Patent Description:
The use of clouding systems to provide cloudy beverages, such as orange-or lemon-flavored drinks, is well known to the art. These clouding systems typically consist of aqueous suspensions of solid particles or oil-in-water emulsions which are stabilized by colloidal stabilizing agents, such as surfactants and hydrocolloids. The cloudiness stems from the visible light scattering induced by the plurality of solid particles or oil droplets present in the system, as dispersed material. When diluted in a beverage, the clouding system confers the beverage a cloudy appearance.

In order to perform effectively, the clouding system must fulfill a certain number of conditions, such as particle or droplet size and difference of refractive index between the dispersed material and the beverage.

Solid materials that are considered as particularly useful in this context include titanium oxide, insoluble fruit fibers, and waxes. Liquid materials include vegetable oils, more particularly medium chain triglycerides, and essential oils. Flavor emulsions that usually combine oil-soluble flavor ingredients, vegetable oils, essential oils and, optionally, weighting agents may also serve as clouding systems.

<CIT> discloses natural clouding systems for beverage applications comprising coconut, palm or canola oil and an emulsifier selected from gum Arabic or pectin. The systems furthermore comprise glycerin and/or ethanol as preservative. The examples in <CIT> show that the oil level in the clouding system is limited to <NUM> wt. Moreover, this document does not provide any information neither about the nature of the pectin used nor about the quality of the cloudiness obtained with such systems.

<CIT> teaches a food product including different pectins (namely a gelling pectin and an emulsifying pectin), whereby the emulsifying pectin is a sugar beet pectin, and an humectant keeping the product humid.

<CIT> discloses a composition comprising water, oil, sugar beet pectin and citrus pectin. It is made by mixing an oil phase with an aqueous phase comprising pectin. The concentration of the composition in a beverage my be <NUM>%.

<CIT> relates to a food or beverage, comprising a composition containing pectins from sugar beet and other sources, oil and water.

<CIT> teaches a composition comprising water, oil, and pectin, whereby the pectin is preferably one derived from sugar beet and other plants. The composition is made by mixing the water and the oil phase.

<CIT> describes a milk beverage comprising pectin, whereby the pectin is obtained from various plants, including sugar beet. Further fats may be added.

Hence, there remains a need for clouding systems that do not suffer from the drawbacks mentioned hereinabove.

In a first aspect, an emulsion is provided as defined in claim <NUM>.

In particular embodiments of the present disclosure, the emulsion comprises at least one oil product selected from:.

In particular embodiments of the present disclosure, the at least one other pectin is a citrus pectin.

In particular embodiments, the citrus pectin has a viscosity of <NUM> to <NUM> mPas, when dissolved at a level of <NUM> wt. -% in deionized water and measured at <NUM> by using a Brookfield LVDV <NUM> instrument equipped with a Spindel <NUM>, rotating at a speed of <NUM> rpm, and a degree of esterification of from <NUM> to <NUM>%, more particularly from <NUM> to <NUM>%.

In particular embodiments, the composition comprises, based on the total weight of the composition:.

In particular embodiments, the composition additionally comprises at least one benefit agent selected from the group consisting of at least one flavor ingredient, vitamins, carotenoids, and antioxidants.

In particular embodiments, the composition additionally comprises at least one preservative.

In particular embodiments, the oil phase is dispersed in the aqueous phase in the form of droplets, forming thereby an oil-in-water emulsion.

In particular embodiments, the oil droplets have a volume-median diameter D(<NUM>) of from <NUM> to <NUM>, more particularly from <NUM> to <NUM>.

In particular embodiments, the composition additionally comprises a weighting agent, wherein the weighting agent is selected from the group consisting of sucrose esters, such as sucrose acetate isobutyrate (SAIB), polyol fatty acid esters, polyol benzoates, dammar gum, rosin gums, and ester gums, and wherein the level of the weighting agent is up to <NUM>% based on the total amount of oil phase contained in the composition.

In particular embodiments, the composition has a pH of <NUM>, more particularly <NUM> or less, still more particularly <NUM> or less.

