A METHOD FOR OBTAINING TOTALLY NATURAL SUPER-CLOUD COMPOSITIONS

Abstract: The present invention relates to a method for obtaining natural super cloud compositions of citrus components, for use in beverages and to cloudy active compositions and beverages prepared according to this method. The method comprises: a) applying water extraction on at least one of the following: peel, core, cells, frit, juice of citrus, obtaining water extracted soluble citrus solids; b) separating said water extracted soluble citrus solids, discarding high mesh matter and obtaining a liquor consisting of low sedimented pulp; c) applying enzymatic treatment on said liquor by pectolytic enzymes; d) inactivating natural and added enzymes in the liquor; e) centrifuging said liquor (hot centrifugation) obtaining a stable high cloud - low concentration of sedimented pulp; f) further concentrating the liquor; g) applying membrane separation technologies on said concentrated liquor, obtaining a retentant containing the required super cloud compositions.

Description: A METHOD FOR OBTAINING TOTALLY NATURAL SUPER-CLOUD COMPOSITIONS Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for selectively obtaining totally natural super cloud compositions of citrus components and for obtaining a cloudy dispersion of said citrus components, especially useful in the beverage industry. This method comprises a unique combination of enzymatic treatment of water soluble extract (WSECS-polysaccharides, mainly pectins, cellulose, hemicellulose and nonsolubles such as bioflavenoids, proteins, etc.) and separation techniques, specifically ultrafiltration using selective membranes. The method further comprises emulsion of said super cloud compositions with food grade oil, resulting in a preparation with no off flavor, bitterness or after taste, good stability and high opacity. The present invention also relates to super cloud compositions obtained by this method and to beverages containing them. Background of the Invention For many years, citrus and beverage industries have been using cloudy emulsions to improve the appearance and stability of citrus based drinks consisting of less than 60 wt % orange juice. The concepts used in this field are based on providing an oil- in-water emulsion with weighting agents to the citrus drinks, so that the light scattering from the oil droplets will provide additional opacity to the final drink. In order to minimize creaming of the oil droplets, resulting in a ringing effect, a high density weight agent is added to the oil phase and droplets are reduced to a micronal range size. The thermodynamic instability of the emulsion is controlled, to some extent, with emulsifiers or stabilizers. Additives such as colorants, preservatives etc. could be added to the continuous water phase (water soluble additives) or to the oil phase (oil soluble additives). The classical weighting agent, brominated vegetable oil (BVO), was banned in many countries due to its hazardous effects, and was replaced by ester gums (some synthetic and some extracted from plants). Also the monomeric emulsifiers used, such as Span and Tween have been replaced by various types of gum Acacia or gum Arabic, that when used in excess (up to 20 wt %), impart stability to the emulsion. All these cloudy emulsions require significant amounts of emulsifϊer to stabilize the emulsion against flocculation and coalescence. According to the new trend, to replace synthetic components by totally natural components, attempts were made to utilize proteins and hydrocolloids and especially pectins and use them in cloudy emulsions. Pectins are concentrated in citrus peels. Some fractions of pectins have been known to stabilize certain dispersions of solid particles in the juice and to serve as an emulsifϊer to some of the essential oils present in the juice. Peel extracts and peel extract emulsions are presently used in cloudy emulsions but their performance is poor (a dilution of not more than 60, practically 30 to 50, could be made with absorbance of 1.0 OD with these samples). In addition, these emulsions are non-stable and impart bitterness, off flavor and some cloud instability to the final product. US patent number 5,202, 142 describes a process for the production of cloudy juices with stable cloudiness from natural products only by ultrafiltrating the raw juice