Patent Description:
Broth prepared from animals (including poultry) has high nutrition values. However, most concentrated broth compositions are not pumpable (or pourable) and may be difficult to handle and transport.

Methods for preparing pumpable broth compositions have been disclosed. See e.g., <CIT> and <CIT>. However, existing methods typically require addition of enzymes or a raw extraction step.

Document <CIT>, said <CIT>, relates to raw extraction of poultry parts to obtain a protein composition. Document <CIT> relates to a process for developing a low fat, concentrated meat broth.

The invention is defined by the method according to claim <NUM>. The instrumentalities disclosed herein overcome the problems outlined above by providing a pumpable broth composition having high percentage of solids and relatively long shelf life. In one embodiment, no enzymes are used in the disclosed process. In another embodiment, no raw extraction step is used in the disclosed process. The composition may be prepared from an animal or plant source. Examples of animal sources may include but are not limited to meat or other body parts of birds (e.g., poultry), cattle (beef), pigs (pork), among others. Examples of birds may include but are not limited to chickens or turkeys.

In one embodiment of the invention, the disclosed process for making a broth composition that is pumpable or pourable at refrigerated temperature may include (a) applying a starting composition to a filtration means, (b) allowing the starting composition to pass through the filtration means, and (c) collecting permeate that passes through the filtration means to obtain the pumpable composition. In another embodiment, the composition obtained from step (c) has at least <NUM>%, <NUM>%, <NUM>%, <NUM>%, or <NUM>% (w/w) solids. In another embodiment, the composition obtained from step (c) may be concentrated to obtain a pumpable composition that has at least <NUM>%, <NUM>%, <NUM>%, <NUM>%, or <NUM>% (w/w) solids.

In one embodiment of the invention, starting broth or extracts prepared from an animal source ("starting composition" or "starting material") are passed through a filtration means to separate the flow into permeates and retentates. According to the invention, the starting composition is be applied to a filtration means, and allowed to pass through the filtration means. Permeate that passes through said filtration means may then be collected to obtain the pumpable composition. In one aspect, the filtration means may have a pore size of about <NUM> micrometers (µm), <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> nanometers (nm), <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, or smaller. In another aspect, not being part of the invention, the filtration means may have pore size between <NUM> and <NUM>,<NUM>, between <NUM> and <NUM>, between <NUM> and <NUM>, or between <NUM> and <NUM>. In another aspect, the filtration means may have pore size between <NUM> and <NUM>.

In one aspect, the pumpable composition obtained according to the disclosed process may contain less collagen or collagen-derived proteins than the starting composition. That is, it contains less than <NUM>%, and in particular less than <NUM>%, <NUM>%, <NUM>%, or <NUM>% (w/w) of collagen. According to the invention, the starting composition (broth or extract) is not pumpable, but the permeate is pumpable at <NUM> because significant amount of collagen or collagen-derived proteins is retained by the filtration means. In another aspect, the permeate or retentate may have higher levels of certain essential amino acids (EAA)/indispensable amino acids (IAA) than the starting composition.

According to the invention, the percentage of hydroxyproline by weight of total amino acids in the pumpable composition prepared according to the claimed process is less than <NUM>%, or less than <NUM>% (w/w).

In another embodiment of the invention, the percentage of proline by weight of total amino acids in the disclosed pumpable composition is less than <NUM>%, less than <NUM>%, less than <NUM>%, or less than <NUM>% (w/w).

In another embodiment of the invention, the percentage of glycine by weight of total amino acids in the disclosed pumpable composition is less than <NUM>%, less than <NUM>%, less than <NUM>%, or less than <NUM>% (w/w).

In another embodiment of the invention, the filtration means may include are not limited to microfiltration, ultrafiltration, nanofiltration, reverse osmosis, membrane or combination thereof. In another embodiment, the filtration means may also include ion-exchange and elution, dialysis, centrifugation, or preparative gel filtration, among others.

In one aspect of the invention, this filtration means may specifically retain certain amino acids or compounds, resulting in permeate or retentate having higher concentration of these amino acids or compounds than the starting broth or extracts. In one embodiment, the amino acids or compounds that are enriched in either the permeate or retentate may include but are not limited to collagen protein, peptides such as taurine, anserine, carnosine, creatine/creatinine, L-carnitine, choline, and other specific nutrients of value.

In another embodiment of the invention, the composition prepared according to the disclosed process may have <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> or lower water activity. In one aspect, the higher solids of the disclosed pumpable broth composition may help control microbial growth and prevent spoilage of the broth products. In another aspect of the invention, the low water activity of the composition may help control microbial growth and prevent spoilage of the broth products. In one embodiment of the invention, the disclosed may be store at ambient (room) temperature for extended time, for example, for <NUM> days, <NUM> days, <NUM> days, <NUM> months, <NUM> months, or <NUM> months, without microbial contamination. In another embodiment, because of the longer shelf life, the disclosed composition may be stored and shipped without requiring refrigeration.

In one embodiment of the invention, the starting composition may be any broth (extracts) prepared from an animal source. In another embodiment of the invention, one or more enzymes may be used in the process of making the initial soluble protein compositions. In another embodiment of the invention, no extraneous enzymes are used in the process of preparing the starting composition or the final pumpable composition.

In one embodiment of the invention, salt(s) may be used in the disclosed process to help prepare the pumpable composition. In another embodiment, no salt is used in the disclosed process.

In another embodiment of the invention, the starting composition may be a suspension with insolubles that may be separated by centrifugation before the starting composition is applied to the filtration means. In another embodiment, the starting composition may be prepared from a composition in solid form (e.g., powder) and made into a liquid form before being applied to the filtration means.

