Title of Invention

"PROCESS FOR PREPARATION OF A HARD PALM OIL FRACTION"

Abstract

A Trans free hard structural fat suitable for the manufacture of low SAFA (Saturated Fatty Acid) poly/mono unsaturated margarine and spreads and fat blends for margarine/spreads wherein the structural fat is made from selectively fractionated non-hydrogenated high melting palm oil fraction which is interesterified with dry fractionated non hydrogenated palm kernel fraction with high yield ratios that can be economically and commercially used as structural fat for the aforesaid manufacture.

Full Text

Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a process for prepartion fo a hard palm oil The prrelates to a Trans free hard structural fat suitable for the manufacture of low SAFA (Saturated Fatty Acid) poly/mono unsaturated margarine and spreads and fat blends for margarine/spreads and a process for preparing the same. Background of the Invention Historically emulsified fat system in margarine/spreads has been designed to satisfy customer requirements. Some of the prominent features are significant cooling impact, a rapid sharp melt sensation, and no coated or waxy feel on the tongue. In addition, it should impart temperature cycling stability (heat stability) as well as spreadability when taken out frequently from the refrigerators. To achieve these objectives, margarine fat blend is being formulated using hard stocks derived by hydrogenation of liquid oils. However, with the adverse effect of Trans fatty acids being published, consumers are looking for margarine / spreads with practically no Trans fatty acids. This can be achieved by using fully hydrogenated fats as structural fat, which usually does not contain Trans fatty acid or very negligible amount. Hydrogenation process is generally viewed as the main reason for the development of Trans fatty acids in oils and fats. Hence, there is a strong consumer perception against usage of hydrogenated oil/fat in the food products including margarine / spreads. Hence research work is being carried out for developing margarine/spreads using no 30 hydrogenated oils in their hard stock at the same time looking at the possibility of reducing the saturated fatty acid levels (SAFA) in the products. Objects of the Invention The main object of the present invention is to provide a margarine /spread having reduced saturated fatty acid levels (SAFA) Another object of the present invention is to provide process for the preparation of margarine/spreads using non-hydrogenated oils in their hard stock. Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a process for the preparation of margarine /spreads having reduced saturated fatty acid levels (SAFA). Statement of the Invention The present invention relates to a Trans free hard structural fat suitable for the manufacture of low SAFA (Saturated Fatty Acid) poly/mono unsaturated margarine and spreads and fat blends for margarine/spreads and a process for preparing the same. Detailed Description of the present Invention Accordingly, the present invention provides a process for the preparation of a margarine blend/spread consisting of 60-95% of a liquid oil and 5-40% Trans free hard structural fat, said process comprising interesterification of the liquid oil and structural fat mixture with lauric fat without using hydrogenation process and without using organic solvent or detergent for fractionation. In an embodiment of the present invention, the liquid oil is selected from the group comprising of sunflower oil, Canola oil, soy oil, pea nut oil, rice bran oil, olive oil, safflower oil, corn oil or marine oil or the blend of any of the above liquids. In another embodiment of the present invention, the liquid oil blend has high ploy/mono unsaturated level such that in the total fat blend the poly/mono unsaturation level exceeds 40% so that health claim such as high poly/mono unsaturated, low saturated fatty acid (SAFA) margarine/spreads can be made. In still another embodiment of the present invention, the hard structural fat is made from selectively fractionated non-hydrogenated palm oil fraction. In yet another embodiment of the present invention, the hard palm oil fraction has C16 carbon chain residue greater than 70%. In still yet another embodiment of the present invention, the hard palm oil fraction has C16 carbon chain residue preferably greater than 80%. In yet still another embodiment of the present invention, the hard palm oil fraction has C16 carbon chain most preferably greater than 84%. In one more embodiment of the present invention, the hard palm oil fraction has a melting point greater than 57° C. In still one more embodiment of the present invention, the hard palm oil fraction has a melting point greater than 60° C. In yet one more embodiment of the present invention, the hard palm oil fraction may be flaked for easy handling. In one another embodiment of the present invention, the hard palm oil fraction has a solid fat content greater than 75% at 40° C. In still one another embodiment of the present invention, the hard palm oil fraction has a solid fat content greater than 80% at 40° C. In yet one another embodiment of the present invention, the palm fat/ palm oil or its stearin fraction is selectively dry fractionated by melt crystallization process to harvest the hard palm fraction with C16 level of greater than 75%, with a total unsaturation level of less than 15%. In an embodiment of the present invention, the palm fat/ palm oil or its stearin fraction is selectively dry fractionated by melt crystallization process to harvest the hard palm fraction with C16 level of preferably greater than 83%, with a total unsaturation level preferably less than 10%. In another embodiment of the present invention, the palm fat/ oil is dry fractionated using two steps melt crystallization