and mixing in filter residues of cross flow filtration. Moreover, stabilizing agents must be mixed into the product of this US patent, to prevent the agglomeration of the cloudy particles. The complex niicrostructure of polysaccharides - proteins - crystalline particles in the juice and other fruit components are not fully understood and it is almost impossible to extract them with out causing damage to the internal microstructure responsible for the cloudy effect. In light of the present state of the art, the present invention surprisingly provides a method for specific and selective extraction of the active- cloudy - colloid composition from citrus peels and other parts of the fruit, comprising a unique combination of enzymatic treatment of water soluble extract citrus solids (WSECS) and separation techniques. The preparation obtained by this method is an all natural cloudy active preparation, having a selective internal and citrus derived composition of phenolic compounds, polysaccharides and other emulsifying components which, in emulsion, provide a preparation with excellent cloud, good stability and no after taste, off flavor, ringing effect or bitterness. The cloudy active compositions according to the present invention will therefore be referred to as "super cloud compositions". Summary of the invention The present invention relates to a method for obtaining natural super cloud compositions of citrus components, for use in beverages. (In the present invention the word compositions refers to citrus components either in emulsion or not). The method comprises: a) applying water extraction on at least one of the following; peel, core, cells, frit, juice of citrus, obtaining water extracted soluble citrus solids; b) separating said water extracted soluble citrus solids, discarding high mesh matter and obtaining a liquor consisting of low sedimented pulp; c) applying enzymatic treatment on said liquor by pectolytic enzymes; d) inactivating natural and added enzymes in the liquor; e) centrifuging said liquor (hot centrifugation) obtaining a stable high cloud - low concentration of sedimented pulp; f) further concentrating the liquor; g) applying membrane separation technologies on said concentrated liquor, obtaining a retentant containing the required super cloud compositions; The obtained super cloud compositions may be further emulsified with oil such as vegetable oils, Tall oils, marine oils, tropical oils, terpenless, essential citrus oils and essential vegetable or spices oils, and the oil concentration in the emulsion may be up to 15 wt %. The emulsion is homogemzed to obtain particles of less than average 10 μm, preferably less than 1 μm. Water soluble or oil soluble coloring agents, or their combination, may be further added to the emulsion. Finally, the received cloudy emulsion may be added to a beverage achieving a cloudy effect. The present invention relates to cloudy active compositions obtained by the said method and to beverages prepared according to this method. Detailed Description of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for selectively obtaining cloudy active compositions of cirrus components (refered to in the present invention as "totally natural super cloud compositions" or "super cloud compositions") and for obtaining a cloudy dispersion of said citrus components. This method uses one or several of the processing streams of the juice and fruit industry, known also as water soluble extract citrus solids (WSECS), which consists of various compositions of core, cells, peel, frit and juice. A typical composition consists of 55 - 65% (solids) peel, 20-30 wt % core materials and 15-20% frit. In the method of the present invention WESCS compositions are extracted with hot aqueous solutions, and/or deionized and/or condensated water or by heating a mixture of water and citrus compositions, for a period of 20 - 60 minutes, preferably 20 - 40 minute, at 30 - 100°C, or best at 55-60°C. Preferably, the water extraction is applied to any combination of citrus components which comprise up to about 70 wt% of the citrus fruit or to citrus components enriched with frits. The extracted material is further decanted and/or separated (by press, finishers or decanters) removing the high mesh matter (20-40 mesh), and the lower sedimented pulp. The supernatant (known as liquor) in which