Patent Application
20170135386
The present invention relates to compositions useful for forming opaque, reduced sugar coatings on consumable articles.
Many food products, such as baked goods and ready-to-eat cereals, include an outer coating which is comprised mostly of sugar (sucrose). Such coatings may serve multiple purposes, including, for example, providing cereals with longer bowl life, imparting a crispy but non-brittle texture to the food product, and giving the surface of the food product a frosted, opaque appearance that consumers find appealing. Outer coatings of this type additionally provide enhanced sweetness and taste as compared to the uncoated food product, which typically is grain-based and has a relatively low sugar content.
Recently, however, consumers have expressed a desire for sweet-coated food products that have the same sweetness and appearance as conventional sugar-coated products, but with a reduction in the sugar content of such products. A need therefore exists for ways to provide a sweet coating for a food product that has a reduced sugar level while maintaining the bulk, taste and appearance of a traditional full sugar coating. In particular, it has proven difficult to formulate such sweet coatings which when dry have a pleasing opaque appearance, since the crystallization of sucrose is generally responsible for providing the desired opacity. As the sucrose content is reduced, a coating generally becomes glazed or translucent in appearance, rather than fully opaque. Moreover, ingredients introduced to partially replace sucrose can inhibit the crystallization of the sucrose which is still present in the coating formulation.
Titanium dioxide (TiO2) is a pigment that has been used as an opacifying ingredient in certain types of food coatings, such as glazes for doughnuts and other pastries. While it is effective for such purposes, there has been growing consumer concern that the consumption of titanium dioxide may lead to possible health risks. Accordingly, it would be desirable to develop alternative coating compositions that are free of titanium dioxide and yet remain capable of creating a fully opaque (white) coating on a food product.
Trisaccharides such as melezitose have been discovered to be capable of providing an opaque, aesthetically pleasing coating on food article surfaces, thereby creating a “frosted” appearance. The sweetness of the coating may be enhanced by the incorporation of one or more high intensity sweeteners in the coating.
Thus, one aspect of the invention provides a composition useful for forming an opaque coating on a consumable article, wherein the composition is comprised of water and at least one trisaccharide such as melezitose.
Also provided by the invention are consumable articles coated with a composition comprised of at least one trisaccharide (e.g., melezitose).
Yet another aspect of the invention furnishes a method of making a reduced sugar-coated consumable article, comprising forming a coating comprised of at least one trisaccharide such as melezitose on a surface of a consumable article. The coating may be formed by drying an aqueous solution or slurry comprised of melezitose or one or more other trisaccharides on the consumable article surface.
The invention further provides a method of forming a reduced sucrose coating composition for a food product, comprising the steps of:
a) removing a positive amount of sucrose (e.g., from about 5% to 100% of the sucrose) from a sucrose-containing coating composition; and
b) replacing the removed sucrose with one or more trisaccharides such as melezitose, thereby forming a reduced sucrose coating composition.
The present invention utilizes trisaccharides such as melezitose, a naturally occurring, non-reducing tri-saccharide, in edible coating compositions capable of imparting an opaque, “frosted” appearance to consumable articles. Since, according to FDA regulations, only mono- and disaccharides are classified as “sugar,” the use of a trisaccharide as a full or partial replacement for the mono- and/or disaccharides conventionally employed in a food product permits the trisaccharide-containing food product to potentially be labelled and marketed as a “low sugar” or “reduced sugar” product.
Trisaccharides are oligosaccharides composed of three monosaccharides with two glycosidic bonds connecting them. Each glycosidic bond can be formed between any hydroxyl group on the component monosaccharides. The glycosidic bonds may be α(1->6), α(1->3), α(1->4), α(1->2), α(1<->2), β(1->2), or β(1<-2). The component monosaccharides may, for example, be glucose, fructose and/or galactose.
