Title of Invention

A PROCESS FOR PREPARING A FOOD PRODUCT WITH A BOSTWICK VALUE OF AT LEAST 7 AT 15 ˚ C

Abstract

A process for preparing a food product with a Bostwick value of at least 7 at 15°C, said process comprising - a) 0.1 to 1.5 wt% of one or more anti-spattering agents comprising no native soy lecithin or native soy lecithin in an amount of from 0 to 0.5 wt% on total product, whereby the anti-spattering agent is preferably selected from the group comprising hydrolysed lecithin, fractionated lecithin, citric acid esters or combinations thereof; b) optionally with one or more emulsifiers in a total amount of from 0 to 0.5 wt.%; and c) optionally with one or more browning agents in a total amount of from 0 to 0.07 wt%, and d) one or more salts in an amount of from 0.5 to 3 wt%.

Full Text

FORM - 2 THE PATENTS ACT, 1970 ( 39 of 1970 ) COMPLETE SPECIFICATION SECTION 10 TITLE "A PROCESS FOR PREPARING A FOOD PRODUCT WITH A BOSTWICK VALUE OF AT LEAST 7 AT 15°C" APPLICANT HINDUSTAN LEVER LIMITED, a Company incoiporated under the Indian Companies Act, 1913 and having its Registered Office at Hindustan Lever House, 165/166 Backbay Reclamation, Mumbai 400 020, Maharashtra, India The following specification particularly describes the nature of the invention and the manner in which it is to be performed GRANTED 25-8-2004 25 AUG 2004 The present invention relates to a/food product which is a water and oil containing emulsion which comprises an anti-'5 spattering agent. The emulsions are pourable or squeezable products as evidenced by a Bostwick value of equal to or more than 7, preferably more than 10 at 15 °C. Preferred food products are water in oil emulsions. 10 Background of the invention Pourable or squeezable food products of a water phase and a fat phase are for example known as liquid frying products which are pourable or squeezable water in oil emulsions at 15 ambient temperature. These products are for example used in shallow frying. Pourable and squeezable products are considered to be more easily dosed than plastic products for example packed in a 20 wrapper or a tub, and are therefore desired frying products.. The pourability or squeezability of these products is evidenced by a Bostwick value of at least 7 at 15 °C. For pourable products, a Bostwick value of at least 9 is 25 preferred, even more preferred is a Bostwick value of at least 15, most preferred from 15 to 23. The method to determine this value is illustrated in the examples. For example lecithin, especially the phosphatidylcholine component of lecithin, is a well known anti-spattering agent. 5 Especially pourable or squeezable water in oil emulsions comprising native lecithin as anti-spattering agent are susceptible to undesired oil separation upon storage. Therefore a desire exists for pourable/squeezable water in 10 oil emulsions that comprise little or no native lecithin. A further desired characteristic of water in oil emulsions used for frying is that they show the desired signal function. With signal function is meant that during heating 15 the user of the frying medium desirably gets a specific signal at the moment the frying medium is heated sufficiently to temperatures of about 160 to 190 °C, to put the meat or other foodstuff in. Foaming of the frying medium as caused by heating, may be 20 one element of a signal function. During heating usually a foam slowly; developes This- foaming can be described as- the-formation of a blanket of gas bubbles on top of the melted frying medium, which is easily identified by eye. The amount of foam that exists is expressed in terms of surface 25 coverage, i.e. in percentage of frying medium surface that is covered by the foam. The moment at which the maximum surface coverage with the foam is reached, is generally perceived by consumers as the moment to put the food stuff that is to be fried in the hot 30 frying medium. The identification on a product package of these components as additives is often required by national law. In an ingredient list all added ingredients; i.e. those not present naturally in the basic ingredients are summarised. 5 Such law for example exists in Germany, France, The Netherlands. .... Ingredients mentioned on this list alert the consumer to the presence of non-natural ingredients. Therefore it is considered that a commercial benefit can be obtained for LO products that do not have many non-naturally present additives listed on the package. In summary there is a desire for squeezable or pourable food products which are suitable for shallow frying and 15 which show all the above-indicated characteristics i.e. a) physical storage stability b) low spattering c) foaming as a signal function d) gold-yellow colour even when heated to high temperatures 20 e) as little added ingredients on the package as possible. The prior art discloses products which fulfil part of these characteristics, however none of the products disclosed in the art relates to products which show all these 25 characteristics. For example GB-A-1,333,938 discloses that oil separation of a water in oil emulsion can be at least partly overcome by incorporating in the emulsion an emulsion-stabilising 30 amount of gas bubbles. However the disclosed products Furthermore commercial products are known which comprise Bolec ZTtm) as anti-spattering agent in amounts of for example 0.35 wt%. This amount of a native soy lecithin was 5 found to lead to products