Microalgae Flour Granules Replace Allergens in Baked Products

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing bread products often contain allergenic ingredients like eggs and dairy, which can cause severe reactions, and lack alternatives that maintain organoleptic qualities and are easily scalable for large production.

Innovation Solution

Microalgae flour granules with specific particle size distribution, flow, and wettability properties are used to replace eggs, milk, and animal/vegetable fats in bread products, retaining taste and texture while being free from allergens.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Ease of manufacture

If traditional bread products use eggs and dairy ingredients, then organoleptic qualities (taste, texture) are improved, but allergen content increases causing severe reactions

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveorganoleptic qualitiesVSAvoidallergen content
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of manufactureVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The patent changes the chemical composition parameters by replacing traditional allergenic ingredients (eggs, dairy) with microalgae flour, which has different nutritional and functional properties. This substitution maintains the functional requirements for bread-making while eliminating allergens, resolving the contradiction between organoleptic quality and allergen content

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

Solution Approach 2:

The patent uses microalgae flour as a readily available, cost-effective alternative to traditional ingredients. Microalgae can be produced rapidly and incorporated into bread products without complex processing, providing an economical solution that eliminates allergens while maintaining product quality

Inventive Principle:
Principle #27Cheap short-living objects (Disposable)

2Object-affected harmful factors

If microalgae flour is used to replace allergenic ingredients, then allergen-free products are produced, but maintaining organoleptic qualities and scalability becomes challenging

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveallergen-free statusVSAvoidscalability and product quality
Core Design Contradiction:
Object-affected harmful factorsVSEase of manufacture

Solution Approach 1:

The patent demonstrates that microalgae flour serves multiple functions simultaneously: it acts as a protein source, fat substitute, thickening agent, and flavor enhancer. This multi-functionality allows it to replace multiple allergenic ingredients (eggs, dairy, fats) with a single ingredient, simplifying the formulation and scaling process while maintaining organoleptic qualities

Inventive Principle:
Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent uses composite material formulation by combining microalgae flour with standard bread ingredients in specific proportions. This composite approach allows optimization of the recipe to achieve desired texture, taste, and scalability while maintaining allergen-free status

Inventive Principle:
Principle #40Composite materials

3Quantity of substance

If complex bread products contain multiple ingredients (eggs, milk, butter), then nutritional quality and taste are improved, but the number of allergens increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvenutritional contentVSAvoidallergen variety
Core Design Contradiction:
Quantity of substanceVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The patent extracts and removes the harmful allergenic components (eggs, milk, butter) from the bread formulation while retaining the nutritional and functional benefits through substitution with microalgae flour. This extraction approach eliminates multiple allergens while preserving nutritional quality

Inventive Principle:
Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Data Source

PatentEP2983478B2Use of microalgal flour for the preparation of baked products
Publication Date: 2022.11.16 CORBION BIOTECH INC

AI summary

The invention relates to a novel cooking product characterised in that at least one of the three ingredients selected from among eggs or egg products, milk or milk derivatives and fatty substances of animal and/or plant origin is completely or partially replaced with microalgal flour. The novel cooking product can in some cases be consumed by allergic and/or vegetarian persons. The invention also relates to the method for the production of said cooking product.