Tomato Fibre Composition for Texture and Viscosity Control

The patent applies severe heat treatment (sterilization at 100°C for 30 minutes or higher temperatures for shorter durations) to transform the physical-chemical state of tomato cell walls. This heat treatment modifies the fibre structure and pectin properties, enabling the fibres to achieve enhanced water binding capacity and viscosity without the need for high-pressure homogenisation that would break down the fibre network and cause serum separation.

The patent performs severe heat treatment on tomato cell walls before any homogenisation or product formulation steps. This preliminary action pre-modifies the fibre structure and pectin content, creating fibres with inherently superior water binding capacity. As a result, subsequent processing requires lower homogenising pressures that preserve fibre network integrity while still achieving the desired viscosity enhancement.

The patent transforms tomato waste material (pomace) through severe heat treatment and washing to produce a fibre composition that inherently provides water binding capacity, viscosity enhancement, and product stability. The modified tomato fibres themselves serve as the functional ingredient, eliminating the need for external additives like calcium chloride or commercial viscosifiers. This self-service approach maintains product consistency while ensuring consumer acceptance through a clean-label, tomato-derived ingredient.

The patent applies severe heat treatment (sterilization conditions of 100°C for 30 minutes or higher temperatures for shorter durations) to tomato pomace to fundamentally alter the physical-chemical properties of the cell walls and pectin. This parameter change transforms the pomace into a fibre composition with enhanced water binding capacity and viscosity properties, while the subsequent washing removes excess water-soluble components. This relatively simple two-step process achieves the desired functional properties without complex multi-stage processing.