JPH03259999A - Manufacture of low-cholesterol animal fat by short distillation - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To efficiently obtain a low cholesterol animal fat by mixing an auxiliary agent such as a monoglyceride to an anhydrous animal fat and subjecting the resulting mixture to fractional distillation under a short-circuit distillation condition to fractionate the same into a cholesterol rich fraction and a cholesterol lowered fraction.

CONSTITUTION: An accompanied auxiliary agent (B) selected from monoglyceride, diglyceride and a mixture thereof is mixed with an anhydrous animal fat (e.g. butter fat) (A). A proper mixing ratio of the component B is about 1-15 wt.% of the component A. Subsequently, the mixture is fractionally distilled under a short-circuit distillation condition to form a cholesterol rich fraction and a cholesteroal lowered fraction. By separately recovering the cholesterol lowered fraction, low cholesterol animal fat pref. from an aspect of health is obtained.

COPYRIGHT: (C)1991,JPO

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to entrainment enhancing compositions.
short path distillation combined with the use of
The present invention relates to a method for producing low-cholesterol animal fat using a stilling process. The invention also relates to low cholesterol animal fats produced by this method.

2. Description of Related Art Products derived from animal sources are a common source of food products destined for human consumption. Food products derived from animal sources include those that are readily recognizable as being of animal origin, such as eggs and cuts of meat, and other products that are less easily identified as being of animal origin, such as ice cream.

However, some consumers are becoming hesitant to utilize products containing animal fats. This hesitation stems in part from the knowledge that all animal fats contain cholesterol. Recently, it has become clear that too much cholesterol is undesirable for human health and may even be dangerous.

Milk fat containing foods are well known to consumers as a category of typical high cholesterol foods. Consumers appreciate the different organoleptic properties of milk fat. For example, butter is highly valued for its properties as a condiment. However, milk fat contains cholesterol. The popularity of frozen dessert products with a low fat content (less than the fat content of ice cream), such as tofu, frozen low-fat yogurt, and ice cream, has led to changes in consumer tastes, with animal fats becoming an important part of their nutritional value. This shows that people are moving away from foods that are This change is undoubtedly due, at least in part, to the negative effects of ingested cholesterol on human health.

The desirability of reducing the cholesterol content of animal fats, including milk fat, has become recognized. However, known methods have not proven to be very satisfactory since the organoleptic properties of the products typically differ considerably from those of natural products. For example, mouthfeel, melting point or color can be significantly altered by cholesterol removal methods.

A satisfactory cholesterol removal process is one that maximizes the removal of cholesterol while minimizing changes in the properties of the cholesterol-containing product to produce a low-cholesterol product that is indistinguishable from the fresh natural product. That would be preferable.

However, known cholesterol removal methods considerably alter the product or organoleptic properties.

Several known methods of deodorizing and stabilizing oils remove sterols from oils, as described in US Pat. No. 2,613,215. This patent specification states that from oil “
A method is disclosed for removing "non-saponifiable substances" along with free fatty acids. The non-saponifiable substances are partially hydrogenated and then removed by high-temperature fractionation using a liquefied normally gaseous hydrocarbon solvent. The patent specification also discloses that polar solvents can be used to separate non-saponifiable substances that are soluble in the solvent from the main portion of the oil that is substantially immiscible in the polar solvent. The treated oil is further described in U.S. Pat.
．． 351.832, 20% in oil.
It is essentially "deodorized" by injecting water vapor at a temperature above 250° C. at a pressure below mmHg.

As taught in this patent, deodorization treatments are unsatisfactory for removing cholesterol from animal fats. This is because under these conditions very little cholesterol is removed.

Fractionation of fat typically involves obtaining separate component parts so that the various component parts can be selectively recombined to produce a product with previously selected properties. It has been used for. For example, U.S. Patent No. 4.005.
The solvent-assisted fractionation process disclosed in No. 228 is used to separate butter into its two parts according to their melting points, ie, below 0°C, between 0 and 20°C, and above 20°C. The high and low melting point fractions are combined to make a dairy spread.

Supercritical extraction has also been used to modify various foods, including butter, as described in US Pat. No. 4,504,503. However, one drawback of this method is that the conditions typically involve temperature and pressure extremes that keep the solvent in the supercritical region. Therefore, the equipment required is expensive. For example, in this patent the preferred temperature range is 40-250°C, while the preferred pressure range is 100-400 bar.