the pulp level is controlled at up to 15 wt%, preferably at l-5wt %, is subject to enzymatic treatment applied at 3- 4 Brix, and, depending on the enzymes used, at levels of 5- 100 ppm, preferably 5 - 20 ppm, at 30 - 55°C, for 20 - 60 minutes. The enzymatic process is controlled to adjust the viscosity, gelling properties, cloud stability and colloid stability to the required characteristics of the product. Pectolytic enzymes, such as Citrozyme cloudy 100 (NOVO) and pectinex 3XL (NOVO), are used to cleave the pectolytic matter and to obtain low molecular weight pectins, which are soluble and surface active. The enzymes are selected according to the feed characteristics of the fruit components, as per season, maturity, species, cirrus hybrids and geographical location. Compositions of peel, core, cells, frit, juice of citrus fruits may vary from region to region and within species and, as a result, the conditions of the method of the present invention, may vary. The enzymatic reaction is terminated by pasteuration at 95 - 105°C for up to 90 seconds. Pasteuration results also in the inactivation of the natural enzymes and stops any enzymatic and microbia! activity in the treated system. The pasteurized slurry (liquor) is treated by hot centrifugation (juice desludger, usually known in the art to be in the temperature range of 70 - 105°C), for best control of the cloud instability factor or components, such as oxalic pectins (salts), coagulated particles etc. The product is at 3- 5 Brix and is further pre - evaporated to 6 - 12 Brix, preferably 7 - 8 Brix. The concentrated product is subjected to separation techniques consisting of microfiltration or, preferably, ultrafiltration. (Ultrafiltration relates to the use of membrane cutt - offs of about 5000 to 500,00 molecular weight and microfiltration relates to membrane cut offs of molecular weights higher than 500,000 molecular weight). A membrane system batch type (one stage) may be used or a continuous system (multistage). Preferably, the ultrafiltration is by using a multistage configuration system, by utilizing a hollow fiber system of 60 - 106 mil at 40 - 60°C wherein the membrane cut - offs are 5000 - 500,000 molecular weight at a flow rate of 40 - 3 liter hour/ m 2 of the permeate. The product is further concentrated, preferably by evaporation (or by additional membranes), to 10 - 30 Brix. The ultrafiltration, carried out in a balanced way, utilizing specifically sized membranes, results in a concentrated retentant (known also as concentrate) containing the cloudy active compositions (refered to in the present invention as super cluod compositions). The clear permeate, is removed. This permeate consists of most of the low molecular weight oligomeric sugars, low MW pectinates, some proteins (mainly peptides) and undesirable polyphenols (destabilzing the emulsions). In this process some of the free and oligomeric sugars and the bitter components are removed and avoided from the final product. The retentant contains some residues such as hydrocolloids, proteins, sugars and other phenolic components such as simple phenols, polyphenols and bioflavonodes (esterified by glycosides and non - esterified compositions), but mainly insoluble polyphenols and bioflavanoids, in a solid crystalline form, such as naringine from grapefruits or hesperidine from oranges. In addition, the retentant contains the surface active pectins obtained in the enzymatic process. These compounds may further be emulsified with any food grade oil, such as vegetable oils, Tall oils, marine oils, tropical oils, terpenless, essential citrus oils and essential vegetable or spices oils etc. The oil concentration in this emulsion may vary from 1 to 15 wt%, preferably 3 - 10 wt%. The emulsion/dispersion may further be homogemzed to obtain droplets/particles of less than average 10 μm, preferably less than 1 μm, which are added to any beverage to achieve a cloudy effect. The obtained emulsion/dispersion is compatible with any water soluble and/or oil soluble coloring agents such as carmine, lycopene, β-carotene, Lutein, xantophils, etc. This method provides a unique mixture of two different populations of light scattering particles, namely soluble oil droplets coated by surface active pectin polymers and insoluble polyphenols and bioflavonoids broken down to the required sized particles