Staged juice fortification products

A staged fortification system and a method of providing fortification on a staged basis to infants involves feeding an infant a Vitamin C fortified juice when the infant is from 3 to 6 months of age, feeding the infant a Vitamin C and iron fortified juice when the infant is from 6 to 9 months of age, feeding the infant a Vitamin C, iron and zinc fortified juice when the infant is from 9 to 12 months of age, and feeding the infant a Vitamin C, iron, zinc and calcium fortified juice when the infant is 1 year of age and older. The staged fortification system provides appropriate vitamins and minerals which are needed at particular stages in the development of an infant.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
This invention relates to fortified nutritional products, and, more 
particularly, to vitamin and/or mineral fortified juice products. 
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
Fortified infant juice products have included Vitamin C, but have not 
included minerals, and, in particular, have not contained iron, zinc, 
calcium or combinations thereof. Heretofore, vitamin and mineral fortified 
nutritional products for infants have been limited to baby cereals. 
Although fortified baby cereal products are probably of some benefit, in 
most cases they are not likely to provide adequate amounts of Vitamin C 
and certain minerals on a sufficiently regular basis. It is generally well 
recognized that many vitamins and minerals can only provide a beneficial 
effect if taken regularly (i.e., at least on a daily basis), because of 
the body's tendency to rapidly deplete and eliminate such nutrients. In 
general, infants are not fed baby cereals on a sufficiently regular basis 
to provide adequate amounts of Vitamin C and certain minerals to achieve a 
desired beneficial effect. Accordingly, there is a need for a Vitamin C 
and/or mineral fortified nutritional product which can be fed to an infant 
on at least a daily basis. 
A further disadvantage of relying on baby cereals to provide adequate 
amounts of Vitamin C and certain minerals is that the baby cereals 
typically contain a variety of vitamins and minerals which are not 
necessarily needed or beneficial to infants of all ages. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
This invention concerns: 1) the provision of staged juice products which 
provide fortification of specific nutrients needed by infants at 
particular stages in their development; 2) a method of providing 
fortification on a staged basis to infants to deliver appropriate 
nutrients in biologically available form dependent upon the stage of 
development or age of the infant; 3) the provision of juice products, 
containing Vitamin C and iron, and which do not have an objectionable 
taste or appearance; 4) the provision of juice products containing 
calcium, in which the calcium is present in a biologically available form 
and is resistant to precipitation; and 5) the provision of a juice product 
in which Vitamin C, iron, zinc and calcium are all present in a highly 
biologically available form and in amounts sufficient to provide a desired 
beneficial effect when fed to an infant on a regular basis, and which does 
not have an objectionable taste or appearance, and wherein the calcium is 
not subject to precipitation. 
The staged juice products of this invention comprise a Vitamin C fortified 
juice for babies 3 to 6 months of age; a Vitamin C and iron fortified 
juice for babies 6 to 9 months of age; a Vitamin C, iron and zinc 
fortified juice for babies 9 to 12 months of age; and a Vitamin C, iron, 
zinc and calcium fortified juice for children 1 year of age and older. 
The Vitamin C and iron fortified juice products are prepared by adding 
ferrous gluconate and Vitamin C to the fruit and/or vegetable juices. The 
resulting juices, containing iron and gluconate ions in solution, do not 
have an appreciable ferrous taste, and are not appreciable darker than, or 
otherwise different in appearance from, similar juices which do not 
contain any added Vitamin C or added iron. The calcium fortified juice 
products are prepared by combining fruit and/or vegetable juice 
concentrate with yogurt to provide a juice product containing calcium in a 
form which will not be subject to precipitation. 
These and other objects, advantages and features of the invention will be 
more fully understood and appreciated by reference to the Description of 
the Preferred Embodiments and the claims. 
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
The expression "juice product" as used herein means a liquid nutritional 
product containing one or more vegetable and/or fruit juices or 
concentrates thereof. Specific examples include juices which are primarily 
comprised of at least one fruit or vegetable juice or juice concentrate, 
fruit or vegetable puree, and/or fruit or vegetable paste, and may include 
a quantity of water to reconstitute and/or dilute any concentrates, purees 
and/or paste to obtain a desired final taste, appearance, consistency and 
viscosity which is normally associated with fruit and/or vegetable juices. 