US Pat. No. 1,559,064 discloses the use of molecular distillation to lower the cholesterol content of fat-containing materials. After defoaming, the anhydrous fat is subjected to molecular distillation at a pressure of less than 0.005 Torr to remove the non-saponifiable fraction containing the sterols. An aqueous medium having a viscosity of 2.000 to 20.000 cp, measured at a temperature of 20 to 30°C, is mixed into the processed fat at a temperature of 15 to 45°C.

This mixing produces a water-in-oil emulsion corresponding to a butter- or margarine-type product.

US Patent No. 2.613.215 and European Patent No. 017
No. 4848 A2 both teach that cholesterol can be removed from fat by contacting the fat with a solid adsorbent or adsorbent material. Silica gel and activated carbon are used as examples of suitable adsorbent materials.

Agric, Biol, Chcm, 50.12
09 (1986)
ikura) “Modifications of Butter Oil by Extraction with Supercritical Carbon Dioxide”
Butter Oil by Extractionw
ith 5supercritical Carbon
``Dioxide'' describes that supercritical fluid extraction using carbon dioxide is useful for fractionating triglycerides in butter oil by carbon number, but that this method does not separate cholesterol from triglycerides.Instead, butter oil is was contacted with supercritical carbon dioxide in a silicate column.However, this supercritical chromatography method not only did not lower cholesterol levels, but also affected the distribution of triglycerides. , which is unsatisfactory because it affects the composition and coatability.

One object of the present invention is to provide a method for producing low cholesterol animal fat by short path distillation.

Another method of the present invention is to provide a method for producing low cholesterol animal fats by using short path distillation in combination with an entrainment enhancing composition.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a method for producing low cholesterol animal fats by using short path distillation in combination with an entrainment enhancing composition that is a component of the animal fat.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide low cholesterol products of these methods.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance with the above and other objects, the present invention relates to a method for producing low cholesterol animal fats.

The anhydrous liquid animal fat is subjected to a short path distillation process.

In this short path distillation process, the composition and organoleptic properties are substantially similar to natural animal fats.
The entrainment-enhancing composition is used to obtain a low-cholesterol animal fat material with specific characteristics. In particular, the present invention relates to a method of producing low cholesterol butterfat.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention utilizes a short path distillation process based on the discovery that cholesterol can be removed from animal fats without prolonged exposure to high temperatures and without the use of solvents. In this short-path distillation process, low-cholesterol animal fats are obtained that have essentially the same composition and organoleptic properties as natural animal fats and retain essentially all of the color pigments naturally present. An entrainment-enhancing composition is used for this purpose. Thus, the color of the low cholesterol butterfat product is essentially the same as that of unprocessed butter. It has also been discovered that entrainment enhancing compositions can be prepared by partially hydrolyzing a portion of the animal fat being processed.

In the practice of this invention, typically at least about 50% of the cholesterol is extracted. Preferably, at least about 60%, more preferably at least about 70% of the cholesterol naturally present is removed. However, any level of removal may be selected by the person practicing the invention. Over 90% cholesterol reduction has been achieved by practicing the present invention.

Any anhydrous animal fat containing cholesterol can be suitably processed in the method of the present invention. For convenience, the invention will be described with reference to butterfat. However, the scope of the invention is not limited to butterfat.

Anhydrous butterfat may be obtained from butter by any known method. Butter is typically made by churning milk to break up the milk fat droplet film,
It is obtained by preparing an emulsion consisting of fat and aqueous components.

Butter can be dehydrated by heating to about 70°C (158°F) and centrifuging. Other dehydration methods known to those skilled in the art are also acceptable.

Anhydrous butterfat contains an aqueous component, typically about 0.5
% by volume, preferably less than about 0.2% by volume, more preferably less than about 0.1% by volume.

According to the method of the invention, cholesterol is removed from anhydrous butterfat under short path distillation conditions. As those skilled in the art will appreciate, short path distillation includes distillation operated under high vacuum in equipment where the steam path is unobstructed. As defined herein, short path distillation conditions are conditions suitable for molecular distillation, i.e., a high Includes vacuum. Additional details can be found in Berry's Chemical Engineering Handbook
(Pcriy's Chemical Engine
eringHandbook), 4th edition, No. 17-2
It can be found on pages 9-17-33.

