Food or edible material: processes – compositions – and products – Products per se – or processes of preparing or treating... – Animal derived material is an ingredient other than extract...
Reexamination Certificate
1999-04-21
2001-08-07
Pratt, Helen (Department: 1761)
Food or edible material: processes, compositions, and products
Products per se, or processes of preparing or treating...
Animal derived material is an ingredient other than extract...
C426S092000, C426S573000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06270830
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
This invention relates to a stabilizer for meat products which is added to foods, in particular, livestock meats and fish in order to prevent syneresis, improve water holding capacities, improve bonding properties, impart viscoelasticity, increase suspension stability, improve cloudiness, increase in quantity, etc. This invention also relates to a meat product composition containing the stabilizer.
BACKGROUND ART
It has been a practice to incorporate natural gums such as carrageenan and curdlan, to livestock and fish meat products in order to prevent syneresis, improve water holding capacities, improve bonding properties, impart viscoelasticity, increase in quantity, etc., as is shown in JP-A-5-260927 and JP-A-4-40849 (the term “JP-A” as used herein means an “unexamined published Japanese patent application”). However, when the natural gums are used in an attempt to induce these effects, they may bring about an undesirable heavy texture due to their high viscosity.
Also, cellulose and fine cellulose are occasionally added to meat products to improve the texture, increase yield, improve cloudiness, etc., as described in JP-A-6-343423 and JP-A-8-51956. When employed alone, however, cellulose or fine cellulose cannot sufficiently achieve the effects of inhibiting syneresis and improving water holding capacities.
JP-B-57-14771 discloses food stabilizers comprising a composite of microcrystalline cellulose, carrageenan and maltodextrin (the term “JP-B” as used herein means an “examined Japanese patent application”). In general, carrageenan is classified into three types differing in characteristics depending on the algae source. Namely, &lgr;-carrageenan is highly soluble in water and does not relate and &kgr;-carrageenan and &igr;-carrageenan are soluble in hot water and relate. Although the carrageenan employed in the patent cited above is merely described as carrageenan, it is described therein that the gums either have a large swelling power or are quickly dissolved in water. It is therefore assumed that &lgr;-carrageenan was employed in the above case.
An object of the present invention is to provide a stabilizer for meat products which is effective in preventing syneresis, improving water holding capacities, increasing yield, improving texture, improving cloudiness, etc. of foods, particularly, meat products with the use of livestock meats and fish. Another object of the present invention is to provide meat product compositions which can prevent syneresis, improve water holding capacities, yield, texture, cloudiness, etc. by incorporation of the stabilizer for meat products.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
The present inventors have discovered that a composite comprising a specific fine cellulose and a gelling agent can achieve very excellent synergistic effects for preventing syneresis, improving water holding capacities, increasing yield, improving texture, improving cloudiness, etc. in foods, as compared with the case where either a fine cellulose or a gelling agent is employed alone. Particularly remarkable synergistic effects can be observed when the composite is employed as a stabilizer for meat products. The effects of the present invention can be most remarkably achieved on livestock meat products, among meat products.
Accordingly, the present invention is as follows.
1) A stabilizer for food, which is a composite comprising 10 to 90% by weight of a fine cellulose and 10 to 90% by weight of a gelling agent, wherein said stabilizer provides, when dispersed in water, an average fine cellulose particle size of not more than 20 &mgr;m with a fraction of particles having a size of not less than 10 &mgr;m of not more than 70%.
2) The stabilizer for food according to the above 1), wherein the gelling agent is &kgr;-carrageenan and/or &igr;-carrageenan and/or semi refined carrageenan.
3) A stabilizer for meat products, which is a composite comprising 10 to 90% by weight of a fine cellulose and 10 to 90% by weight of a gelling agent, wherein said stabilizer provides, when dispersed in water, an average fine cellulose particle size of not more than 20 &mgr;m with a fraction of particles having a size of not less than 10 &mgr;m of not more than 70%.