and protected by the active emulsifying agents. This is an improved composition of citrus components, with good emulsifying properties (on oil droplets) and good stabilization activity (on the solid crystalline matter). This combination provides accumulated light scattering, achieving an improved cloudy effect. The emulsion obtained by the method of the present invention does not include bitter components and is a superior system of liquid -liquid emulsion and solid - liquid dispersion for the production of cloudy beverages with stable cloudiness with no off flavor, bitterness or after taste. The super cloud obtained in the method of the present invention may be of a concentration of 20 - 30 Brix, viscosity of 100 - 5000 cps, may contain water soluble pectins in a concentration of 5,000 - 20,000 mg/liter (10 - 11.2 Brix) and in a dilution of 1:25 may have a cloud index at 560nm of 20 - 0% T. The present invention further relates to cloudy active compositions, especially soluble surface active low molecular weight pectins and proteins and insoluble polyphenols and bioflavonoids, obtained by the method of the invention and to beverages containing these compositions. The said invention will be further illustrated by the following examples. These examples do not intend to limit the scope of the invention but to demonstrate and clarify it only. Example No. 1 1. A mixture of 50 wt% peel, core, frit and juice residue taken from white grapefruit (Marsh seedless) was crushed by a hummer crusher while blending with water at 85^C in a ratio of 1:1.5 (fruit components: water). 2. The high mesh (pumass) was separated by decantors yielding a juice of 3.6° Brix and 10% pulp content. 3. The juice was subject to treatment by pectolitic enzymes (Pectinex 3XL, Novo), lOppm (weight/weight) for 24 minutes. 4. Pasteurization at 98^C for 60 seconds. 5. Centrifiigation at a rate of 5000Liter/hr for removal of fine sedimented pulp. This step resulted in product at 3.6° Brix with 0.5% sedimented pulp 6. Concentration to 7 Brix. 7. Feeding to a 2 stage continuous membranal system. Membrane type: H.F-PM-10/60mil. Working temperature 50°C. Concentration Factor (CF)=9, ie: the membranal concentration ratio of permeate:retentent=9: 1. The resulting retentent Brix was 9.1 8. Concentration by vacuum with a batch cocentrator to 26.1Brix and S0 2 preservation at 2500ppm. 9. The obtained super-cloud was tested and confirmed as stable and high cloudy material. (See results in table 1.) Example No. 2 Same as example no. 1 with the following changes: 1. The emzymatic treatment was carried out at 12ppm. 2. The membranal concentration was CF=10. The resulting retentant Brix was 9.45 3. The vacuum concentration by the batch concentrator was to 28.2Brix. (See results in table 1.) Example No. 3 1. A mixture of peel, core, frit and juice residue which comprised 57% wt of the fruit, taken from Shamuti oranges was crushed by a hummer crusher while blending with water at 82^C in a ratio of 1:2 (fruit components: water). 2. The rough solid particles were separated by decantors yielding a juice of 3.9° Brix and 11% pulp content. 3. The juice was subject to treatment by pectolitic enzymes (Pectinex 3XL, Novo), 13ppm (weight/weight) for 20 minutes. 4. Pasteurization at 102^C for 60 seconds. 5. Centrifugation at a rate of 5000Liter/hr (83 liter/hour/m 2 )for removal of light suspensions. This step resulted in product at Brix3.9 with 0.8% sedimented pulp 6. Concentration to 8-9Brix. 7. Feeding to membranal system- 2 stages in continuous process. Membrane type: H.F-PM-10/60mil. Working temperature 50°C. Concentration Factor (CF)=9. The resulting retentent Brix was 12.0 8. Concentration by vacuum with batch cocentrator to 25.9 Brix and S0 preservation at 2500ppm 9. The obtained super-cloud was tested and confirmed as stable and high cloudy material. (See results in table 2.) Example No. 4 Same as example no. 3 with the following changes: l.The extract liquor was at 3.6Brix and 8% pulp. 2. lOppm enzymatic treatment. 3. CF of the membranal system was 10.2 The charged product was at 7.0Brix 4. The retentent Brix was 9.5-10 5. Final concentration was 25. lBrix. (See results in table 2.) Example No. 5 Same as example 3 with the following changes: l.The water: fruit ratio was 2.5: 1. 2. The extract liquor was at 3.0Brix and 6% pulp. 3.17ppm enzymatic treatment. 