Examples of trisaccharides suitable for use in the present invention include, for example, isomaltotriose, nigerotriose, maltotriose, melezitose, maltotriulose, raffinose, kestose, panose and erlose and combinations of two or more of such trisaccharides. Melezitose is also referred to by the chemical name α-D-glucose (1-3)-β-D-fructose (2-1)-α-D-glucose and has the empirical formula C18H32O16. Melezitose has been assigned CAS #10030-67-8 and has a molecular weight of 504.44 Da. This tri-saccharide can be considered as fructose substituted with two glucose residues, or as turanose (an isomer of sucrose) substituted with glucose, or as sucrose substituted with glucose. Melezitose can be partially hydrolyzed to glucose and turanose, is readily soluble in water (e.g., 26.8 g of melezitose dissolves in 100 g water at 21° C.), and has a slightly sweet taste. The melting point of melezitose is reported to be 153-154° C.; the glass transition temperature of melezitose is approximately 60° C.
The use of melezitose in particular as a component of a coating composition in accordance with the present invention is advantageous because, unlike most other trisaccharides, it has been found in recent studies not to be digestible by in vitro assay and also not utilized by S. mutans in dental caries assay (Oral and intestinal digestion of oligosaccharides as potential sweeteners: A systematic evaluation. Hodoniczky et. al. Food Chemistry 132 (2012) 1951-1958).
Thus, melezitose may be considered a reduced calorie carbohydrate, with food products prepared therefrom having a lower caloric content than analogous food products based on conventional, digestible sugars. Additionally, it has been discovered that melezitose solutions readily dry, without special processing conditions being needed, to yield opaque coatings having a pleasing aesthetic appearance similar to that of dried coatings based on sucrose. When coated on corn flakes, for example, melezitose gives a non-hygroscopic, crisp, fully opaque, frosted appearance. This result was surprising, since comparatively few carbohydrates other than sucrose are capable of providing coatings having such characteristics.
The trisaccharide(s) utilized in the present invention may be obtained from any suitable source, e.g., it may be isolated from natural sources or prepared biosynthetically. Melezitose, for example, is produced by many plant sap-eating insects, including aphids such as Cinara pilicornis by an enzyme reaction. This process is beneficial to the insects, as it reduces the osmotic effects of high-sucrose diets by converting sucrose to oligosaccharides. The melezitose is part of the excreted “honeydew” which acts as an attractant for ants and also as a food for bees. This is useful to the aphid as they have a symbiotic relationship with ants.
Melezitose is a natural component of honey, and is ordinarily present in low amounts. However, occasionally bees will take sugars from honeydew and larger amounts of the trisaccharide will accumulate in the honey. Honeydew honey compared to blossom honey contains higher amounts of oligosaccharides, and also trisaccharides such as melezitose and raffinose.
Melezitose honey or “cement honey” is a granulated honey with very high content of melezitose. This cement honey can be harvested only with great difficulty or not be harvested at all, but can be processed to isolate the melezitose it contains. Melezitose also can be obtained by simple aqueous extraction from plant sources. The melezitose used in the coating compositions of the present invention can alternatively be produced by the enzymatic transglucosylation of sucrose. Enzymes capable of performing this transformation are present in the gut of several insects and in a number of plants.
For example, an α-glucosidase/transglucosidase enzyme (“APS1”, EC3.2.1.20) has been cloned from an insect (pea aphid, Acryrthosiphon pisum); this enzyme may be responsible for the biosynthesis of melezitose by the insect. This enzyme or a similar activity may be used for biosynthesis of melezitose from sucrose.
In addition, honey contains an α-glucosidase enzyme derived from the hypopharyngeal gland of the honey bee (Apis mellifera L.). Some fraction of the oligosaccharides in honey may be derived from the transglycosylation (reversion) of honey sugars by this enzyme. The enzyme has been cloned and expressed in the yeast Pichia pastoris and could potentially be employed in the production of melezitose.