Any short path distillation apparatus is conveniently used in the process of the present invention. Known equipment includes falling film stills, falling film stills, commercial short path distillers, and centrifugal rotating disk evaporators.

Suitable stills are those described in Berry's Handbook of Chemical Engineering, supra.

As described herein, a short path distillation apparatus is used in the method of the invention to separate cholesterol from the remainder of the fat. Cholesterol evaporates, while the remainder of the fat is essentially non-vaporizable. Therefore, a cholesterol-rich fraction is separately recovered by condensing the vaporized molecules and recovering the condensate separately from the remainder remaining in the evaporator, ie, the non-vaporized portion.

Short path distillation apparatus are particularly suitable for use in the process of the invention. One example of a short path distillation apparatus is the "KD" series short path distillation apparatus commercially available from Leybold-Heraeus Gmbtl. Conditions under which short path distillation is achieved are particularly suited for use in the present invention. The temperature to which fat is exposed is relatively low, and the exposure time is also relatively short. Furthermore, this distillation is carried out under very low pressure. The pressure is typically between about 0.001 and 0.000.
1 Torr, preferably about 0.005 to 0.05 Torr, more preferably about 0.01 to 0.03 Torr. These operating conditions therefore allow separation to proceed while minimizing exposure of the product to deleterious conditions.

It has been discovered that the presence of fat hydrolysis needles increases the cholesterol removal efficiency of distillation. These hydrolyzed components act as entrainment aids, ie they assist in the liberation of cholesterol from the desired fatty fraction during fractional distillation. Typically, the entrainment aid is a substance that boils below the boiling temperature of the substance being removed and has some interaction with that substance. Thus, the substance to be removed may form a complex with the entrainment aid, be soluble in the entrainment aid, or otherwise interact with the entrainment aid.

The relationship between the substance being removed and the entrainment aid provides an opportunity to separate the substance from other components under conditions that are more favorable than would be required without the aid, or to achieve better separation. yield, thus reflecting less loss of desired products, improved material removal, or other benefits.

Hydrolysed fractions of fat useful in this capacity are mono- and di-glycerides. The sources of these ingredients are not critical to the practice of this invention. These components may thus be added to the fat prior to distillation or may be generated in situ by partial hydrolysis prior to distillation.

Conditions that can cause such partial hydrolysis are known in the industry.

Hydrolyzed fats can be produced by hydrolysis of less expensive fats from different fat sources than the fats treated in the present invention. If fat sources other than the processed fat are used to obtain these hydrolyzed components, care must be taken to ensure that these components do not impart foreign or undesirable odors or aromas. The use of hydrolysed fats to be treated eliminates the possibility of introducing undesirable odors or aromas.

The amount of hydrolyzed fat containing the monoglyceride or diglyceride entrainment auxiliary agent or at least one of these auxiliaries used in the process of the invention is determined inter alia by the cost, the effect on the organoleptic properties of the entrainment auxiliary agent, the variety of the entrainment agent. and the concentration of entrainment aid in the hydrolyzed fat used.

Up to about 20% by weight, preferably about 1-15% by weight, more preferably about 2-10% by weight of entrainment aids are added to the fat being processed.

Monoglycerides are preferred entrainment aids. Approximately 12-2
Both saturated and unsaturated monoglycerides with 0 carbon atoms are preferred when the animal fat treated is butterfat. Monostearin, an 18-carbon saturated fatty acid monoglyceride, is a particularly preferred entrainment aid for processing butterfat.

A portion of the processed fat can be separately hydrolyzed to produce components containing monoglycerides, diglycerides, or mixtures thereof. This component is then reintroduced into the processed fat to provide an effective amount of entrainment aid.

The hydrolyzed fat component is prepared by incorporating lipase in an amount sufficient to provide the desired concentration of glyceride entrainment agent in the component. Those skilled in the art can determine the required amount of lipase according to the guidelines provided herein.