4. CF of the membranal system was 10.0, The charged product was at 8-9 Brix 5. The retentent Brix was 11.8 6. Final concentration was 25.7Brix. 7. The product was packed in sterile aseptic packages. (See results in table 2.) Example No. 6 Same as the previous example with the following changes: l.The water: fruit ratio was 2.25: 1. 2. The extract liquor was at 3.5Brix and 9-10% pulp. 3.17ppm enzymatic treatment. 4. The retentent Brix was 12.0 5. Final concentration was to 28.8Brix. 6. The product was packed in sterile aseptic packages. (See results in table 2.) Example No. 7 Same as the previous example with the following changes: l.The water: fruit ratio was 2: 1. 2. The extract liquor was at 3.9Brix and 10-12% pulp. 3. Final concentration was to 23.4Brix. (See results in table 2.) 10 Example No. 8.9.10: In all these examples Valencia oranges were used as citrus source. The main processing parameters and results are listed in table 2. Preparation of cloudy emulsions based on the super cloud Example No. 11: The super-cloud from example 1 was blended with 6% vegetable oil and with 15% water. The obtained emulsion was homogemzed in a double stage piston homogenizer at 250Atm. The final emulsion gave a high and stable cloud. The Optical Density (OD), measured at 580nm in a dilution of 1:25 in a 11.2Brix syrup was 0.98. Repeated measurements of the same diluted product after land 4 weeks gave OD values of 0.92 and 0.89 respectively, indicating a very stable cloud. No ring was observed after 4 weeks. Example No. 12: The super-cloud from example 1 was blended with 10% orange oil and with 15% water. The obtained emulsion was homogenized in a double stage piston homogenizer at 280 Arm. The final emulsion gave a high and stable cloud. The Optical Density (OD), measured at 580nm in a dilution of 1:25 in a 11.2Brix syrup was 1.08. Repeated measuremnts of the same diluted product after land 4 weeks gave OD values of 0.94 and 0.69 respectively, indicating a non stable cloud. A ring was observed after 3 weeks. 11 Example No. 13: The super-cloud from example 6 was blended with 6% vegetable oil and with 10% water. The obtained emulsion was homogenized in a double stage piston homogenizer at 250Atm. The final emulsion gave a high and stable cloud. The obtained average droplet size was 1.3 μ. The Optical Density (OD), measured at 580nm in a dilution of 1:25 in 11.2Brix syrup was 1.04. Repeated measuremnts of the same diluted product after land 4 weeks gave OD values of 0.99 and 0.94 respectively, indicating a very stable cloud. No ring was observed after 4 weeks. Table 1 : Supercloud concentrate from Grapefruit Exam Process Brix of Brookfield Bostvic W.Soluble Cloud Index 24 hr No. Conditions Super- Viscosity Pectins (l:25,560nm) Imhoff Cloud (conus) 1 7Brix, 26.1 2120cps 17cm 15,200mg/l 13J%T 0.3% lOppm Enz. Treat. UF-C.F=9 2 7Brix, 28.2 3640cps 14cm 13,900mg/l 20.9%T 0.2% 12ppm Enz. Treat. UF-C.F=10 12 Table 2: Supercloud concentrate from Orange Exam. Process Brix of Brookfield Bostvic Cloud Index 14 24 hr No. Conditions Super- Viscosity (l:25,560nm) days Imhoff Cloud column (conus) lOOml 3 8-9Brix, 25.9 1060cps 19cm 2.9%T 87% 0.14% Shamuti 0.8%acid 13ppm Enz. Treat. UF-C.F=9 4 7Brix, 25.1 2200cps 15cm 1.7%T 93% 0.1% Shamuti 1.0%acid lOppm Enz. Treat. UF- C.F=10.2 5 8.5Brix, 25 J 1240cps 15cm 0.8%T 95% 0.2% Shamuti 0J%acid 17ppm Enz. Treat. UF-C.F=10 6 8.5Brix, 28.8 1300cps 14cm 1.0%T 90% 0.12% Shamuti 0.8%acid 17ppm Enz. Treat. UF-C.F=10 7 8.5Brix, 23.4 1510cps 17cm 0.9%T 95% 0.1% Shamuti 0J%acid 17ppm Enz. Treat. UF-C.F=10 8 SBrix, 27.6 1850cρs 17cm 1.0%T 88% 0.1% Valencia 0.6%acid 20ppm Enz. Treat. UF-C.F=8 9 8Brix, 27.8 2030cps 15cm 1.3%T 87% 0.1% Valencia 0.6%acid 16ppm Enz. Treat. UF-C.F=8 10 8Brix, 21.7 4000cps 13cm 1.5%T 100% 0.12% Valencia 0J%acid 12ppm Enz. Treat. UF-C.F=8 13