The juices may also contain fruit and/or vegetable essences or flavorings, 
other natural or artificial flavorings, sugar and/or other natural or 
artificial sweeteners in amounts needed to achieve a desired sweetness, 
citric acid or other suitable acidulants in amounts sufficient to adjust 
the juice to an appropriate pH (e.g., a maximum of about 4.1), as well as 
other conventional ingredients in amounts which do not effect the 
essential character of the juices, such as colorants, preservatives, 
emulsifiers, thixotropic agents, etc. Further, the juices of this 
invention are all fortified with Vitamin C, and are optionally fortified 
with iron; iron and zinc; or iron, zinc and calcium. 
In addition, the expression "juice product" as used herein also encompasses 
liquid nutritional products which contain juices or concentrates thereof. 
The term "concentrates" is meant to encompass purees, paste and the like, 
as well as concentrates prepared by evaporating the water from natural 
fruit juices. A specific example of a juice product in accordance with 
this invention includes a juice or juice concentrate as defined above 
which is combined with yogurt. The yogurt contains calcium in a form which 
will not tend to precipitate from a juice product comprising the yogurt 
and the juice or juice concentrate. Vitamin C, iron, zinc and various 
combinations thereof can be added to the juice or juice concentrate before 
it is combined with the yogurt. Alternatively, Vitamin C, iron, zinc and 
various combinations thereof can be added to the yogurt and juice or juice 
concentrate combination, or to the yogurt before it is combined with the 
juice or juice concentrate. 
Vitamin C is preferably added to the fortified juice products of this 
invention in the form of ascorbic acid. However, Vitamin C may also be 
added to the juice products in other suitable forms (such as in the form 
of salt of ascorbic acid) which do not introduce undesirable compounds or 
ions which will adversely effect the appearance, taste or other qualities 
of the juice product, and which are not susceptible to precipitation, and 
which do not render other nutrients or components in the juice products 
susceptible to precipitation. 
The amount of Vitamin C which is added is preferably about the amount which 
will provide a juice product with a total Vitamin C content which is 
sufficient to meet about 100% of the recommended daily nutritional 
requirements for Vitamin C as determined by the government of the country 
or jurisdiction in which the product is to be sold. The amount of added 
Vitamin C which is needed to provide a single serving of juice products 
with 100% of the recommended daily nutritional requirement for Vitamin C 
as determined by the government of the jurisdiction in which it is to be 
sold is dependent upon the serving size and the natural Vitamin C content 
of the juice products prior to fortification with added Vitamin C. A 
typical serving size of a juice product for an infant is about 4 fluid 
ounces (about 118 milliliters). In general, when juices are prepared from 
juice concentrates and water, the amount of additional ascorbic acid which 
is needed to achieve 100% of the recommended daily nutritional requirement 
as determined by the government of the jurisdiction in which it is to be 
sold is from about 0.12 grains (about 0.10% by weight) to about 0.1 grams 
(about 0.13% by weight) for a 4 fluid ounce serving, depending on the 
amount of Vitamin C already present in the juices or juice concentrates 
used to prepare the juice product. Those familiar with the preparation of 
fortified foods and drinks can readily determine the amount of added 
Vitamin C which is needed to achieve a desired final Vitamin C content. 
Although, the juice products of this invention will preferably contain 
enough Vitamin C to provide 100% of the recommended daily nutritional 
requirement as determined by the government, higher or lower amounts of 
Vitamin C can be added if desired. However, all of the staged 
fortification juice products of this invention preferably contain about 
100% of the recommended daily nutritional requirement of Vitamin C as 
determined by the government, because it is believed that substantially 
all infants, irrespective of their diet can benefit from regularly taking 
such amounts of Vitamin C, and that amounts of Vitamin C which are well in 
excess of 100% of the recommended daily nutritional requirement are not 
generally known or believed to have any detrimental effects on infants, 
and in fact may be beneficial. 