4) The stabilizer for meat products according to the above 3, wherein the gelling agent is &kgr;-carrageenan and/or &igr;-carrageenan and/or semi refined carrageenan.
5) A meat product composition containing the stabilizer for meat products according to the above 3) or 4).
The present invention is described in detail below.
The term “meat product composition”, as used herein, includes livestock meat products such as ham, sausage, salami sausage, roasted meat, corned beef, canned meat, jerky, hamburger steak, fried cake of minced meat, meat ball, chaotzu, shaomai, yamato-ni (beef boiled in sweetened soy sauce), etc., which are made from beef, pork, mutton, chicken, etc., and fish meat products such as fish-paste products (chikuwa, kamaboko, etc.), putty, sausage, tuna, nikogori (jellied fish broth), etc. Also, foods and pet feeds made using these livestock meat and fish products fall within the meaning.
The term “fine cellulose” as used herein means cellulose showing an average particle size of not more than 20 &mgr;m or below, when the composite is dispersed in water by appropriate stirring. In the particle size distribution of the dispersed fine cellulose, the fraction of particles having a size of not less than loaum is not more than 70%. When the average particle size exceeds 20&mgr;m or the fraction of 10 &mgr;m or more exceeds 70%, the clouding effect is decreased and the product gives a coarse feel in the mouth. It is preferable that the average particle size is not more than 12&mgr;m and the fraction of 10 &mgr;m or more is not more than 60%. It is still preferable that the average particle size is not more than 8&mgr;m and the fraction of 10 &mgr;m or more is not more than 40%. When the coarse feel is taken into consideration, it is particularly preferable that the average particle size is not more than 4&mgr;m and the fraction of 10&mgr;m or more is not more than 10%. Although the coarse feel is lessened with a decrease in the average particle size, the lower limit of the average particle size is spontaneously determined depending on the grinding and powdering techniques and devices. Currently, the lower limit of the average particle size is considered to be about 0.05&mgr;m. With respect to the lower limit of the average particle size, it is feared that an extremely small average particle size may cause insufficient cloudiness. It is, therefore, preferable that the average particle size is not less than 0.5&mgr;m, and preferably not less than 1.5 &mgr;m.
As the gelling agent, use may be made of natural gums which are soluble in hot water, etc. and can gel either alone or in combination. Particular examples thereof include &kgr;-carrageenan, &igr;-carrageenan, semi refined carrageenan, agar, furcellaran, glucomannan, gellan gum, gelatin, curdlan, pectin, soybean protein, alginic acid and its salts, xanthan gum/locust bean gum, and
Azodobacter vinelandii
gum. Either one of these natural gums or a combination of two or more may be used. The degree of gelling may be regulated by adding salts such as calcium salts. Among these gums, preferable examples includes &kgr;-carrageenan, &igr;-carrageenan, semi refined carrageenan, agar, furcellaran, glucomannan, gellan gum, gelatin and curdlan, still preferably &kgr;-carrageenan, &igr;-carrageenan and semi refined carrageenan. &kgr;-Carrageenan and &igr;-carrageenan are carrageenans capable of gelling in water or milk, and they can be obtained by extracting red algae with an alkali, purifying the extract and then recovering by gel filtration or alcohol-precipitation followed by drying and grinding.
Semi refined carrageenan is obtained without extraction by immersing red algae in an alkali followed by washing, drying and grinding. It is cited under the name of PROCESSED EUCHEUMA SEAWEED in Compendium of food additive specifications. Addendum 3(1995). It is one of gelling
Kamada Etsuo
Mochihara Nobuyoshi
Asahi Kasei Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
Birch & Stewart Kolasch & Birch, LLP
Pratt Helen
LandOfFree
Stabilizer for meat products and meat product composition does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Stabilizer for meat products and meat product composition, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Stabilizer for meat products and meat product composition will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2467799