In a second aspect, the present disclosure provides a method to obtain the emulsion, the method being defined in claim <NUM>.

The embodiments set forth in the drawing are illustrative in nature and not intended to limit the invention defined by the claims. The following detailed description of the illustrative embodiments can be understood when read in conjunction with the following drawing, where like structure is indicated with like reference numerals and in which:.

The applicant has discovered that by combining pectin from different plants, more particularly by combining sugar beet pectin with at least one other pectin obtained from a plant that is different from sugar beet, a composition could be obtained that forms stable emulsions, without requiring any additional surfactant or emulsifier.

By "stable emulsion" is meant an emulsion that does not phase separate over a prolonged period of time when submitted to storage test conditions, such as three months at <NUM> and at <NUM>. The terms "emulsion" and "emulsified composition" are considered as equivalent in the context of this disclosure.

More particularly, the applicant has discovered that the emulsions obtained comprise oil droplets, the diameter of which can be controlled by controlling the weight ratio of sugar beet pectin to the at least one other pectin, providing thereby an optimal balance between emulsion stability and cloudiness, and making such emulsions particularly suitable as emulsions and clouding systems for food and beverage products. This was not anticipated by the state of the art.

This surprising discovery is illustrated by the oil droplet diameter distribution shown in <FIG>. In particular, <FIG> shows that the droplet diameter distribution obtained with sugar beet pectin alone is in the lower diameter range of the graph. The corresponding emulsion is stable, but less efficient with respect to clouding. Conversely, the droplet diameter distribution obtained with citrus pectin alone is located in the upper diameter range of the graph, meaning the emulsion obtained may provide efficient clouding, but is not stable enough with respect to phase separation, for example by creaming. However, mixing both pectins result in a droplet diameter distribution that offers the best compromise in terms of stability and clouding efficiency.

By "cloudiness" is meant the property of a medium to refract, scatter or diffuse light, in such a way that this medium appears turbid to the human eye. Cloudiness may, interchangeably, be measured by performing a turbidity measurement or a transparency measurement. Turbidity may be interpreted as the reciprocal of transparency. The highest the transparency, the lowest the turbidity is. The transparency is measured by assessing the maximal distance in the liquid at which some pattern may be identified by the human eye. Typically, a series of characters, for example a word, having a defined size and font, is written on a white surface and the surface is placed under a glass cylinder graduated in millimeter (mm). The cylinder is filled with the cloudy liquid until the character or the word cannot be identified or read by the human eye. Alternatively, a printed pattern, for example a black and white pattern can be used. The distance between the meniscus of the liquid and the written pattern is taken as a measurement of the transparency limit, expressed in mm. The higher the transparency limit is, the lower the cloudiness. For instance, the cylinder may be a <NUM> graduated cylinder having <NUM> diameter. In the present disclosure, transparency will be used.

By "cloudy food or beverage product" is meant a product that scatters the light in such a way that the human eye cannot see through it, unless the thickness of the product is below the transparency limit defined hereinabove.

In one aspect, the invention provides an emulsion as defined in claim <NUM>.

The oil phase comprises components that are essentially soluble in oil and the aqueous phase comprises components that are essentially soluble in water.

By "essentially soluble in the oil phase" is meant that, typically, more than <NUM> wt. -% of these essentially oil-soluble components are forming an oil phase. Similarly, by "essentially soluble in water", is meant that, typically, more than <NUM> wt. -% of these essentially water-insoluble components are forming an aqueous phase.

The aqueous phase also comprises the pectins.

In preferred embodiments, the oil phase comprises oil products derived from natural resources. More particularly, the oil products have a refractive index that is different from the refractive index of water (n = <NUM>), wherein the refractive index, represented by symbol n, is the velocity of light in vacuum divided by the velocity of light in a medium, the wavelength of the light being equal to <NUM> nanometers. Typically, the refractive index of the oil phase is from <NUM> to <NUM> at <NUM>. A difference of refractive index between the oil phase and the aqueous phase is one of the factors that enhance the cloudiness of the emulsion.

