Fine Food Particulate Complexes with Dispersant Stability
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing compositions containing fine food particles are unstable and lack diverse utilization properties, with previous methods failing to provide a stable food composition that can be used for various purposes due to issues like high water content, excessive heating, and insufficient stability in particle size and shape.
Innovation Solution
A composition of fine food particulate complexes is developed, where particles are formed with specific shapes and sizes through high shear force and pressurized conditions, resulting in a complex that can be disintegrated by ultrasonication, maintaining stability and texture, and comprising diverse seeds, grains, legumes, vegetables, fruits, algae, and oils at optimal ratios.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Area of moving object
If food is pulverized into fine particles to improve texture and surface area, then the composition becomes unstable and particles aggregate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a specific dispersant as an intermediary substance between food particles to prevent aggregation. The dispersant adsorbs onto particle surfaces, creating electrostatic or steric barriers that maintain particle separation and composition stability while preserving the high surface area characteristics of finely pulverized food.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent modifies physical parameters including particle size distribution (controlling D50 and D90 values), dispersant concentration, and pH levels to achieve optimal stability. By carefully controlling these parameters, the system maintains fine particle dispersion without aggregation, resolving the contradiction between high surface area and compositional stability.
2Manufacturing precision
If food is ultrafinely pulverized to maximum particle size of 30 μm or less to improve fine particle dispersion, then the composition lacks stability and re-aggregation occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a dispersant as a mediating agent that adsorbs onto ultrafine food particle surfaces, preventing direct particle-particle contact and re-aggregation. This intermediary layer maintains the ultrafine particle size distribution (D90 ≤ 30 μm) while providing colloidal stability throughout storage.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a composite system combining food particles, dispersant, and optionally oil/fat components. This composite structure leverages the dispersant's surface-active properties to stabilize the ultrafine food particles, achieving both precise particle size control and long-term compositional stability.
3Object-generated harmful factors
If excessive heating is applied to finely pulverized food to generate desired flavor, then the composition stability is impaired
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs pulverization and dispersant addition as preliminary actions before any heating or flavor development steps. By establishing stable particle dispersion and protective coatings in advance, subsequent thermal processing can proceed without causing aggregation or compositional degradation, thus maintaining stability while achieving desired flavor.
Solution Approach 2:
The dispersant acts as a thermal protective intermediary during heating processes. It forms a protective layer around food particles that prevents direct thermal degradation and aggregation during flavor development, allowing controlled heating without compromising composition stability.
4Reliability
If high water content is present in food composition to maintain freshness, then the composition becomes destabilized
Solution Approach 1:
The patent optimizes water content as a critical parameter, maintaining it at controlled levels rather than high concentrations. By adjusting water content in conjunction with dispersant addition and particle size control, the system achieves sufficient freshness maintenance while preventing water-induced aggregation and compositional destabilization.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a composite system where dispersants and optionally oil/fat components work synergistically with water to maintain stability. This composite approach allows the system to tolerate moderate water content for freshness while the dispersant network prevents water-induced particle aggregation and phase separation.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The composition achieves stable retention of diverse food components and imparts a specific texture, enhancing storage stability and quality by reducing surface area and promoting collapsibility during consumption.
Implementation Method 1
when the ultrasonication is carried out, a maximum particle size after the treatment decreases by 10% or more as compared with that before the treatment
Implementation Method 2
particles are formed with specific shapes and sizes through high shear force and pressurized conditions
Implementation Method 3
particles are formed with specific shapes and sizes through high shear force and pressurized conditions
Data Source
AI summary
A method for producing a food product includes preparing a mixture including one or more dried food ingredients and at least one oil or fat, wherein a total fat content in the mixture is 30% by mass or more, wet pulverizing the dried food ingredients in the mixture, and obtaining a food composition including the at least one oil or fat and 20% to 98% by mass of fine particles of the dried food ingredients. The wet pulverization is performed with a maximum pressure of 0.01 to 1 MPa and under a rising temperature condition satisfying T1+1<T2<T1+50. The fine particles subjected to an ultrasonication treatment have a modal diameter of 0.3 to 200 μm and a decreased maximum particle size. A 10th percentile value of a numerical value N for each fine particle complex is 0.40 or less.