First stage juices are fortified with Vitamin C only, and other vitamins 
and minerals are not added to supplement any amounts which are naturally 
present in the juice or juice concentrates used to prepare the first stage 
juice products. 
The juice products which are intended to be fed to infants between the ages 
of 6 months and 9 months, in addition to containing added Vitamin C, are 
fortified with iron. Iron and Vitamin C are also added to the fortified 
juice products for infants between the ages of 9 months and 12 months 
along with zinc; and to the juice products for infants 12 months and older 
along with zinc and calcium. Iron is introduced into all staged fortified 
juice products for infants 6 months of age or older because it helps 
prevent anemia, which is the leading infant health problem around the 
world. 
Iron is added to the second, third and fourth stage juice products in the 
form of ferrous gluconate, such as in an amount which will provide from 
about 10% to about 20% of the recommended daily nutritional requirement 
for iron as determined by the government of the jurisdiction in which it 
is to be sold. Ferrous gluconate provides iron at the prescribed levels in 
a highly biologically available form which does not have any significant 
adverse effects on the taste, color or other properties of the juice 
products. By providing iron at the 10% to 20% range of the recommended 
daily nutritional requirement, sufficient iron is provided to supplement 
other dietary intake of iron and to provide a beneficial result of helping 
to prevent anemia, yet the amount is not so high as to cause iron levels 
to become excessive if the infant is already getting sufficient iron in 
his/her diet. 
For a typical 4 ounce (118 milliliter) serving of the juice products, 
approximately 0.9 to about 1.8 grams (about 0.008 to about 0.016% by 
weight) of ferrous gluconate are added to provide from about 10% to about 
20% of the recommended daily nutritional requirement. 
For the third and fourth stage juice products, for infants between the ages 
of 9 months to 12 months, and from 12 months and older, respectively, zinc 
is added in an amount to provide from about 10% to about 20% of the 
recommended daily nutritional requirement for zinc as determined by the 
government of the jurisdiction in which it is to be sold in a single 
serving size. 
A suitable method of fortifying the third and fourth stage juice products 
with zinc is to add zinc sulfate. For a 4 ounce (118 milliliter) serving, 
from about 0.2 to about 0.4 grams (from about 0.018 to about 0.036% by 
weight) of zinc sulfate are added to obtain a juice product containing 
from about 10% to about 20% of the recommended daily nutritional 
requirement for zinc as determined by the government of the jurisdiction 
in which it is to be sold. 
Zinc is added to the third and fourth stage products for infants over the 
age of 9 months to help maintain normal growth during this period when the 
supply of zinc can be deficient on account of the transition from formula 
to table foods. 
Calcium is introduced in the fourth stage juice products because it helps 
build strong bones at a point in development when milk intake is often 
lower than during early infancy when babies receive usually enough calcium 
from the substantial amounts of breast milk, formula and/or cow milk in 
their diets. 
The fourth stage juice products are fortified with calcium by adding yogurt 
to the juice or juice concentrates, water, and other conventional 
additives as needed to achieve a desired taste, appearance, and 
consistency, along with the Vitamin C, iron and zinc. The amount of yogurt 
which is added to the juice product is preferably an amount sufficient to 
obtain a juice product containing from about 10% to about 20% of the 
recommended daily nutritional requirement for calcium as determined by the 
government of the jurisdiction in which it is to be sold. Approximately 50 
grams of yogurt in a 4 ounce (118 milliliter) serving size will provide a 
calcium content of about 10% of the recommended daily nutritional 
requirement for calcium as determined by the government of the 
jurisdiction in which it is to be sold. 
By incorporating yogurt into the fourth stage juice products, calcium is 
introduced in a biologically available form which is not subject to 
precipitation, and which does not have any significant adverse effect on 
the taste, color, texture or appearance of the juice product. 
While incorporation of yogurt into the fourth stage juice products 
represents a preferred method of fortifying a juice product with calcium, 
it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that any of various 
alternative methods of fortifying a fruit or vegetable juice product with 
calcium may be used. Examples of such methods are disclosed for example in 
U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,325,360; 3,657,424; 4,722,847 and 4,919,963, in British 
Patent Specification 2,095,530 published Oct. 6, 1982, and in European 
Patent Application 75,114, published Mar. 30, 1983. These methods include 
adding calcium carbonate, calcium chlorides, calcium citrates, calcium 
phosphates, calcium acetate, calcium tartrate, calcium malate, calcium 
hydroxide, calcium lactate and the like or combinations thereof. 
