Washed Fermented Dairy Product with Reduced Sugar via Membrane Filtration
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Solution Overview
Problem
Consumers seek reduced sugar and carbohydrate content in dairy products like yogurt, but existing methods either require longer fermentation times or do not effectively address the sugar content from fruit-based materials, leading to residual carbohydrates in nutrition labels.
Innovation Solution
A process involving multiple stages of dilution and separation using methods like membrane filtration, centrifugation, and chromatography to remove unfermented sugars and organic acids from fermented dairy products, especially when mixed with fruit-based materials, achieving significant reductions in sugar and carbohydrate content.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If traditional fermentation process is used to reduce sugar content, then some sugar conversion is achieved, but significant unfermented sugars remain and longer fermentation time is required
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the sugar removal process into multiple stages: initial fermentation stage followed by multiple wash cycles. Each wash cycle consists of dilution and separation steps that progressively remove residual sugars and organic acids. This segmentation allows the system to achieve complete sugar reduction without requiring continuously extended fermentation time.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts unfermented sugars and organic acids from the fermented dairy product through repeated wash cycles using membrane filtration and centrifugation. The wash liquid is separated from the fermented material, removing residual carbohydrates that would otherwise remain in the final product. This extraction process directly addresses the remaining sugar content issue.
2Adaptability or versatility
If fruit-based materials are added to yogurt to provide flavor, then desired flavors are achieved, but sugar content increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent incorporates fruit-based materials during the wash cycle process, specifically during the dilution step. By adding fruit materials at this stage, the subsequent separation process can effectively remove the sugars from the fruit while retaining the desired flavor compounds in the final product. This preliminary timing allows flavor enhancement without sugar accumulation.
Solution Approach 2:
The wash cycle process extracts and removes sugars from fruit-based materials through membrane filtration and centrifugation. The separation step selectively removes carbohydrates while allowing flavor compounds to remain in the fermented dairy product, thus achieving flavor variety without increasing sugar content.
3Quantity of substance
If multiple wash cycles are performed to reduce sugar content, then significant sugar reduction is achieved, but process complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the dilution and separation steps into a unified wash cycle process that can be repeated multiple times. Each cycle uses the same combined operations of adding dilution liquid, mixing, and separating through membrane filtration and centrifugation. This merging creates an efficient iterative process that achieves progressive sugar reduction without proportionally increasing operational complexity.
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 process achieves a substantial reduction in total sugars, organic acids, and total carbohydrates, resulting in a reduced sugar fruit-flavored dairy product with a protein-to-carbohydrate ratio of at least 1.1:1, meeting consumer demands for lower sugar content without compromising taste or texture.
Implementation Method 1
liquid including diffused sugars (e.g., unfermented lactose, galactose, etc.) and organic acids from the dairy material and fruit-based material is separated
Implementation Method 2
membrane filtration (e.g., using a cross-linked membrane, separation is based on molecular weight, chain length, or other properties of the solutes)
Implementation Method 3
centrifugation
Data Source
AI summary
A dairy product that is fruit-flavored and reduced in sugar includes a washed fermented dairy material and a washed fruit-based material. Separation technology for the removal of sugars from a fermented dairy material and a fruit-based material to produce the dairy product includes the repetition of a wash cycle involving a dilution step and a separation step. The separation technology achieves at least a 10% reduction in total sugars.