Claims: CLAIMS 1. A method for obtaining natural super cloud compositions of citrus components, for use in beverages, comprising; a) applying water extraction on at least one of the following; peel, core, cells, frit, juice of citrus, obtaining water extracted soluble citrus solids; b) separating said water extracted soluble citrus solids, discarding high mesh matter and obtaining a liquor consisting of low sedimented pulp; c) applying enzymatic treatment on said liquor by pectolytic enzymes; d) inactivating natural and added enzymes in the liquor; e) centrifuging said liquor obtaining a stable high cloud; f) further concentrating the liquor; g) applying membrane separation technologies on said concentrated liquor, obtaining a retentant containing the required super cloud compositions; 2. A method according to claim 1 further emulsifying the obtained super cloud compositions with oil and homogenizing the received cloudy emulsion dispersion obtaining particles of less than average 10 μm; 3. A method according to claim 2 further adding the received cloudy emulsion to a beverage achieving a cloudy effect. 14 4. A method according to claim 1 wherein the water extraction is by adding deionized or condensed hot water to any combination of the citrus components selected from core, cells, peel, frit and juice, or by heating deionized or condensed water which is added to any combination of the citrus components selected from core, cells, peel, frit and juice, while stirring. 5. A method according to claim 4 wherein water extraction is applied to any combination of citrus components which comprise up to about 70 wt% of the citrus fruit. 6. A method according to claim 1 wherein water extraction is applied to citrus components enriched with frits. 7. A method according to claim 4 wherein the hot water or the heated water and citrus components is at a temperature of or heated to a temperature of 30°C - 100°C and the stirring is maintained for 20 - 60 minutes. 8. A method according to claim 1 wherein the liquor is obtained with the sedimented pulp in a concentration of up to 15 wt% solids. 9. A method according to claim 1 wherein the enzymatic treatment of the liquor is done by using a cocktail of pectolytic enzymes at 30 -55°C for at least 20 minutes. 10. A method according to claim 9 wherein a cocktail of enzymes comprising at least one of Citrozyme cloudy 100 or Pectinex 3XL, is used. 11. A method according to claim 1 wherein inactivation of the enzymes in the liquor is by pasteurizing at 90 - 105°C for up to 90 seconds. 15 12. A method according to claim 1 wherein the inactivated liquor is centrifuged by hot centrifugation in a juice desludger in the range of 50-100 liter/hour/m2. 13. A method according to claim 1 wherein the permeate is further concentrated by pre evaporation to obtain a concentration of up to 12 Brix. 14. A method according to claim 1 wherein applying membrane separation is by using a batch type membrane system or a continuous system. 15. A method according to claim 14 wherein applying membrane separation technologies on said concentrated permeate is by utilizing a hollow fiber system of 60 - 106 mil at 40 - 60°C wherein the membrane cut - offs are 5000 - 500,000 molecular weight at a flow rate of 40 - 3 liter/hour/ m 2 of the permeate. 16. A method according to claim 1 wherein the obtained retentant is further concentrated up to 30 Brix. 17. A method according to claim 2 wherein the oil for emulsifying the obtained retentant is food grade oil. 18. A method according to claim 17 wherein the food grade oil is selected from vegetable oils, Tall oils, marine oils, tropical oils, terpenless, essential citrus oils and essential vegetable or spices oils. 19. A method according to the claim 2 wherein the emulsifying of the obtained super cloud compositions with oil and homogenizing is with an oil concentration in the emulsion of up to 15 wt %. 16 20. A method according to claim 2 wherein water soluble or oil soluble coloring agents, or their combination are further added to the emulsion. 21. A method according to claim 20 wherein the coloring agents are selected from carmine, lycopene, β-carotene, lutein and xantophils. 22. Cloudy active compositions obtained by the method according to claim 1. 23. Cloudy active compositions according to claim 22 wherein the super cloud is obtained in a concentration of 20 - 30 Brix, viscosity of 100 - 500 cps, contains water soluble pectins in a concentration of 10,000 - 20,000 mg/liter and in a dilution of 1:25 has a cloud index at 560nm of 20 - 0% T. 24. Beverages prepared according to claim 3. 17

Inventors: AGMON GILAD, GARTI NISIM, PINTUS ELI, AGMON, GILAD, GARTI, NISIM, PINTUS, ELI
Applicants: ADUMIM CHEM LTD, AGMON GILAD, GARTI NISIM, PINTUS ELI, ADUMIM CHEMICALS LTD., AGMON, GILAD, GARTI, NISIM, PINTUS, ELI
Application year: 1999
Main classification: A23L2
IPC codes: A23L2