process, the first step is being performed between 20-25 Deg C, preferably between 22-24 Deg C, to obtain a medium hard palm fraction and the medium hard palm fraction is then once again dry fractionated between 45-55 Deg C, more preferably 49-52 Deg C depending of the iodine number of the first dry fraction, to harvest very hard palm fraction rich in C 16 fatty acids. In still another embodiment of the present invention, the palm fraction in the second fraction step is separated in high pressure membrane type filter wherein a pressure of 10-35 bar is used, preferably > 20 bar, most preferably > 33 bar is used to inflate the membrane so as to remove the liquid fraction occluded in the hard fat, thus eliminating the requirement of solvent fraction method. In yet another embodiment of the present invention, high pressure hydraulic pressing of the cooled slab of palm oil fraction can be used to obtain the same desired hard palm fat suitable for the manufacture of hard structural fat (a labor intensive process). In still yet another embodiment of the present invention, the resultant hard fat is not further fractionated but used as such as a hard structural fat, thus eliminating a further processing which in turn result in high yield of the structural fat at a lower cost. In yet still another embodiment of the present invention, the hard structural fat has a trisaturated triglyceride of H3type of C 16 and above lesser than 25%. In one more embodiment of the present invention, the hard structural fat has a trisaturated triglyceride of H3 type of C 16 and above preferably lesser than 20%. The present invention also provides a margarine blend/spread consisting of 60-95% of a liquid oil and 5-40% Trans free hard structural fat, obtained by interesterification of the liquid oil and structural fat mixture with lauric fat without using hydrogenation process and without using organic solvent or detergent for fractionation. In an embodiment of the present invention, the liquid oil is selected from the group comprising of sunflower oil, Canola oil, soy oil, pea nut oil, rice bran oil, olive oil, safflower oil, corn oil or marine oil or the blend of any of the above liquids. In another embodiment of the present invention, the liquid oil blend has high ploy/mono unsaturated level such that in the total fat blend the poly/mono unsaturation level exceeds 40% so that health claim such as high poly/mono unsaturated, low saturated fatty acid (SAFA) margarine/spreads can be made. In still another embodiment of the present invention, the hard structural fat is made from selectively fractionated non-hydrogenated palm oil fraction. In yet another embodiment of the present invention, the hard palm oil fraction has C16 carbon chain residue greater than 70%. In still yet another embodiment of the present invention, the hard palm oil fraction has C16 carbon chain residue preferably greater than 80%. In yet still another embodiment of the present invention, the hard palm oil fraction has C16 carbon chain most preferably greater than 84%. In one more embodiment of the present invention, the hard palm oil fraction has a melting point greater than 57° C. In still one more embodiment of the present invention, the hard palm oil fraction has a melting point greater than 60° C. In yet one more embodiment of the present invention, the hard palm oil fraction may be flaked for easy handling. In one another embodiment of the present invention, the hard palm oil fraction has a solid fat content greater than 75% at 40° C. In still one another embodiment of the present invention, the hard palm oil fraction has a solid fat content greater than 80% at 40° C. In yet one another embodiment of the present invention, the palm fat/ palm oil or its stearin fraction is selectively dry fractionated by melt crystallization process to harvest the hard palm fraction with C16 level of greater than 75%, with a total unsaturation level of less than 15%. In an embodiment of the present invention, the palm fat/ palm oil or its stearin fraction is selectively dry fractionated by melt crystallization process to harvest the hard palm fraction with C16 level of preferably greater than 83%, with a total unsaturation level preferably less than 10%. In another embodiment of the present invention, the palm fat/ oil is dry fractionated using two steps melt crystallization process, the first step is being performed between 20-25 Deg C, preferably between 22-24 Deg C, to obtain a medium hard palm fraction and the medium hard palm fraction is then once again dry fractionated between 45-55 Deg C, more preferably 49-52 Deg C depending of the iodine number of the first dry fraction, to harvest very hard palm fraction rich in C 16 fatty acids. In still another embodiment of the present invention, the palm fraction in the second fraction step is separated in high pressure membrane type filter wherein a pressure of 10-35 bar is used, preferably > 20 bar, most preferably > 30 bar is used to inflate the membrane so as to remove the liquid fraction occluded in the hard fat, thus eliminating the requirement of solvent fraction method. In yet another embodiment of the present invention, high pressure hydraulic pressing of the cooled slab of palm oil fraction can be used to obtain the same desired hard palm fat suitable for the manufacture of hard structural fat (a labor intensive process). In still yet another embodiment of the present invention, the resultant hard fat is not further fractionated but used as such as a hard structural fat, thus eliminating a further processing which in turn result in high yield of the structural fat at a lower cost. In yet still another embodiment of the present invention, the hard structural fat has a trisaturated triglyceride of Ha type of C 16 and above lesser than 25%. In one more embodiment of the present