Although the juice products can be prepared from fresh fruit juices, they 
are in general prepared from various concentrates, purees, paste, etc. 
which are reconstituted and/or diluted with water. Examples of suitable 
fruit and vegetable juices and/or concentrates which can be used in the 
preparation of the staged fortified juice products include apple, pear, 
orange, pineapple, papaya, guava, mango, grape, prune, cherry, apricot, 
banana, peach, beet, tomato, and combination thereof. 
The following examples illustrate specific embodiments of the invention, 
and should not be regarded as limiting the invention in any respect.

EXAMPLE 1 
First Staged Juice Product 
A 1,000 pound batch of a first staged apple juice product in accordance 
with this invention is prepared by combining 172 pounds of apple juice 
concentrate (71 Brix) with 821.9 pounds of water and mixing to form a 
slurry. Thereafter, 1.3 pounds of ascorbic acid is mixed into the slurry. 
The resulting Vitamin C fortified juice product may be pH adjusted and 
thereafter strained, pasteurized and packaged. 
EXAMPLE 2 
Stage 2 Tropical Fruit Juice 
1,000 pounds of a stage 2 tropical fruit juice is prepared by combining 
103.5 pounds of orange juice concentrate (64 Brix), 18.9 pounds of apple 
juice concentrate (71 Brix), 40.2 pounds of pineapple juice concentrate 
(60.5 Brix) and 774.9 pounds of water. The orange juice concentrate, apple 
juice concentrate, pineapple juice concentrate and water are mixed to form 
a slurry. To the slurry are added 34 pounds of papaya puree (14 Brix) and 
15 pounds of guava puree (29 Brix), which are mixed with the water and 
concentrates. Thereafter, 12.2 pounds of granulated cane sugar are mixed 
into the slurry. In 5 liters of tap water, 1.2 pounds of ascorbic acid and 
0.0821 pounds of ferrous gluconate are pre-dissolved, and subsequently 
mixed into the slurry. Thereafter, citric acid is added to adjust the pH. 
The resulting second stage tropical fruit juice is strained, pasteurized 
and packaged. 
EXAMPLE 3 
Third Stage Grape Juice Product 
A 1,000 pound batch of a third stage grape juice concentrate fortified with 
Vitamin C, iron and zinc is prepared by mixing 232.8 pounds of grape juice 
concentrate with essence (68 Brix), 10.8 pounds of granulated cane sugar, 
755.28 pounds of water, and a fortification premix consisting of 1.02 
pounds of ascorbic acid, 0.0811 pounds of ferrous gluconate and 0.0184 
pounds of zinc sulfate pre-dissolved in about 5 liters of water. The grape 
juice concentrate, sugar, water and fortification premix are mixed to form 
a slurry which is subsequently strained, pasteurized and packaged. 
EXAMPLE 4 
Fourth Stage Apple Juice Product 
A 1,000 pound batch of a fourth stage apple juice product fortified with 
Vitamin C, iron, zinc and calcium is prepared by preparing a sugar 
solution containing 53.8 pounds of granulated cane sugar and 6.8 pounds of 
high methoxyl pectin, and a fortification premix containing 0.96 pounds of 
ascorbic acid, 0.0806 pounds of ferrous gluconate and 0.0183 pounds of 
zinc sulfate pre-dissolved in about 5 liters of water. To the pectin/sugar 
solution is added 448.5 pounds of plain, low-fat yogurt, 80 pounds of 
apple juice concentrate (71 Brix), and the fortification premix. The 
pectin/sugar solution, yogurt, apple juice concentrate, and fortification 
premix are thoroughly mixed to form a slurry. Thereafter, the pH is 
adjusted to a maximum of 4.1 by adding citric acid. The resulting product 
is strained, pasteurized and packaged. 
It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications 
to the preferred embodiment of the invention as described herein can be 
made without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as 
defined by the appended claims.