which showed considerable oil separation of about 15%. The elimination of native soy lecithin such as Bolec zT(tm) leads to a change in foaming behaviour. Native lecithins 10 like Bolec ZT(tm) give rise to the formation of a desired fine foam with an average gas bubble size of from about 0.05 to about 1.5 cm and with a maximum of bubble size distribution at about 0.4-O.9 cm- Such a small average gas bubble size leads to the formation of white or very pale 15 yellow coloured foam which is appreciated by certain groups of consumers. Moreover the presence of native lecithin influences the velocity of foam formation whereby foam formation was already obtained within 95 seconds. As a further advantage 20 the foam produced in the presence of native lecithin remains- at- maximum coverage for a period of at" rerast' 15 seconds which gives a consumer the time to put meat or other frying stuff in. before the foam has disappeared. Furthermore, it was found that the surface coverage with 25 foam at the end of the shallow frying process remains at least 50% for products containing native lecithin. The removal or severe reduction in native lecithin content in a food product for frying has the problem that it leads 30 to a different foam behaviour, showing none of the c) optionally one or more browning agents in a total amount of from 0 to 0.07 wt%, preferably 0 to 0.03 wt%. d) one or more salts in an amount of from 0.5 to 3 wt%. 5 Detailed description of the invention Products according to the invention are products with a Bostwick value of at least 7 at 15 °C. Products with a Bostwick value at 15 °C of below 10 are 10 squeezable products which suffer less from the indicated oil separation compared to pourable products. Spattering can be measured by determining the spattering value according to the method illustrated in the examples. 15 Preferably food products according to the invention show a primary spattering value, SV1, (spattering upon heating of a frying product such as margarine, without incorporation of a food product to be fried) of from 7 to 10, more preferably from 8.5 to 10. The secondary spattering value, 20 SV2, (spattering upon incorporation of a food product such as. meat in a. shallow frying, product), for products according, to the invention is preferably from 5-10. Preferred anti-spattering agents are selected from the 25 group comprising hydrolysed vegetable lecithin such as . Bolec MT(tm), fractionated lecithin such as alcohol soluble lecithin fractions e.g. cetinoltm, synthetic anti-spattering agents such as citric acid.esters or combinations thereof. 30 native lecithin: .Bolec ZT(tm), Adlec(tm), Sterpur PM(tm); hydrolyzed lecithin BOLEC MT(tm), Sterpur E(tm), Adlec E(tm); fractionated lecithin: Cetinol(tml, Nathin 3-KE(tm). 5 For the purpose of the invention lecithins are from vegetable origin. Lecithins in each group can optionally be de-oiled lecithins. 10 Suitable amounts of anti-spattering agent were found to range from 0.1 wt% to 1.5 wt%. It will be appreciated that the amount of anti-spattering agent used is dependent on the type of anti-spattering agent used. Native lecithins such as Bolec ZTtm are well known anti- 15 spattering agents but products comprising this agent show undesired oil separation already at amounts of native soy lecithin of above 0.05 wt%. Therefore the products according to the invention are preferably essentially free of native soy lecithin, although a minor amount of at most 20 0.05 wt% may be present. The anti-spattering agents are present in a total amount of from 0.1 wt% to 1.5 wt%. Lower values than 0.1 wt% lead to unsatisfactory spattering behaviour and amounts over 1.5 25 wt% were found to lead to off taste, coarse foam with high average gas bubble size, and often too much foam which can rise out of the pan. about 1.2 to about 1.8 cm. A coarse foam is a foam with relatively large average gas bubble size of between 0.7 and 2.5 cm wherein also many droplets with size of 1.5-2.5 cm are present. The formation of gas bubbles with such big 5 size is considered undesirable as it does not impart the white look to the product and a yellow view remains. Moreover the large bubbles were found to spatter more severely. Also they are considered less suitable to serve as a signal function. 10 Furthermore the presence of browning agent such as protein was found to lead to a delay of the start of foaming, a reduction of duration of maximum surface coverage with foam, and a reduction of the foam amount at the end of the 15 shallow frying process. Browning agents are therefore preferably fully absent but a small amount of up to 0.07 wt% was found to be tolerable. More preferred the amount of browning agent is from 0 to 20 0.03 wt%. It will be appreciated that the amount of browning agent such as. protein is related to the amount of anti-spattering agent used in view of their combined effect on the 25 formation of a foam. Besides protein the following compounds are known as browning agents: sugars, combinations of protein and sugar, biopolymers. 30 Also lecithin can function as an emulsifier but for the purpose of the invention the term emulsifier does not include lecithins. / 5 It has now surprisingly been found that emulsifiers (other than lecithin) are no longer needed if products are prepared according to the claimed composition. The specific balance of ingredients thus obtained leads already to products which show no or very limited oil separation. 