In preferred embodiments, the oil phase comprises at least one oil product selected from:.

Pectins typically consist of linear main chains comprising β-<NUM>,<NUM>-linked galacturonic acid and rhamnose units, with side-chains (branches) comprising neutral sugars, more particularly galactose and arabinose. Part of the carboxylic groups of galacturonic acid may be in the form of methyl ester, while part of the hydroxyl groups present on the pectin macromolecule may be acetylated.

Sugar beet pectins are characterized by high protein content in comparison to pectins from other sources. Additionally, in sugar beet pectin some side chain arabinose and galactose can be esterified with ferulic acid. Without being bound by any theory, it may be expected that these characteristics are responsible for the emulsifying activity of sugar beet pectin.

The at least one other pectin that is combined with sugar beet pectin may be selected from the group consisting of citrus pectins and apple pectins, more particularly apple pomace pectins, sunflower seed and mango waste.

In particular embodiments, the at least one other pectin is a citrus pectin.

Citrus pectins that are particularly advantageous for the sake of the present disclosure have a high degree of esterification, are substantially not amidated and have a low viscosity. More particularly, the degree of esterification is higher than <NUM> %, more particularly higher than <NUM> %, still more particularly from <NUM> % to <NUM>%.

The viscosity may be measured by any method known to the art, provided this method can measure the viscosity at the appropriate shear rate.

In particular embodiments of the present disclosure, the weight ratio of the sugar beet pectin to the citrus pectin is from <NUM> to <NUM>, more particularly from <NUM> to <NUM>, still more particularly from <NUM> to <NUM>. If this ratio is too low or too high, then the emulsified composition may not be stable and phase separate over time.

In particular embodiments, the emulsion comprises, based on the total
weight of the composition:.

If the level of pectins is too high, the viscosity may increase during emulsification at such an extent that the emulsion may not be further processed. On the other hand, if the oil phase to pectin weight ratio is too high, then the level of pectin may not be sufficient to effectively stabilize the emulsion.

In particular embodiments of the present disclosure, the emulsion additionally comprises at least one benefit agent selected from the group consisting of flavor ingredients, vitamins, carotenoids, and antioxidants.