The disclosed composition may be prepared from a starting material derived from an animal source. For instance, the starting material may be derived from chicken, turkey, beef, pork or other animal or poultry sources.

In one embodiment of the invention, the starting material may be prepared from raw materials. In another embodiment, the starting material may be prepared from previously cooked materials. The raw material may include but are not limited to meat, trims, bones, skin, other animal parts or combination thereof.

In another embodiment of the invention, the starting material may be in a substantially liquid form. The term "substantially liquid form" means that the starting material is mostly liquid but may contain minor amount of insoluble material.

In another embodiment of the invention, the starting material may be obtained by extracting raw mechanically separated poultry (MSP), mechanically separated chicken (MSC), or finely ground poultry pieces (such as poultry trims or ground poultry parts) with water at room temperature or lower. By way of example, the extraction may be conducted by adding water into raw MSC. The mixture can then be stirred to facilitate mixing and extracting. The ratio between the MSC and water in the extraction mixture may range from about <NUM>:<NUM> to about <NUM>:<NUM> by weight, from about <NUM>:<NUM> to about <NUM>:<NUM> by weight, or about <NUM>:<NUM> by weight. In another embodiment of the invention, the MSC and water mixture may be subject to centrifugation at the end of the extraction. The liquid phase resulting from the centrifugation may be collected and used as the starting material for preparing the pumpable broth composition of the present disclosure. In one aspect of this disclosure, the centrifugation may be performed at a speed of at least <NUM> rpm, <NUM> rpm, or at least <NUM> rpm.

The starting material may be prepared on-site and may be used for making the present composition right after it is made fresh on-site. Alternatively, the starting material may be from packaged products or may be collected off-site.

In another embodiment of the invention, the pumpable composition obtained in step (c) is further subject to a step (e) to remove sodium from the pumpable composition. In one aspect, the level of sodium may be reduced by at least <NUM>%, <NUM>%, or <NUM>% in step (e).

In another embodiment of the invention, the color of the pumpable composition obtained in step (c) is substantially lighter than the color of the starting composition. The color difference may be determined by human eyes or by an instrument, such as a spectrophotometer.

In another embodiment of the invention, the disclosed composition thus obtained may be used in numerous products. Examples of such products may include but are not limited to protein drink, smoothies, sports drink or nutritional beverages.

This disclosure relates to a process for making a high protein composition from an animal source. In one aspect, the disclosed process may be used to make a pumpable composition from a composition that is not pumpable.

The term "refrigerated (or refrigeration) temperature" refers to a temperature ranging from about <NUM> to about <NUM>, for example, <NUM>.

The term "pumpable" or pourable" refers to the state of a composition having sufficient liquidity such that the composition may be poured by decanting or it may be passed through a pump without applying significant pressure. In one embodiment, the pumpable composition (e.g., broth) has a viscosity of <NUM> Pa·s (<NUM> cP) or lower at <NUM>.

In one embodiment of the invention, there are provided methods of making a high quality protein composition from poultry. Poultry (e.g., chicken or turkey) is widely consumed in numerous applications as a healthy, nutritious food. Chicken broth is also widely used as the foundation for many classic foods including soups, stews, chowders, gravies, and sauces.

As compared to other broth products, the disclosed compositions are easier to handle and provide a better balance of proteins and amino acids than regular broth prepared according to conventional methods.

In one aspect, the disclosed process may be used to turn lower value raw poultry materials into a high value protein powder or broth without using additives.

In one embodiment of the invention, the soluble protein compositions may be used as an ingredient in food or beverage products. In another embodiment of the invention, the disclosed composition may also be used to prepare protein drinks, smoothies, or other nutritional or sport beverages.

It is to be noted that, as used in this specification and the claims, the singular forms "a," "an," and "the" include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Thus, for example, reference to "a device" may include reference to one device, as well as two or more devices, unless the context clearly limits the reference to one device.

The terms "between" and "at least" as used herein are inclusive. For example, a range of "between <NUM> and <NUM>" means any amount equal to or greater than <NUM> but equal to or smaller than <NUM>.

Frozen cooked chicken stock with <NUM>% solids was received and thawed. The stock was then diluted to <NUM>% solids, which was passed through a <NUM> nanometer ceramic membrane. The permeate was concentrated to <NUM>% (w/w) solids. The concentrate had water activity measuring at <NUM>. This permeate concentrate had high fluidity at refrigeration temperature (e.g., <NUM> C).

Amino analyses of the permeate and retentate show that hydroxyproline, proline, and glycine were much higher in the Retentate samples than in the Permeate. This result confirmed that the majority of collagen and gelatin proteins was in the Retentate fraction while the percentage of collagen (and collagen derived proteins) and gelatin proteins in the Permeate fraction was reduced. This reduction of collagen and gelatin proteins in the Permeate fraction likely contributed to the reduction in gel strength and the increase in fluidity.

Claim 1:
A method of making a pumpable composition, comprising:
(a) applying a starting composition to a filtration means, said filtration means having a pore size of <NUM> nanometers (nm) or smaller, wherein the starting composition is a broth or an extract prepared from an animal source,
(b) allowing the starting composition to pass through the filtration means, and
(c) collecting permeate that passes through said filtration means to obtain said pumpable composition having a viscosity of <NUM> Pa·s (<NUM> cP) or lower at <NUM>,
wherein the starting composition comprises collagen and is not pumpable at refrigeration temperature,
wherein the permeate from step (c) has a collagen concentration of <NUM>% (w/w) or lower, being less collagen than in the starting composition, and is pumpable at a refrigeration temperature being a temperature of <NUM>,
wherein hydroxyproline constitutes less than <NUM>% (w/w) of total amino acids in said composition obtained in step (c), and
wherein said pumpable composition obtained in step (c) has at least <NUM>% (w/w) solids.