10 The absence of emulsifiers is considered beneficial in at • least two ways. The first benefit being in the cost savings that can be obtained if emulsifiers are no longer added. The second benefit is again in the naturalness of the product, which is increased if no emulsifiers are added. No 15 added emulsifiers means deletion of another item of the common ingredient list for these products. Although we have found that emulsifiers, other than lecithin, are not necessary and may be fully absent, the 20 presence of a limited amount of emulsifier can be tolerated:: Therefore products according to the invention comprise from 0 to 0.5 wt%, more preferred from 0 to 0.18 wt% of emulsifier. For the purpose of the invention lecithin is 25 not included in this amount. The potential of our product to show the desired characteristics even in the presence of some emulsifier is beneficial as in almost all cases where oil is used, some 30 partial glycerides like monoglycerides and/or diglycerides compounds. The solubility level is generally about 0.1 to 0.2 wt%. Therefore products according to the invention preferably comprise.from 0 to 0.2 wt% of partial monoglycerides with saturated fatty acid chains, more 5 preferred the compositions are free of these partial glycerides. In a preferred embodiment the food products according to the invention are essentially free of added emulsifier. 10 This leads to a shortened ingredient list on the product package in several countries. For the purpose of the invention added emulsifiers such as mono-or diglycerides are those emulsifiers such as mono-or 15 diglycerides which are added on top of the emulsifiers such as mono- or diglycerides which may be present in the triglyceride oil material. In an even more preferred embodiment products according to 20 the invention are essentially free of all emulsifier. Again lecithin, is, not,. included- as-.thisv is any way present to improve spattering behaviour. Traditionally margarines and like products, and also butter 25 comprise salt. It is generally known that in some countries consumers prefer low salt products (below 0.4 wt%) and in other countries consumers prefer high salt products (above 0.4 wt%). Known pourable margarines comprise varying amounts of salt, 30 which are tuned to the consumers desires. proper processing together with an aqueous phase a product with a suitable squeezable or pourable consistency is obtained. The presence of hardstock fat in liquid frying products 5 aims to contribute to stabilisation of the emulsion. As explained above unstable liquid frying products show phase separation in the form of oil separation. The solid fat crystals which are needed for the stability of the emulsion, on the other hand may adversely affect its 10 pourability. Liquid frying products manufacture therefore requires a hardstock fat with properties which are delicately balanced. Any suitable hardstock may be used. A liquid frying product having a pourability rating 15 (Bostwick value) of less than 7 is too thick and lacks acceptable pourability and squeezability. Fully hydrogenated high erucic rapeseed oil (shortly denoted as fully hardened rapeseed oil or RPh70) is a well 20 known hardstock fat which complies with the above specification,It is suited- for the manufacture-of satisfactory liquid or squeezable frying products which combine good stability with good pourability. However also other hardstocks may be used such as sunflower seed oil 25 with a melting point of about 69 °C, soy bean oil with a melting point of about 65 cCf palm oil with a melting point of about 58 °C, arachidic oil with a melting point of about 60 °C and cotton seed oil with a melting point of about 62 °C. Combinations of one or more of these hardstock fats or further ingredients suitable for use in these products. Examples of these materials are sweetener materials, EDTA, spices, bulking agents, egg yolk, stabilising agents, flavouring materials, colouring materials, acids, 5 preserving agents, vegetable particles etc. However the amount of these ingredients should be such that the desired characteristics are not severely drawn back by the presence of these ingredients. Therefore for example the presence of low amounts of flavour components, 10 colouring agents is tolerated. However the presence of sugars or stabilising agents, which are known to cause browning is often less preferred. Moreover it will be appreciated that all these ingredients when added will be mentioned on the ingredient list, which 15 in many cases may reduce the perceived naturalness of the products. Advantageously the products according to the invention comprise gas such as nitrogen, carbon dioxide or another, 20 preferably inert gas. It has been found that such gas if present c.an7 suitably further,, stabilise a-water: in. oil. emulsion. Preferably however the stability of the product without gas is already acceptable e.g. having an oil separation of below 5 vol% after storage for 4 weeks at 25 25 °C and fulfilling the other desires indicated above. Optional gas may then be added for further stabilisation. Generally the balance of compositions according to the invention will be water. 30 Examples Measuring oil separation 5 A plastic bottle of 500 ml, width: 57 mm, height 160 mm was filled with the sample up to a filling height of 150 mm. After four weeks storage at 25 °C the thickness of the separated oil layer is measured and expressed as vol.