Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B01—PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
  • B01J—CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROCESSES, e.g. CATALYSIS OR COLLOID CHEMISTRY; THEIR RELEVANT APPARATUS
  • B01J13/00—Colloid chemistry, e.g. the production of colloidal materials or their solutions, not otherwise provided for; Making microcapsules or microballoons
  • B01J13/02—Making microcapsules or microballoons
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A23—FOODS OR FOODSTUFFS; TREATMENT THEREOF, NOT COVERED BY OTHER CLASSES
  • A23C—DAIRY PRODUCTS, e.g. MILK, BUTTER OR CHEESE; MILK OR CHEESE SUBSTITUTES; MAKING THEREOF
  • A23C19/00—Cheese; Cheese preparations; Making thereof
  • A23C19/06—Treating cheese curd after whey separation; Products obtained thereby
  • A23C19/09—Other cheese preparations; Mixtures of cheese with other foodstuffs
  • A23C19/0917—Addition, to cheese or curd, of whey, whey components, substances recovered from separated whey, isolated or concentrated proteins from milk
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A23—FOODS OR FOODSTUFFS; TREATMENT THEREOF, NOT COVERED BY OTHER CLASSES
  • A23P—SHAPING OR WORKING OF FOODSTUFFS, NOT FULLY COVERED BY A SINGLE OTHER SUBCLASS
  • A23P10/00—Shaping or working of foodstuffs characterised by the products
  • A23P10/30—Encapsulation of particles, e.g. foodstuff additives
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A23—FOODS OR FOODSTUFFS; TREATMENT THEREOF, NOT COVERED BY OTHER CLASSES
  • A23V—INDEXING SCHEME RELATING TO FOODS, FOODSTUFFS OR NON-ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES AND LACTIC OR PROPIONIC ACID BACTERIA USED IN FOODSTUFFS OR FOOD PREPARATION
  • A23V2002/00—Food compositions, function of food ingredients or processes for food or foodstuffs