invention, the hard structural fat has a trisaturated triglyceride of H3 type of C 16 and above preferably lesser than 20%. In one another embodiment of the present invention, the structural fat is made from selectively fractionated non-hydrogenated palm oil fraction, which is interesterified with dry fractionated non-hydrogenated palm kernel fraction to obtain hard structural fat with high yield ratios that can be economically and commercially used as structural fat for the manufacture of Trans free low SAFA, poly unsaturated/mono unsaturated margarine/spreads. The invention is further described in the following examples which are given by way of illustration and therefore should not be construed to limit the scope of the present invention in any manner. Example 1; Theoretical Considerations The hard stock contributes triglycerides especially of the trisaturated type. A certain minimum quantity of these is essential to provide the "structural fat" and to prevent oiling out of the liquid oil. From the patent literature and general experience, this minimum quantity is around 6%. More is acceptable and desirable if the amount of H3 tri-glycerides, and especially tristearin, is not greater than 2% otherwise poor mouth feel will result. Hence content of H2M triglycerides is valuable, to give the structuring effect, hence the need for a lauric oil. When the hard stock components are interesterified, the amounts of trisaturated triglycerides in the interesterified product are determined entirely by the content of saturated fatty acids in the blend. This relationship is very critical as shown by the results: % Saturated FA % Trisaturated Triglycerides in the Oil blend After Interesterification 50 13 60 22 70 34 80 51 90 73 Taking sunflower oil as the PUFA oil to be used in the blend, at a level of 80% (SAFA 10.3%) then the hard stock should not contribute more than 11.76% SAFA to the final blend considering that the SAFA content of polyunsaturated margarine should not exceed 20%. If 20% of the hard stock were used for the margarine blend along with Sunflower oil as above (a high usage level) - and if we also want a minimum of 6% trisaturated Tgs in the final blend, it can be seen from the above table that the SAFA content of the hard stock must be about 67% so that interesterified hard stock has 30% trisaturated triglyceride. Assuming only 15% hard stock is used then the SAFA content of the hard stock must be about 74%, so that it has 40% trisaturated triglyceride after interesterification. These are minimum requirements and a higher amount of trisaturated Tgs would be desirable. The usage of hard structural fat in the blend can be 5 to 25% and the liquid oil or its blends can be 95 - 75%. WE CLAIM: 1) A process for preparation of a hard palm oil fraction having C16 carbon chain fatty acid residue level of more than 75 % and a total unsaturation level of less than 15 % wherein palm oil or fat or its stearin fraction is selectively dry fractionated by a single or two step melt crystallization process and the resultant fractions from the last step of the melt crystallization process are separated in a high pressure membrane type filter wherein a pressure of 10 - 35 bar is used to inflate membranes of the filter to harvest the hard palm oil fraction, said pressure application resulting in enrichment of C16 carbon chain fatty acid residue level of the hard palm oil fraction by removing the liquid fraction occluded in it. 2) A process as claimed in claim 1 wherein palm oil or fat is dry fractionated using a two- step melt crystallization process; the first step being performed to obtain a medium hard palm oil fraction or stearin fraction and the second step being performed on the medium hard palm oil fraction or stearin fraction to harvest the hard palm oil fraction. 3) A process as claimed in claim 2 wherein the first step is performed between 20 — 25°C and the second step is performed between 45 - 55°C. 4) A process as claimed in claim 3 wherein the first step is performed between 22 - 24°C and the second step is performed between 49 - 52°C. 5) A process as claimed in any of claims 1 to 4 wherein the pressure used to inflate the membrane is more than 20 bar. 6) A process as claimed in any of claims 1 to 4 wherein the pressure used to inflate the membrane is more than 30 bar. 7) A hard palm oil fraction having C16 carbon chain fatty acid residue level of more than 75 % and a total unsaturation level of less than 15 % obtainable by the process according to any of claims 1 to 6. 8) A hard palm oil fraction as claimed in claim 7 having C16 carbon chain fatty acid residue level of more than 80 %. 9) A hard palm oil fraction as claimed in claim 7 having C16 carbon chain fatty acid residue level of more than 84 %. 10) A hard palm oil fraction as claimed in claim 9 having a total unsaturation level of less than 10 %. 11) A hard palm oil fraction as claimed in any of claims 7 to 10 having melting point of higher than 57°C. 12) A hard palm oil fraction as claimed in any of claims 7 to 10 having melting point of higher than 60°C. 13) A hard palm oil fraction as claimed in any of claims 7 to 9 having solid fat content of more than 75 % at 40°C. 14) A hard palm oil fraction as claimed in any of claims 7 to 9 having solid fat content of more than 80% at 40°C.

Documents:

611-del-2001-abstract.pdf

611-del-2001-claims.pdf

611-DEL-2001-Correspondence-Others-(18-03-2011).pdf

611-del-2001-correspondence-others.pdf

611-del-2001-correspondence-po.pdf

611-del-2001-description (complete).pdf

611-del-2001-form-1.pdf

611-del-2001-form-13.pdf

611-del-2001-form-19.pdf

611-del-2001-form-2.pdf

611-del-2001-form-26.pdf

611-DEL-2001-Form-27-(18-03-2011).pdf

611-del-2001-form-3.pdf

611-del-2001-form-4.pdf

611-del-2001-form-5.pdf

611-del-2001-petition-137.pdf

611-del-2001-petition-138.pdf