% on total sample volume. The vol.% is the rating for emulsion 10 stability. Measuring pourability Pourability or squeezability is measured according to the standard Bostwick protocol. The Bostwick equipment consists 15 of a 125 ml reservoir provided with a outlet near the bottom of a horizontally placed rectangular tub and closed with a vertical barrier. The tub's bottom is provided with a 25 cm measuring scale, extending from the outlet of the reservoir. When equipment and sample both have a 20 temperature of 15°C, the reservoir is filled with 1.25. ml of the sample after it has been shaken by hand ten times up and down. When the closure of the reservoir is removed the sample flows from the reservoir and spreads over the tub bottom. The path length of the flow is measured after 30 25 seconds. The value, expressed as cm per 30 seconds is the Bostwick rating, which is used as yard stick for pourability. The maximum value that can be determined with this measurement is 23. Score Comments 10 excellent 8 good 6 passable 4 unsatisfactory for SVl, almost passable for SV2 2 very poor Typical results for household margarines (80 wt% fat) are 8 for primary spattering (SVl) and 5 for secondary spattering 5 (SV2) under the conditions of the above mentioned test. Determination of foaming A sample of 25 g of product is heated in a frying pan of 10 stainless steel material and 24 cm diameter. The heating is carried out at a household gas unit of average size at high heat. Measurements were carried out without inserting meat or other'food- sfcu-ff in-the- f-rying-med-i-um.*"- • 15 During the heating the following is measured: • Time until foam formation starts (a) • Maximum of bubble size distribution at maximum foam (in mm)(b) 20 • Time that maximum amount of foam is maintained (c) • Quantity of foam at the end of the frying process (d) All the above values were determined by eye. Table 1, composition ex. I-V in wt% on total product Ingredient I II III IV V Bolec MT (UMZ) 0.18 0.18 0.18 0.35 0.26 Cetinol (UMZ) 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.12 Added monoglycer ides** 0.1 Salt; NaCl 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 Nitrogen gas yes Fat phase*** 82 82 82 82 82 Flavour/ca rotene 0.032 0.032 0.032 0.032 0.03 K-sorbate 0.073 0.073 0.073 0.073 0.073 Citric acid 0.048 0.048 0.048 0.05 0.05 Balance to 100 wt% is water. 5 ** Dimodan CPT ex Danisco ** * Fat phase for example I-III was composed of fully hardened rapeseed oil as hardstock (2 wt%) and canola rapeseed oil, and showed an N line of N05 = 2,5 - 3,0; N15 = 2,0 - 2,5; N25 = 2,0 - 2,5; N35 = 1,5 - 2,0. The 10 same fat phase was used for example IV-V, except that in. stead.. of. canala., rapeseed oil suafLowers oil was used. The results are summarised in table 3. Table 3: Results Produ ct Oil separation (vol%) Foaming (see below) Spatteri ng SVl SV2 Pourabilit y Bostwick at 15 °C Browni ng I 3.7 % a) 93 s b) 7 mm c) 17 s "d) 80 % SVl: 9 SV2: 6.5 14 no II 0 % a) 67 s b) 5 mm c) 17 s d) 90% SVl: 9 SV2: 6.5 14.5 no III 2.2 % a) 95 s b) 7 mm c) 16 s d) 80 % SVl: 8 SV2: 6 12 no IV 2.5 % a) 93 s b) 7 mm c) 10 s d) 80 % SVl: 8.5 SV2: 5.5 19 no V 2.8 % a) 124 s b) 7 mm c) 17 s d) 8.0 % SV! : 9 SV2: 5.5 19 no WE CLAIM; 1. A process for preparing a food product with a Bostwick value of at least 7 at 15°C, said process comprising - a) 0.1 to 1.5 wt% of one or more anti-spattering agents comprising no native soy lecithin or native soy lecithin in an amount of from 0 to 0.5 wt% on total product, whereby the anti-spattering agent is preferably selected from the group comprising hydrolysed lecithin, fractionated lecithin, citric acid esters or combinations thereof; b) optionally with one or more emulsifiers in a total amount of from 0 to 0.5 wt.%; and c) optionally with one or more browning agents in a total amount of from 0 to 0.07 wt%, and d) one or more salts in an amount of from 0.5 to 3 wt%. 2. A process according to Claim 1 wherein the said anti-pattering agent consists of hydrolysed lecithin in an amount of 0.1 to 1 wt%, fractionated lecithin in an amount of 0 to 0.5 wt% and citric acid ester in an amount of 0 to 1.5 wt%. 3. A process according to Claim 2 wherein said anti-spattering agent consists of 0.1 to 1 wt% hydrolysed lecithin and 0.05 to 0.5 wt% fractionated lecithin, wherein the fractionated lecithin is an alcohol soluble lecithin fraction. 4. A process according to Claim 3 wherein the amount of hydrolysed lecithin is from 0.1 to 0.35 wt% and the amount of alcohol soluble lecithin fraction is from 0.05 to 0.2 wt%. 5. A process according to Claim 1 wherein native soy lecithin is essentially absent. 6. A process according to Claim 1 which is essentially free of added emulsifier. 7. A process according to Claim 1 wherein the emulsifier is selected from the group comprising monoglycerides and diglycerides or combinations thereof. 8. A process according to Claim 1 wherein the browning agent is a protein and the level of protein in the product is from 0 to 0.03 wt%. 9. A process according to any of the preceding claims which shows upon heating an average foam bubble size of between 0.05 and 1.5 cm and a maximum of foam bubble size distribution of from 0.4 to 0.9 cm, and oil separation of from 0 to 5 vol % upon storage at 25°C for four weeks. Dated this 21st day of August 2004. MKCHAKRABARTI OF HV WILLIAMS & CO Agent for the applicant

