, an essential nutrient, plays a vital role in maintaining concentration and volume of extracellular fluid.
From a dietary perspective, the blood pressure of any individual may respond differently to various levels of sodium. Family history of blood pressure, weight, age, amount of regular physical activity, alcohol intake, and overall dietary factors, such as dietary intake of calcium, potassium, sodium and fiber, may play a role in affecting blood pressure. Some scientific evidence suggests that a more balanced dietary intake of sodium, potassium, magnesium, and other cations may beneficially affect blood pressure. Individuals whose blood pressure increases when sodium intake is high or decreases when sodium intake is low are called “salt sensitive.” For such salt sensitive individuals, a reduction in total dietary sodium intake may be warranted. This may be accomplished through the use of low and reduced sodium compositions and food products.
To aid in reducing dietary sodium intake, several low salt or salt substitute products have been introduced into market. Such products may include up to about 50 percent by weight of sodium chloride with the remainder replaced by potassium chloride and a magnesium salt, organic acid, amino acid, or a combination thereof. However, potassium has been found to add a bitter aftertaste to food products which many consumers find unacceptable. Further, these salt substitutes are generally formulated for direct application to foods and in cooking in the same manner by which individuals might use table salt.
In order to reduce the amount of sodium, compositions have been formulated in which sodium has been partly or wholly replaced by other substances, which imitate the taste of the salt. For the purpose of reducing the salt consumption and sodium intake, while maintaining a proper degree of salty taste, potassium chloride and ammonium chloride have been used as a partial replacements for salt. Nevertheless, as noted above, potassium chloride may generate a particularly bitter and metallic taste, and when added to foods, it may severely spoil and impair their tastes. A variety of countermeasures have been proposed to eliminate the bitterness caused by the addition of potassium chloride; for example, calcium chloride or magnesium chloride have been added to some low sodium, salt compositions, such as those described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 15299/1985. However, these measures have not produced satisfactory results, especially in processed food products. Ammonium chloride also produces a bitter aftertaste and, at cooking and baking temperatures, ammonium chloride may decompose thereby changing the pH value, taste, and other properties of food containing it. The addition of small amounts of magnesium, calcium, formates, and citrates in salt substitute compositions consisting primarily of potassium chloride has been proposed to mask or overcome the bitter taste of the potassium. However, these additives may cause the loss of the true salty flavor or the taste sensation associated with salt, and such additives may become unbalanced or negatively affect the taste of prepared or processed food products.
Thus, replacing sodium chloride by other chemical compounds may involve several disadvantages. Further, additives which mask or overcome the undesirable taste, e.g., the bitter or metallic tastes, of common salt substitutes containing potassium, may also affect the food products taste and palatability. Further, there are relatively few approved food additives which may accomplish this role.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Therefore, a need has arisen for a salt flavor enhancing composition providing a pure, balanced, and non-bitter salt flavor, with a reduced sodium content.
Accordingly, it is a technical advantage of this invention to provide salt flavor enhancing compositions comprising sodium chloride in an amount effective to promote a salty taste; potassium chloride in an amount effective to reduce the sodium content of the composition while enhancing the salty taste; and sulfate-containing salts, in particular, potassium and calcium sulfate. In addition, such compositions may include chloride-containing salts, in particular, calcium chloride and magnesium chloride, in amounts effective to mask or overcome the bitter and metallic taste of the potassium and to further enhance the salty taste.
It is a further technical advantage of the present invention to provide salt flavor enhancing compositions which may be used topically and in the preparation of beverages and food products, e.g., soups and vegetable juices, consisting essentially of sodium chloride, potassium chloride, and sulfate-containing salts, in particular potassium and or calcium sulfate. In addition, such compositions may include chloride-containing salts, in particular, calcium chloride or magnesium chloride, or both, in a constituent ratio combination, such that the resulting composition retains the balanced salty taste associated with sodium chloride and does not take on bitter or metallic aftertaste associated with known salt substitute compositions containing potassium chloride.
It is still another technical advantage of this invention to provide salt flavor enhancing compositions that include predetermined concentrations of sodium, chloride, potassium, sulfate, calcium, and magnesium ions. Moreover, it is an technical advantage of this invention to produce food products for delivering these relative ion concentrations to consumers.
In an embodiment of the invention, a salt flavor enhancing compositions may comprise a combination of sodium chloride (NaCl) and potassium chloride (KCl) in a weight percentage in a range of about 74 to about 99 percent and at least one salt comprising at least one sulfate-containing salt, in particular, potassium sulfate (K
2
SO
4
) or calcium sulfate (e,g., CaSO
4
.2H
2
O), or both, in a weight percentage of about 1 to about 26 percent. In addition, the at least one salt may further comprise at least one chloride-containing salt, in particular, calcium chloride (e.g., CaCl
2
.2H
2
O) or magnesium chloride (e.g., MgCl
2
.6H
2
O), or both, such that the combination of the at least one sulfate-containing salt and the at least one chloride-containing salt is in a range of about 1 to about 26 percent by weight percentage. In view of the detailed description and examples which follow, it will be understood by persons of ordinary skill in the art that both anhydrous and hydrated forms of these salts may be used in this invention.
In a further embodiment of the invention, a food product comprises a combination of sodium, chloride, potassium, calcium, magnesium and sulfate ions in concentration ranges and ratios, such that the food product delivers the salt flavor enhancing composition described above.
In still another embodiment of the invention, a salt flavor enhancing composition is adapted for use in a food product containing a high intrinsic sodium chloride c
Bonorden William R.
Giordano Denise A.
Lee Beverly L.
Baker & Botts L.L.P.
Campbell Soup Company
Corbin Arthur L.
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