Definitions

• the invention relates to capsules, in particular to microcapsules which are suitable to be used in foods, and to methods for the preparation of such capsules.
• the invention further relates to foods, in particular dairy, such as cheese, in which such capsules have been incorporated.
• Use of (micro)capsules for, for instance, pharmaceutical purposes is known per se.
• microcapsules are used in the food industry, for instance for adding fragrances or flavorings.
• encapsulation takes place by emulsifying the material to be encapsulated (in liquid or solid form), or dispersing this material in an aqueous solution of the capsule material.
• solubility for the capsule material for instance by adding particular ions, such as calcium (WO-A-03/018186), or by adding materials which form a coacervate with the already dissolved capsule material (EP-A-O 856 355), the capsule material precipitates on the core.
• Another method is to add a cross-linker to the core which cross-links dissolved capsule material on the core and thus makes it precipitate.
• Another possibility to enable a capsule to be formed is to make the solvent for the capsule material evaporate (US -A- 5 601 760).
• an oil-in- water-in-oil emulsion may also be made, with the primary emulsion containing the substance to be encapsulated and the water phase containing the capsule material. After cross-linking of the capsule material, the capsule can be separated from the oil (WO-A-04/022 220).
• aqueous solutions can also be encapsulated. The aqueous solution is emulsified in a non -polar substance (the 'oil' phase).
• the oil phase contains the dissolved capsule material.
• a capsule can now be formed by evaporating the oil phase (CA-A-2 126 685), or, for instance, by slowly dissolving water in the oil phase, so that the oil-soluble capsule material precipitates (US-A-2002/0 160 109).
• Another possibility is having a water-soluble and an oil-soluble component react/complex in the water-oil interface, such as for instance in CA-A-I 148 800.
• protein-based capsules are known from, for instance, US-A-4 147 767, US-A-4 349 530 and GB-A-2 224 258.
• a protein solution (with the substance to be encapsulated added thereto) is emulsified in oil (with or without an emulsifier dissolved therein), the proteins are cross-linked and the particles thus created are separated from the oil, for instance by centrifuging, filtering, washing or a combination of these processes.
• heating takes place (US-A-4 147 767) or a cross-linker, such as glutaraldehyde (US-A-4 349 530) or a carbodiimide (GB-A-2 224258) is added.
• a cross-linker such as glutaraldehyde (US-A-4 349 530) or a carbodiimide (GB-A-2 224258) is added.
• the present invention contemplates providing (micro)capsules which do not have the drawbacks of the capsules of the prior art.
• the present invention further contemplates providing a product which can be added to foods without any problems, for instance to specifically influence the structure, the viscosity and/or the texture of the food.
• the present invention relates to at least one microcapsule, comprising a capsule, which capsule comprises gelled casein.
• Gelled casein is understood to mean that the casein is enabled to form physical bonds and/or chemical bonds and thus form a network.
• colloidal casein calcium caseinate
• capsules comprising gelled-out colloidal casein.
• casein network in the capsules according to the invention is preferably carried out enzymatically, in particular by means of coagulation (i.e. the gelling of casein by the enzyme chymosin).
• the network may also be formed by acidifying the casein solution.
• a suitable method for forming the capsules according to the invention comprises the following steps: - forming a solution of casein in a suitable solvent, in most cases water.
• a suitable concentration for the casein is between 0.5 and 15 wt.%. This solution is maintained at a low temperature, preferably lower than 15°C, more preferably 10 0 C or less.
• material to be encapsulated can be added; - then, at a low temperature, the gelling agent, preferably coagulant, is added to this solution;
• the thus obtained solution is emulsified in a non -polar phase, in most cases in an oil, for instance sunflower oil or olive oil.
• an oil for instance sunflower oil or olive oil.
• edible oils are used, but non-edible oils may optionally be used as well.
• any liquid in which water can be emulsified is usable.
• an emulsifier is used, such as SpanTM85 or SpanTM80.
• the HLB number Hydrophile Balance
• the emulsion is subjected to conditions in which the network-forming reaction takes place, in most cases by heating, for instance to a temperature of more than 25°C, more preferably to a temperature of 26-35°C, for instance approx. 3O 0 C.
• the casein capsules thus formed in the oil phase and filled with water can be transferred to an aqueous solution.
• This can be done by laying the oil with the casein capsules therein onto an aqueous solution.
• the capsules sink from the oil phase to the water phase under the influence of gravity.
• This process can be accelerated by centrifuging.
• the process can also be accelerated by choosing conditions in which the action of the emulsifier added to the oil phase is reduced or cancelled out. Examples thereof are choosing the right temperature (usually a lowest possible temperature) or adding an emulsifier with a high HLB number (higher than 7), such as for instance TweenTM20, to the water phase on which the oil phase lies.
• the oil with the capsules therein can, for instance, be added directly to oil-continuous systems, such as for instance butter.
• Another option is again (mildly) emulsifying the oil with the casein capsules therein in an aqueous phase. This results in an emulsion of oil droplets in water, with the oil droplets being filled with the water trapped in the casein capsules.