Documents:

in-pct-2002-00492-mum-cancelled pages(25-08-2004).pdf

in-pct-2002-00492-mum-claims(granted)-(25-08-2004).doc

in-pct-2002-00492-mum-claims(granted)-(25-08-2004).pdf

in-pct-2002-00492-mum-correspondence 1(18-04-2002).pdf

in-pct-2002-00492-mum-correspondence 2(25-08-2004).pdf

in-pct-2002-00492-mum-correspondence 3(14-07-2008).pdf

IN-PCT-2002-00492-MUM-CORRESPONDENCE(14-07-2008).pdf

in-pct-2002-00492-mum-correspondence(ipo)-(27-08-2003).pdf

in-pct-2002-00492-mum-form 13(18-05-2007).pdf

in-pct-2002-00492-mum-form 13(24-08-2007).pdf

in-pct-2002-00492-mum-form 13(24-09-2008).pdf

in-pct-2002-00492-mum-form 19(23-06-2003).pdf

in-pct-2002-00492-mum-form 1a(05-12-2003).pdf

IN-PCT-2002-00492-MUM-FORM 1A(14-07-2008).pdf

in-pct-2002-00492-mum-form 1a(18-05-2007).pdf

in-pct-2002-00492-mum-form 1a(24-08-2007).pdf

in-pct-2002-00492-mum-form 2(granted)-(25-08-2004).doc

in-pct-2002-00492-mum-form 2(granted)-(25-08-2004).pdf

in-pct-2002-00492-mum-form 3(18-04-2002).pdf

in-pct-2002-00492-mum-form 5(18-04-2002).pdf

in-pct-2002-00492-mum-form-pct-ipea-409(18-04-2002).pdf

in-pct-2002-00492-mum-form-pct-isa-210(18-04-2002).pdf

in-pct-2002-00492-mum-other document(25-08-2004).pdf

in-pct-2002-00492-mum-power of attorney(18-05-2007).pdf