In particular embodiments of the present disclosure the at least one benefit agent is at least one flavor ingredient selected from the group consisting of <NUM>,<NUM>-diethoxyethane; <NUM>-hydroxybutan-<NUM>-one; <NUM>-phenylethanone; (Z)-oxacycloheptadec-<NUM>-en-<NUM>-one; benzaldehyde; <NUM>-methylpropyl acetate; <NUM>-methylpropyl <NUM>-methylbutanoate; butanal; butyric acid; <NUM>-methylpropanoic acid; <NUM>-methyl-<NUM>-prop-<NUM>-en-<NUM>-ylcyclohex-<NUM>-en-<NUM>-ol; (2E)-<NUM>-phenylprop-<NUM>-enal; cinnamon oil leaf; (E)-<NUM>,<NUM>-dimethylocta-<NUM>,<NUM>-dienal; <NUM>,<NUM>-dimethyloct-<NUM>-enal; <NUM>,<NUM>-dimethyloct-<NUM>-en-<NUM>-ol; (E)-<NUM>-(<NUM>,<NUM>,<NUM>-trimethylcyclohexa-<NUM>,<NUM>-dien-<NUM>-yl)but-<NUM>-en-<NUM>-one; <NUM>-pentyltetrahydro-<NUM>-pyran-<NUM>-one; <NUM>-hexyloxolan-<NUM>-one; decanal; chroman-<NUM>-one; methyl <NUM>-(methylamino)benzoate; dimethyl sulfide; oxydibenzene; <NUM>-methyl-<NUM>-prop-<NUM>-en-<NUM>-ylcyclohexene; <NUM>-octyloxolan-<NUM>-one; ethyl acetate; ethyl butanoate; ethyl <NUM>-methylpropionate; ethyl <NUM>-phenylprop-<NUM>-enoate; ethyl decanoate; <NUM>-ethyl-<NUM>,<NUM>,<NUM>-trimethylbicyclo[<NUM>. <NUM>]heptan-<NUM>-ol; ethyl formate; ethyl heptanoate; ethyl hexanoate; ethyl <NUM>-hydroxybutanoate; ethyl <NUM>-hydroxyhexanoate; ethyl <NUM>-methylbutanoate; ethyl octanoate; ethyl <NUM>-methylbutanoate; ethyl propionate; <NUM>-ethylphenol ; pent-<NUM>-en-<NUM>-one; <NUM>-methyl-<NUM>-propan-<NUM>-ylcyclohexa-<NUM>,<NUM>-diene; <NUM>,<NUM>-dimethyl-<NUM>-methylidenedodeca-<NUM>,<NUM>,<NUM>-triene; <NUM>-ethyl-<NUM>-hydroxy-<NUM>-methylfuran-<NUM>-one; (E)-<NUM>,<NUM>-dimethylocta-<NUM>,<NUM>-dien-<NUM>-ol; (E)-<NUM>,<NUM>-dimethylocta-<NUM>,<NUM>-dien-<NUM>-yl acetate; hexanal; hexanoic acid; E-hex-<NUM>-enal; (Z)-hex-<NUM>-en-<NUM>-ol; (Z)-hex-<NUM>-en-<NUM>-yl acetate; (E)-<NUM>-(<NUM>,<NUM>,<NUM>-trimethyl-<NUM>-cyclohex-<NUM>-enyl)but-<NUM>-en-<NUM>-one; (E)-<NUM>-(<NUM>,<NUM>,<NUM>-trimethylcyclohex-<NUM>-en-<NUM>-yl)but-<NUM>-en-<NUM>-one; <NUM>,<NUM>-dimethylocta-<NUM>,<NUM>-dien-<NUM>-ol; <NUM>,<NUM>-dimethylocta-<NUM>,<NUM>-dien-<NUM>-yl acetate; <NUM>-hydroxy-<NUM>-methyl-<NUM>-pyran-<NUM>-one; mandarin oil; <NUM>-methyl-<NUM>-sulfanyl pentan- <NUM>-one; <NUM>-(<NUM>-methylcyclohex-<NUM>-en-<NUM>-yl)propane-<NUM>-thiol; mercapto-para-menthan-<NUM>-one; methyl acetate; methyl <NUM>-aminobenzoate; <NUM>-methyl-butanoic acid; methyl <NUM>-phenylprop-<NUM>-enoate; methyl <NUM>-oxo-<NUM>-pentylcyclopentaneacetate; <NUM>-methylfuran-<NUM>-carbaldehyde; <NUM>-methyl-<NUM>-methyleneocta-<NUM>,<NUM>-diene; (Z)-<NUM>,<NUM>-dimethylocta-<NUM>,<NUM>-dien-<NUM>-yl acetate; <NUM>-pentyloxolan-<NUM>-one; nonanal; <NUM>,4a-dimethyl-<NUM>-(prop-<NUM>-en-<NUM>-yl)-<NUM>,4a,<NUM>,<NUM>,<NUM>,<NUM>-hexahydronaphthalen-<NUM>(<NUM>)-one; <NUM>-butyloxolan-<NUM>-one; octanal; octanoic acid; orris concrete; osmanthus absolute; <NUM>,<NUM>-pentanedione; <NUM>-methylbutyl acetate; <NUM>-methylbutyl <NUM>-methylbutanoate; propyl acetate; rose oil; (2E,6E,9E)-<NUM>,<NUM>,<NUM>-trimethyldodeca-<NUM>,<NUM>,<NUM>,<NUM>-tetraenal; (2E,6E)-<NUM>,<NUM>-dimethyl-<NUM>-methylidenedodeca-<NUM>,<NUM>,<NUM>-trienal; tarragon oil; <NUM>-methyl-<NUM>-propan-<NUM>-ylcyclohex-<NUM>-en-<NUM>-ol; <NUM>-methyl-<NUM>-propan-<NUM>-ylcyclohexa-<NUM>,<NUM>-diene; <NUM>-(<NUM>-methyl-<NUM>-cyclohex-<NUM>-enyl)propan-<NUM>-ol; <NUM>-methyl-<NUM>-(propan-<NUM>-ylidene)cyclohex-<NUM>-ene; <NUM>-(<NUM>-methylcyclohex-<NUM>-en-<NUM>-yl)propan-<NUM>-yl acetate; 4a,<NUM>-dimethyl-<NUM>-prop-<NUM>-en-<NUM>-yl-<NUM>,<NUM>,<NUM>,<NUM>,<NUM>,<NUM>-hexahydro-<NUM>-naphthalene; <NUM>-hydroxy-<NUM>-methoxybenzaldehyde; and mixture thereof. Without being bound by any theory, it may be expected that, under such conditions, the flavor ingredients will partition between the oil phase and the polar phase of the composition, depending on their polarity.