Those skilled in the art will also appreciate that pancreatic lipase is preferred over calf esophageal lipase. Whereas the former lipase mainly produces monoglycerides,
This is because the latter lipase mainly produces diglycerides. As mentioned above, monoglycerides are the preferred entrainment aids. Any fat source may be used, although it is preferred that a portion of the fat treated according to the method of the invention be hydrolyzed. Similarly, any source of lipase can be used. For example, fungal, microbial and animal (eg calf esophagus) lipases are satisfactory. Of course, care must be taken to avoid contamination with organoleptically foreign properties.

The hydrolysed fat component can be further treated, eg deodorized, before it is mixed with the fat to be treated according to the method of the invention. Deodorization is a process known to those skilled in the art. A small amount of steam is passed through the hydrolyzed fat component, or the component is subjected to molecular distillation at a temperature of about 150° C. to remove relatively volatile compounds, ie, those that would render the product of unacceptable quality.

As mentioned above, the amount of entrainment aid added is typically up to about 20% by weight of the fat being processed, preferably about 1 to 1%.
5% by weight, more preferably about 2-10% by weight. Entrainment aids are present in the hydrolyzed fat component in varying concentrations.

The amount of hydrolyzed fat component used therefore depends not only on the desired amount of entrainment aid, but also on the concentration of entrainment aid in the hydrolyzed fat component.

The concentration of entrainment aids, ie mono- and di-glycerides, in the hydrolyzed fat component can be determined by known methods. For example, all the methods described in the following documents can be used: A OA C method, 133. “Official Methods of Analysis”
”, 13th edition,
Association of Official Analytical Chemistry
(Analytical Chemists)
(1980) ;・Finlin
), Journal of the American Oil Chemistry Society (J, Am, Oil Chemi.
sts' 5ociety), 35.325 (19
58).

・Ravin, Journal of American Oil Chemistry Society, 34°261
(1957); and Riison, Journal of
American Oil Chemistry Society, 55
゜649 (1978).

The animal fat is prepared according to the method of the invention by mixing the fat with an entrainment aid, fractionally distilling the mixture under short path distillation conditions, and separating the cholesterol-rich fraction and the cholesterol-depleted fraction separately. It is processed by collecting the waste. The cholesterol-lowering fraction is the desired product. The cholesterol-rich fraction may be discarded or may be further processed to recover the cholesterol or monoglyceride fraction.

In distillation processes, the number of stages and the temperature difference between stages is a matter of economic choice. Preferably, about 1-3 stages, more preferably about 1-2 stages, and a temperature of about 170-2300C are used. Temperatures below about 170°C result in minimal cholesterol removal, while temperatures above about 230°C result in excessive fat loss.

If multiple stages are used, the temperature of later stages may be higher or lower than the temperature of earlier stages. However, it is preferred that the temperature of the butter oil be kept as low as possible to minimize adverse effects on the butterfat. Thus, for example, suitable temperatures within the process of the invention are 170°C in the first stage, 190°C in the second stage and 210°C in the third stage. As an appropriate two-stage temperature distribution, the first stage is 190°C, the second stage is 210°C, and both stages are 185°C.
There is a distribution of °C and a distribution of 200 °C in the first stage and 180 °C in the second stage.

The degree of cholesterol removal is a matter of economic choice.

Typically, at least about 50% of the cholesterol is removed. Preferably, the removal of cholesterol is about 60
%, more preferably greater than about 70%, and most preferably greater than about 80%.

Auxiliary agents may be added to the product. Typical additives include colorants, antioxidants such as TBHQ and BHA, stabilizers such as citric acid, salts and vitamins. Known adjuvants are incorporated in a manner known to those skilled in the art.

The following examples are illustrative of various aspects of the invention, but are not intended to limit the scope of the invention in any way. The scope of the invention is limited only by the claims below.

Example 1 A mixture consisting of 3 parts by weight of anhydrous butter oil and 1 part by weight of lipolyzed (provestochal lipase) butter oil with an acid value of 25 was mixed into a model KDL manufactured by Raybold Doherose.
-1 single stage short path distillation device (evaporator working area 0.018
rrl') and treated according to the method of the invention. Approximately 1-2
A mixture of g was fractionally distilled per minute using a single-stage molecular distillation method. Pressure was kept at 0.1 Torr and temperature was kept within the ranges listed in Table 1 below. The condenser temperature was maintained at 65°C.

