Food or edible material: processes – compositions – and products – Products per se – or processes of preparing or treating... – Fat or oil is basic ingredient other than butter in emulsion...
Reexamination Certificate
1995-06-07
2002-04-09
Paden, Carolyn (Department: 1761)
Food or edible material: processes, compositions, and products
Products per se, or processes of preparing or treating...
Fat or oil is basic ingredient other than butter in emulsion...
C426S602000, C426S604000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06368653
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to the use of mesomorphic phases of edible surfactants, in the first place for the structuring of foodstuff and to finished or ready to eat surfactants containing said mesomorphic phases.
BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to the general prior art the structuring of foodstuffs can be accomplished in various ways. Two main routes can be distinguished:
(1) the structuring by biopolymers such as proteins and carbohydrates, and
(2) the structuring by “particles” in the widest sense.
In the former case polymeric molecules cross-link to form a tangled, interconnected molecular network in water. In those systems the presence of junction zones or entanglements leads to gel formation and the enclosure of water. Examples of those polymeric substances are starch in puddings, gelatin in deserts and in the water phase of fat spreads, pectin in jams, carrageenin in desserts and in the water phase of fat spreads, and many others.
In the second case entities such as air cells, water droplets, fat droplets, crystals, starch granules or casein micelles are dispersed into the food system. Interaction forces between such particles determine the consistency and the physical stability of the food products. Many food systems fall into this category. In yoghurt aggregated protein particles form a network of protein strands. In mayonnaise an “interconnected” structure of oil droplets is responsible for its consistency. In a shortening fat crystals form an interconnected network structure enclosing oil. In a margarine water droplets are dispersed into a continuous network structure of fat crystals and oil. So, this represents a dispersion of particles in a network of particles. Even more complicated structures are found in butter and ice cream. But in all those cases a build-up of structure from particles of particle networks can be distinguished, which is responsible for the consistency of the finished products.
The present invention provides a new way of structuring food products. The formation of mesomorphic phases of edible surfactant molecules and water can give rise to a firm texture and consistency. The use of this property of mesomorphic phases, to give consistency to products, is new to the food business. However, it should be noted hat this use may already be known in other areas such as cosmetics and pharmaceuticals.
This new way of product structuring may be described e.g. as a regular, molecular arrangement of surfactant molecules with intervening aqueous regions. For the purpose of the invention the term mesomorphic phase is intended to include all semi-ordered phases of water and edible surfactant materials. Examples of mesomorphic phases are cubic, hexagonal, alpha crystalline gel, beta-crystalline coagel and lamellar phases. Preferred mesomorphic phases for use in accordance with the invention are lyotropic phases; also preferred are lamellar phases. For the purpose of the present invention, the term lamellar phase refers to any system having a pattern of alternating bilayers of edible surfactants and water. Examples of lamellar phases are lamellar droplet phases, lamellar gel phases and lamellar phases containing extended parallel layers of surfactants and water.
In the lamellar phase surfactants, are believed to form a bilayer structure. It is believed that a bulk lamellar phase consists of stacks of bi-layer structures with an intervening aqueous phase. Products according to the present invention preferably comprise bulk regions of the lamellar phase whereas it has been suggested that known products of the prior art might contain boundary layers of this phase at interfaces, such as those found around oil-droplets in water-continuous fatty products.
The bulk lamellar phase may be formed by temperature cycling of a mixture of surfactant and water. In the crystalline state, the surfactant molecules are oriented with adjacent hydrophillic groups and the hydrophobic chains are parallel and densely packed. On contact with water and heating to the so-called ‘Krafft’ temperature it is believed that water penetrates between the adjacent ‘head’ groups to form a ‘liquid crystal’ structure. On cooling below the ‘Krafft’ temperature, the hydrophobic chains pack into a regular lattice, producing a one-dimensionally periodic ‘sandwich’ structure of alternating surfactant and aqueous layers.
As an example of the ‘gel’ structure obtained: for a mixture of water and a distilled monoglyceride made from fully hydrogenated lard, which has been cycled above the Krafft temperature, X-ray diffraction in the low-angle region reveals that the thickness of the monoglyceride layers is of the order of 50-60 Angstrom. As the proportion of water in the mixture in the system is increased the inter-planar spacing increases, as water is taken up between the monoglyceride layers. It will be realised that the fine structure of the mesomorphic phase, especially as regards the inter-planar spacing, will vary when different surfactants are used.
Another preferred mesomorphic phase according to the invention is a beta-crystalline coagel, which is believed to consist of small plate-like crystals having an average thickness of less than 1 fm or even less than 0.1 fm, said platelets being dispersed in an aqueous environment. This is a suspension of beta-crystalline emulsifier in water and is also known as a ‘hydrate’. These coagels may be formed instead of an alpha crystalline gel phase under certain conditions, such as at acid pH. Both the above mentioned alpha gels and these hydrates are used extensively in the baking industry as crumb softening agents in wheat bread and as cake volume improvers, but it is believed that the structure of the mesomorphic phase is lost during product preparation and consequently that the finished foodstuff (be it bread or cake) does not contain bulk mesomorphic phase. In the context of the invention the coagel phase is considered a semi-ordered phase of water and edible surfactant (mesomorphic phase).
The presence of mesomorphic phases in food products may be detected by any method suitable for the detection of regular arrangements of surfactant materials. Suitable methods include for example NMR, Electron microscopy, Differential scanning calorimetry, light microscopy and X-ray diffraction.
Consequently, the present invention relates in the first place to the use of mesomorphic phases of edible surfactants as structuring agent. This structuring leads to many other useful applications, such as the use as fat replacer, foaming agent, egg white replacer, preservative, lubricating agent, consistency control agent, moisture retention agent and/or flavour release agent in foodstuff. In another aspect the invention relates to a finished foodstuff containing a mesomorphic phase of edible surfactant and less than 80% by weight of edible oil.
With respect to the use as fat replacer it should be noted that the present invention can provide edible compositions which have a reduced calorific contents as compared to normal foodstuffs. The present invention allows for the possibility of preparing foodstuffs with fat-like properties, but with the use according to the present invention containing essentially no fat at all or a very low amount of e.g. Less than 5 wt. %.
In recent years there have been several developments regarding so-called “fat replacers”. Such materials are intended to have as far as practical the functional and sensorial properties of fats, but to have a reduced calorie content and, where possible, health benefits as compared to fats. Much effort has been spent in the development of new materials which have a fatty functionality but are poorly adsorbed or non-digestible in the human gut.
Amongst such “fat replacer” materials are the sugar fatty acid esters, originally used as lubricants but now proposed for use in foods. The use of these sugar fatty acid esters as fat substitutes in margarines is suggested in EP-A-020 421 (Orphanos et al.: to the Procter & Gamble Company). Such margarines have a “fatty” phase which compr
Heertje Isaac
Hendrickx Hendricus Amoldus Comelis
Knoops Albertje Johanna
Royers Elias Comelis
Turksma Hessel
McGowen, Jr. Gerard J.
Paden Carolyn
Van den BerghFoods Co., division of Conopco, Inc.
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