In particular embodiments of the present disclosure, the vitamins, carotenoids, and antioxidants that are suitable in the context of the present disclosure may be selected from the group consisting of retinol, retinyl acetate or retinyl palmitate, tocotrienols and tocopherol, vitamin D2 (ergocalciferol) and D3 (cholecalciferol), vitamin K, astaxanthin, lutein, lutein esters, fucoxanthin, curcuminoids, such as curcumin, demethoxycurcumin (DMC), and bisdemethoxycurcumin (BDMC), capsaicins, such as capsaicin, dihydrocapsaicin, and nordihydrocapsaicin, beta-carotene, lycopene, zeaxanthin, phytosterols, vinpocetine, resveratrol, epigallocatechin-gallate (EGCE), quercetin, ubiquinol and ubiquinone, omega-<NUM> (DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) and EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid)).

The vitamins, carotenoids, and antioxidants may be used in pure form or in the form of an oleoresin, an extract or a powder. The concentration of the pure colorant and nutraceutical agent in oleoresins, extracts and powders may be less than <NUM> wt. -%, for example <NUM> wt. -%, <NUM> wt. -%, <NUM> wt. -%, <NUM> wt. -% or <NUM> wt.

In particular embodiments, the extract comprising the benefit agent is in the form of a solution in ethanol, methanol, vegetable oil or in a mixture of ethanol and/or methanol and/or vegetable oil and water. The extract may optionally be dried to remove any excess solvent.

In a particular embodiment of the present disclosure, the level of the pure vitamins, carotenoids, and antioxidants is from <NUM> wt. -% to <NUM> wt. -%, in another embodiment from <NUM> to <NUM> wt. -%, in yet another embodiment from <NUM> to <NUM> wt. -%, based on the total weight of the composition.

In particular embodiments of the present disclosure, the composition additionally comprises at least one preservative.

Preservatives that are suitable for the sake of the present disclosure include sorbates and benzoates, more particularly potassium sorbate and sodium benzoate.

In particular embodiments of the present disclosure, the oil phase is dispersed in the aqueous phase in the form of droplets, forming thereby an oil-in-water emulsion. Such oil-in-water emulsion has the advantage of being easy to disperse in aqueous products, such as beverage products.

In particular embodiments, the oil droplets have a volume-median diameter D(<NUM>)of from <NUM> to <NUM>, more particularly from <NUM> to <NUM>.

The static light scattering method used for measuring volume median diameter D(<NUM>) of the oil droplets involves laser diffraction particle size analysis and the Mie scattering theory. The principle of the Mie theory and how static light scattering can be used to measure the mean and median diameters of a plurality of particles having a distribution of sizes can be found, for example in <NPL>. The volume median diameter D(<NUM>) may be calculated by using the software provided with the light scattering measurement apparatus.

Typically, the droplet size distribution is comprised within the <NUM> to <NUM> range.

In particular embodiments, the emulsion additionally comprises a weighting agent, wherein the weighting agent is selected from the group consisting of sucrose esters, such as saccharose acetate isobutyrate (SAIB), polyol fatty acid esters, polyol benzoates, dammar gum, rosin gums, and ester gums, and wherein the level of the weighting agent is up to <NUM> wt. -% based on the total amount of oil phase contained in the composition. The weighting agent prevents dispersed oil phases that have a lower density than the polar continuous phase from phase separating by creaming.