• casein is very advantageous with use of the capsules in cheese because, in this case, use is made of a pure cheese-specific material.
• the capsules can also be added to foods to provide them with structure/viscosity.
• the capsules according to the invention contain approx. 95 wt.% or more water, preferably approx. 97 wt.% of water and approx. 3 wt.% of casein.
• the microcapsules according to the invention preferably have an average diameter of between 0.1 and 1000 ⁇ m, more preferably between 1 and 500 ⁇ m, typically between 10 and 100 ⁇ m.
• casein capsules according to the invention in, for instance, foods, in particular in dairy, such as cheese, can yield a number of advantages, such as for instance a considerable saving of materials.
• Cheese for instance, normally contains 40 wt.% of water and 30 wt.% of casein. Due to uses of the capsules according to the invention in cheese, the water/casein ratio becomes 33 instead of 1.3 on the plate where the capsule according to the invention ends up. In this manner, it is possible to reduce the protein content of the cheese, with an increase of the moisture content. Further, it is possible to replace a part of the amount of casein normally used in cheese by water, because, due to their structure, the capsules have a greater water -binding capacity than casein in a conventional form. This enables an increase in the moisture content of the cheese.
• capsules according to the invention as an additive to cheese over conventional additives, such as for instance whey protein-based or starch-based additives, is that casein is a "cheese-specific" material. So, with addition of the capsules to cheese, no ingredients are added to cheese which are not already normally present in cheese. Of course, this also holds for the addition to other foods, in particular to dairy. This means that adding the capsules need not lead to off-flavors.
• a further advantage of the capsules according to the invention is that the casein can be cross-linked, that is, gelled by means of coagulation. Coagulation is a natural and food-grade manner of processing, unlike adding glutaraldehyde-based cross-linkers, or other cross-linkers, as is proposed in the prior art, and unlike making proteins cross -link by means of heating, which can lead to protein denaturation, which may result in undesired flavor changes.
• Another advantage of the capsules according to the invention is that they can disintegrate at a low pH, in particular at a very low pH as it is prevalent in the stomach. This fact can be used, for instance by encapsulating components with a bad taste, while these components can subsequently still be digested well.
• Double emulsions of water-in-oil-in-water are known in the literature and are used more often to encapsulate water-soluble components in the innermost water phase.
• the double emulsion described herein will not have this drawback.
• a same double emulsion can be realized with the aid of capsules which are formed by cross-Linked proteins other than casein.
• the present invention also relates to an oil-in-water emulsion, in which the oil droplets are filled with capsules according to the invention, of which emulsion, the oil phase is preferably at least substantially emulsifier -free. More preferably, according to the invention, the oil phase is completely emulsifier-free.
• casein casein obtained from milk by microfiltration and spray-drying of the retentate
• water with a temperature of 10°C.
• 0.2% of Admul WOLTM emulsifier HLB value of about 1
• HLB value 0.2% of Admul WOLTM emulsifier
• the oil was then heated to 30°C and maintained at this temperature for 20 minutes.
• a part of the thus obtained o/w emulsion was then poured onto a 1% aqueous solution of TweenTM 20 in a tube and was then centrifuged for 15 minutes at 5000 g.
• Example 1 was repeated, but now SpanTM 85 was used as an emulsifier.
• SpanTM 85 is an oil-soluble emulsifier which is moderately hydrophilic (the hydrophilic/lipophilic balance, HLB is 1.8). Due to the higher HLB, the capsules could be transferred from the oil to the water phase even easier than in Example 1 by laying the capsule -containing oil on water. Under the influence of gravity, within an hour, the capsules largely moved from the oil to the water phase. A CSLM image of the thus obtained capsules is shown in Fig. 2.
• Example 3 A CSLM image of the thus obtained capsules is shown in Fig. 2.
• Example 1 was repeated, but now no emulsifier was added to the oil phase.
• the capsules were formed in the oil. Now, the capsules were found to have formed aggregates in the oil. Now, the (aggregates of) capsules were not separated from the oil, but the oil was emulsified (in a weight ratio of 1 to 10) with the aid of a stirrer in water with 0.5% of casein added thereto.
• a thus formed CSLM image of the oil droplets in water is shown in Fig. 3.
• the oil phase colors green, the protein phase red and the water phase black.
• Fig. 3 shows that oil droplets have been formed which are again filled with (aggregated) casein capsules.

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• Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
• Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Food Science & Technology (AREA)
• Polymers & Plastics (AREA)
• Organic Chemistry (AREA)
• Dispersion Chemistry (AREA)
• Chemical Kinetics & Catalysis (AREA)
• Manufacturing Of Micro-Capsules (AREA)
• General Preparation And Processing Of Foods (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

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• 2005
  • 2005-02-23 NL NL1028383A patent/NL1028383C2/nl not_active IP Right Cessation
• 2006
  • 2006-02-22 WO PCT/NL2006/000092 patent/WO2006091081A1/en active Application Filing
  • 2006-02-22 EP EP06716629A patent/EP1853378A1/de not_active Withdrawn

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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