Table 1 Test Temperature. 2% reduction in C cholesterol Feedstock - Anhydrous butter oil without entrainment aids (conventional method) A 180-185 20B
200-205 34C230-23564 Feedstock - Anhydrous butter oil (3 parts) and deodorized, lipolyzed butter oil (1 part) (invention) D
185 79E
210 89 action area 0
．． The various butter oil-containing streams were treated separately at 06rrl'). The feed rate was approximately ILOO onl/hr and the pressure was maintained at approximately 0.003 Torr.

In each example, the following butter oil-containing streams were treated according to the method of the invention.

Sample Product Type Anhydrous butter oil without entrainment aid Anhydrous butter oil and 3 parts of monostearin anhydrous butter oil at 4% by weight (based on the weight of butter oil) as entrainment aid and deodorized and lipolyzed butter oil as entrainment aid ( Acid value 25) 1 part This example clearly demonstrates the superiority of the method of the present invention in producing significant cholesterol reduction.

Examples 2 and 3 In Examples 2 and 3, a Raybold Herose KD-6 single stage short path distillation apparatus (evaporator) was used. Processed by single-stage distillation.6
The processing temperatures of the streams are shown in Table 2 below.

Table 2 Table 3 Feed material Temperature OC'': +l/7. Decrease rate of 0-'' 1% L 210 33 L 220 46 M 204 79N
210 53N 220
72 Temperature 1°C First stage Second stage 190 190 190 200 190 210 Cholesterol reduction rate 1% 8 9 6 M 204 190 89
M 204 200
93M 204 210
95 This example clearly demonstrates the superiority of the method of the invention for cholesterol removal.

Example 3 The feed streams and M described above were processed according to the process of the invention by passing them twice through the single-stage, short-path, distillation apparatus described in Example 1. The processing temperatures for the six streams are shown in Table 3 below.

This example clearly illustrates the superiority of the method of the invention for cholesterol removal.

Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been discussed above, various changes and modifications may be made to the present invention without departing from the spirit of the present invention, which is defined and limited only by the claims. Those skilled in the art will understand.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A. Providing a mixture comprising anhydrous animal fat and an entrainment aid selected from the group consisting of monoglycerides, diglycerides and mixtures thereof; B. Fractionating the mixture under short path distillation conditions. A method for producing a low-cholesterol animal fat comprising distilling to produce a cholesterol-rich fraction and a cholesterol-reduced fraction; and c. separately recovering the cholesterol-reduced fraction. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the animal fat is butterfat. 3. The amount of entrainment aid is approximately 2% based on the weight of anhydrous animal fat.
2. A method according to claim 1, wherein the amount is up to 0% by weight. 4. The method of claim 3, wherein the amount of entrainment aid is about 1-15% by weight. 5. The method of claim 4, wherein the amount of entrainment aid is about 2-10% by weight. 6. The method according to claim 3, wherein the entrainment aid is produced by partially hydrolyzing a fat that does not cause problems in terms of organoleptic sensitivity. 7. The method of claim 2, wherein the major portion of the entrainment aid is a monoglyceride having about 12 to 20 carbon atoms. 8. Claim 7, wherein the main part of the entrainment aid is monostearin.
The method described in. 9. The method of claim 3, wherein the molecular distillation pressure is about 0.001 to 0.1 Torr. 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the pressure is about 0.005 to 0.05 Torr. 11. Claim 1, wherein the pressure is about 0.01 to 0.03 Torr.
The method described in 0. 12. The method of claim 2, wherein the amount of entrainment aid is up to about 20% by weight based on the weight of the anhydrous animal fat. 13. Claim 1, wherein the amount of entrainment aid is about 1 to 15% by weight.
The method described in 2. 14. Claim 1, wherein the amount of entrainment aid is about 2 to 10% by weight.
The method described in 3. 15. The method of claim 7, wherein the molecular distillation pressure is about 0.001 to 0.1 Torr. 16. The method of claim 15, wherein the pressure is about 0.005 to 0.05 Torr. 17. Claim 1 wherein the pressure is about 0.01 to 0.03 Torr.
The method described in 6. 18. An animal fat with reduced cholesterol produced by the method according to claim 1. 19. A reduced cholesterol butterfat produced by the method of claim 2. 20. A reduced cholesterol butterfat produced by the method of claim 16.