Compositions having an oil-in-water dispersion of submicron particles to enhance foods and beverages

Abstract

A composition having an oil-in-water dispersion with enhanced stability is provided. The oil-in-water dispersion has particles of a hydrophobic agent with an average particle size between about 100 to about 999 nm, where the distribution of particle sizes are a monodispersity about the average particle size, and the negative charge on the particles generates a force of repulsion that exceeds the force of coalescence among the particles of the hydrophobic agent in the oil-in-water dispersion. A method for applying the composition to a food and / or beverage is also provided. The submicron average particle size, dispersity, and force of repulsion of the particles in the dispersion increase the extent of penetration and accelerate diffusion of the particles of the hydrophobic agent throughout a water phase of a food or beverage, to enhance the physical, chemical, nutritional and / or sensory properties of the food or beverage, and to prevent freezer burn.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This application is a continuation-in-part application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13 / 835,642, filed on Mar. 15, 2013, and is also a continuation-in-part application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14 / 211,562, filed on Mar. 14, 2014, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61 / 801,055, filed on Mar. 15, 2013, the contents of which are incorporated by reference herein.BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE[0002]1. Field of Disclosure[0003]The present disclosure relates to a composition having an oil-in-water dispersion with enhanced stability that can be applied into or onto a food or beverage to enhance the physical, chemical, nutritional, and / or sensory properties of the food or beverage, and also to prevent freezer burn. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a composition having an oil-in-water dispersion with particles of a hydrophobic agent having an average particle size between about 100 to about...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

This patent describes a composition made up of a stable oil-in-water dispersion that can be added to food or beverages to improve their properties and prevent freezer burn. The small negative surface charge of the particles in the dispersion helps to repel each other, increasing the stability of the dispersion. The dispersion can be processed until it is stable for commercial applications. The composition also has a polydispersity index of 0.25 or less, which further enhances its stability. When the combined oil phase and water phase are pre-processed before the mechanical process, the efficiency of the process is increased and the particles become more monodispersed and of smaller average particle size. The small size and monodispersity of the particles enhance the penetration and diffusion throughout the food or beverage, resulting in improved properties such as texture, taste, and nutritional content.

Problems solved by technology

Although surfactants have provided many benefits, the use of surfactants in foods has several disadvantages, including producing emulsions that are thermodynamically unstable, non-reproducible, difficult-to-scale and are potentially unhealthy when consumed.

The time to develop a traditional emulsifier-based product is lengthy.

Such changes may undesirably result in a change in one or more aesthetic, performance, or health properties.

Immediate stability of the composition is often compromised as a result and, worse, resulting instability may not be identified until the second or third month of accelerated stability testing.

This can compromise the long-term shelf life of the product.

Correction requires a complex, often empirical, rebalancing of the formulation.

Compounding these production and stability issues are the effects that processing can have on the outcome of a batch.

Some emulsions are made without heating but these systems preclude the use of higher melting point materials that can add richness to the oral aesthetics of the final product.

Further, if the rate of mixing is high, there is a chance that air can be entrapped in the emulsion.

This phenomenon causes an undesirable decrease in the specific gravity of the product and an increase in product viscosity.

Any variability in processing can lead to a range of undesirable rheological and textural properties.

This issue can occur even if the formulation is not modified.

The unsettling phenomenon occurs because it may be very difficult to exactly reproduce all of the processing parameters used to make an emulsion.

If processing variables vary in small, difficult-to-track ways, unexpected particle size variations may occur, or the crystalline properties of the emulsion can be compromised.

Given these concerns, a typical 500-g to 2000-g lab preparation may not translate directly to a manufacturing environment.

Moreover, equipment used in the laboratory generally does not well model that used in the plant.

Even so, scale-up issues abound.

These issues increase the time and cost of bringing a new product into production.

Traditional emulsion systems also create difficulties in manufacturing.

The need for heating and cooling systems, specialized mixing equipment, and assorted additional processing devices makes the manufacture of emulsion systems capital intensive.

This situation will cause a modification in the processing variables thereby making it almost impossible to have a truly “global” manufacturing protocol.

The energy needed to process such products can be costly.

Similarly, there is typically a long batch processing time.

This reality requires intensive labor that adds to cost.

In the surfactant mediated process, the need for high temperature water or steam to heat the phases of the batch can cause damage to heat sensitive hydrophobic agents.

For example, unsaturated hydrocarbons, such as vegetable oils, can oxidize, which lead to rancidity or an undesirable color change.

Because of these issues there is rising regulatory pressure and pressure from consumer activists to remove such artificial agents from compositions intended for human consumption.

The presence of emulsifiers in food products as well as the super-micron particle size micelles that they form can also result in a sub-optimal taste sensation and limited textural variability creating a less enjoyable eating or drinking experience.

In addition, these systems are all considered to be nano-technology as defined by convention and multiple regulatory agencies (less than 100 nm), giving rise to regulatory issues.

Since many foods, especially protein-based foods such as meats, poultry and fish, contain a large percentage of water, a hydrophobic agent applied on or into a protein-based food generally will not diffuse into the food quickly or evenly, since the hydrophobic agent does not readily mix with the water phase in the food.

Adding a sufficient amount of a surfactant, such as an emulsifier, can allow a hydrophobic agent to disperse stably in a water phase; however, the addition of surfactants increases costs, and can affect the texture and the taste of the food.

Freezer burn, which can affect nearly any type of food, is another problem that affects the quality, taste, and texture of the food, decreases consumer appeal, and causes loss of economic value.

This dehydrates the food, causing the food to dry, shrivel, and appear “burned” at the spot.

Freezer burn can also impart an unpleasant flavor and texture to the food, further decreasing consumer appeal, and value.

Images