The pH of the aqueous phase comprising the dissolved pectin may be intrinsically acidic. If necessary, the pH is lowered by adding citric acid, malic acid, acetic acid, ascorbic acid, lactic acid, tartaric acid, phosphoric acid, or a mixture thereof. An acidic pH is advantageous with respect to microbiological stability and pectin functionality and viscosity stability.

In particular embodiments of the present disclosure, the emulsion has a pH of <NUM> or less, more particularly <NUM> or less, still more particularly <NUM> or less.

In one embodiment, the present disclosure provides a method to obtain the emulsion, the method being defined in claim <NUM>.

There now follows a series of examples that are provided solely for the purpose of illustration and are not intended to be limiting.

This example is to illustrate a range of pectins and pectin combinations providing stable and unstable cloudy beverage.

Emulsified compositions <NUM> to <NUM> were obtained by performing, for each of them, the steps of:.

In the above compositions <NUM> to <NUM>, composition <NUM> was according to the present invention, whereas compositions <NUM> to <NUM> were comparative compositions.

Further emulsified compositions <NUM> to <NUM> were obtained by performing, for each of them, the steps of:.

In the above compositions <NUM> to <NUM>, compositions <NUM> and <NUM> were comparative compositions, whereas all other compositions were according to the present invention. Both grapefruit and lemon oil also comprised flavor ingredients.

In compositions <NUM> to <NUM> different types of pectin as single emulsifier were tested. Only composition <NUM> had sufficiently small droplets to ensure stability over time. Surprisingly, composition <NUM>, in which sugar beet pectin was combined with citrus pectin, formed stable emulsions as well. The droplet diameter distribution density on a logarithmic abscissa of trials <NUM> (SBP), <NUM> (CP) and <NUM> (SBP+CP) are shown on <FIG>.

The composition <NUM> with <NUM> wt. -% sugar beet pectin with <NUM> wt. -% oil was not stable, meaning that the droplet size distribution was shifted to larger diameters over time but all other compositions with <NUM> wt. -% oil and minimum <NUM> wt. -% sugar beet pectin provided long term stability.

This example is to illustrate beverages and their relevant characteristics.

Beverages containing respectively <NUM> ppm of orange oil (compositions <NUM> to <NUM>), <NUM> ppm of a combination of orange and lemon oils (composition <NUM>) and <NUM> ppm grapefruit oil (composition <NUM>) were produced with above listed emulsified compositions. The stability of the beverages as well as their transparency was assessed.

Beverages produced with compositions <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, and <NUM> showed instabilities like creaming after a short period of time. Beverages produced with compositions <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> did not show any signs of instability.

In <FIG>, the transparency of beverages measured <NUM> day after production showed that the addition of citrus pectin <NUM> decreased the transparency of the beverages (compositions <NUM> and <NUM>).

In a trial in which beverage transparency was repeatedly measured over <NUM> days (<FIG>), a beverage containing a composition with sugar beet pectin as single emulsifier (composition <NUM>) were not stable: their transparency increased over time. Composition <NUM> showed a lower transparency than composition <NUM>, but some phase separation (ringing) was observed. A beverage comprising composition <NUM>, containing a combination of different pectins, had also a lower transparency than composition <NUM> and was stable over <NUM> days.

On the other hand, beverages comprising compositions <NUM> to <NUM> confirm that increasing the citrus pectin to sugar beet pectin weight ratio decreases the transparency of the beverage.

Claim 1:
An emulsion for a food or beverage product comprising:
a) an oil phase; and
b) an aqueous phase comprising sugar beet pectin and at least one other pectin, wherein the other pectin is obtained from a plant that is different from sugar beet; and wherein the oil phase is dispersed in the aqueous phase in the form of droplets having a volume median diameter of from <NUM> to <NUM>, more particularly from <NUM> to <NUM>.