A composition useful for forming an opaque coating when applied to a consumable article and dried may comprise trisaccharide (e.g., melezitose) or a combination of trisaccharides and water. Generally speaking, an amount of water is combined with the trisaccharide(s) which is effective to solubilize at least a portion and preferably all of the trisaccharide(s) (e.g., melezitose). The resulting admixture may be in the form of a paste, slurry, concentrated syrup or dilute syrup. The composition may be a saturated aqueous solution of one or more trisaccharides such as melezitose. The water content of the coating composition may range, for example, from about 20% by weight to about 90% by weight.
The coating compositions of the present invention may further comprise, in addition to trisaccharide(s) and water, one or more additional ingredients such as high intensity (high potency) sweeteners (including both natural and synthetic sweeteners, such sweeteners being used in amounts effective to impart a desired level of perceived sweetness to the composition), low intensity, non-saccharide sweeteners such as polyols (e.g., sugar alcohols), saccharide sweeteners (in particular, low caloric saccharide sweeteners such as D-allulose or D-tagatose), vitamins, minerals, preservatives, stabilizers, pH adjusting agents, thickeners, rheology control agents, colorants, flavors, flavor enhancers, fragrances, triglycerides (oils, fats), non-aqueous solvents (e.g., ethanol) and the like. Suitable high intensity sweeteners include, for example, stevia extracts (containing one or more sweet steviol glycosides) or an isolated, purified steviol glycoside or combination of isolated, purified steviol glycosides such as, for example, Rebaudioside A, Rebaudioside B, Rebaudioside C, Rebaudioside D, Rebaudioside E, Rebaudioside F, Rebaudioside M (Rebaudioside X), stevioside, steviolbioside, dulcoside A, rubusoside and the like and mixtures thereof, monk fruit extracts (containing one or more sweet mogrosides) or an isolated, purified mogroside or combination of isolated, purified mogrosides such as, for example Mogroside I, II, III, IV, V and/or VI, thaumatin, brazzein, aspartame, sucralose, neotame, acesulfame potassium, saccharin and the like and combinations thereof. If a high intensity sweetener is present, it may be desirable to include one or more of the substances known in the art to be effective as a sweet taste enhancer, sweet taste modifier, sweet taste improver or flavor enhancer when utilized in combination with a high intensity sweetener or combination of high intensity sweeteners.
An amount of high intensity sweetener (or combination of high intensity sweeteners) may be present in the coating composition which is effective to impart a level of sweetness to the dried coating composition which is equivalent to the sweetness of a conventional dried coating composition based on sucrose. Such amount will vary depending upon the sweetness intensity of the high intensity sweetener but typically will be at least 0.01 weight % (based on the dry weight of the coating composition) and not greater than 2 weight % (based on the dry weight of the coating composition). For example, the coating composition may comprise a total from 0.01 to 0.7 weight % high intensity sweetener based on the dry weight of the coating composition.
A combination of trisaccharide(s) (e.g., melezitose) and another saccharide such as sucrose may be utilized in the coating composition. Thus, for example, the sucrose in a conventional coating composition may be partially (e.g., 10% to 90%) replaced with trisaccharide(s) (e.g., melezitose) as described herein. In certain embodiments of the invention, the coating composition consists essentially of, or consists of, water and trisaccharide(s). In other embodiments, the one or more trisaccharides such as melezitose represent at least 50% by weight, at least 60% by weight, at least 70% by weight, at least 75% by weight, at least 80% by weight, at least 85% by weight, at least 90% by weight, or at least 95% by weight of the total amount of saccharides present in the composition.
Where the trisaccharide or combination of trisaccharides selected for use in the coating compositions of the present invention is more resistant than sucrose to being digested and metabolized when consumed by a human being (i.e., the trisaccharide has a lower caloric value than sucrose; melezitose is an example of such a trisaccharide), the resulting coating will provide fewer calories per unit of weight than an analogous coating based on sucrose rather than trisaccharide(s). Thus, the present invention makes possible the formulation of reduced-calorie food products and the like. In accordance with the labeling regulations of the United States Food and Drug Administration, food products in accordance with the present invention can also potentially be labeled as “reduced in sugar,” “sugar reduced,” “less sugar,” “lower in sugar,” “lower sugar” or “reduced sugar.”
The coating compositions of the present invention can be used to coat a wide variety of consumable articles, including various food products, that typically have a sugar coating or icing. Typically, such food products are in solid (dry) form and are grain-based. These products include, but are not limited to, all types of ready to eat (RTE) cereal; granola type products and so called trail mixes; energy bars and granola bars; baked goods such as doughnuts, cookies, pastries, cakes, pies, pretzels, crackers and muffins; frozen dairy products such as ice cream cakes and ice cream novelties; “sugar”-coated fruits and nuts, confectioneries (candy) and other such foods. Examples of forms of cereal suitable for coating with compositions in accordance with the present invention include cereal puffs, cereal flakes, cereal biscuits, cereal clusters and extruded (shaped) cereal (such as “O”-shaped cereal). The coating compositions of the present invention can impart a white-colored frosted (opaque) appearance to the surface of the product.
The coating composition may be applied to the consumable article by any method known in the art. In one embodiment, the coating composition is sprayed onto the consumable article to form a coating. The composition can be provided in the form of a slurry or solution that is sprayed through a spray nozzle to coat the consumable article. In other embodiments, the composition is drizzled, tumbled, extruded, brushed, knife-coated and/or roller-coated onto a surface of the consumable article. In one embodiment, for example, the composition may be applied by spraying a thick, hot syrup comprised of melezitose and/or other trisaccharide(s) onto cereal in a rotating drum. The composition may be heated to a temperature above room temperature during application so as to improve the flow or other characteristics of the composition. The thickness, coverage and pattern of the applied coating may each be varied as desired to meet consumer preferences or manufacturer needs. For example, the coating may fully or only partially cover the surface of the consumable article. The applied coating may be dried to remove sufficient moisture to provide a solid, adherent coating on the consumable article. Once dried, the coating becomes opaque and thus “frosted” in appearance. For example, the layer of coating composition on the consumable article may be dried to a moisture content of 5% by weight or less. Drying may be facilitated or accelerated by any conventional technique, such as heating or induced air flow. Prior to drying, sprinkles, seasonings or other toppings can be applied to the consumable article, on top of the layer of the coating composition. However, in one aspect of the invention nothing further is adhered to the coating composition before it is dried, i.e., the coating composition is not utilized as an adhesive to bind one food article to another.
In one embodiment, the components of the coating composition are selected such that when the composition is dried on a consumable article, the surface of the resulting coating is non-tacky at room temperature. In still other embodiments, the present coating compositions can be provided in a discrete or separate package for application to the consumable article by the consumer. For example, the composition can be provided in a form suitable for use as an icing for application to a baked good such as a toaster strudel. In this embodiment, the composition can be disposed within suitable packaging (e.g., fabricated from a moisture barrier flexible packing film, which is formed into a pouch) and provided as a component of a kit article comprising the consumable article, the coating composition and instructions for use or application of the coating composition.
1. 4 g of melezitose was dissolved in 15 mL DI water (˜20%)
2. The resulting solution was heated to a temperature about 10° C. lower than the actual melting point of melezitose (153° C.)
3. A thin layer of the solution was applied on a parchment paper and kept in an oven at 50° C. for 30 minutes.
4. The dried solution was then removed from the parchment paper and transferred to a glass dish.
5. For comparative purposes, a solution of sucrose was prepared and dried following the above-described procedure.
Preparation of Corn Flakes Frosted with Melezitose
1. 50 g of melezitose was dissolved in 75 mL DI water.
2. 50 mL of the above solution was heated to about 110° C. to about 120° C. in a small steel container until it became almost a thick solution.
3. Corn flakes were added immediately into the hot steel vessel and tumble dried.
4. The frosted flakes were then transferred into a steel tray and heated in an oven (50° C.) for 30 min.
This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/018,999, filed Jun. 30, 2014, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety for all purposes.
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/US2015/038292 | 6/29/2015 | WO | 00 |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62018999 | Jun 2014 | US |
