GB2240458A

GB2240458A - Flavouring of food products

Info

Publication number: GB2240458A
Application number: GB8926615A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Eugene William Hammond; Ruth Marian Hicks; Ian William Smart; Anthony Watts
Original assignee: United Biscuits Ltd
Current assignee: United Biscuits Ltd
Priority date: 1989-11-24
Filing date: 1989-11-24
Publication date: 1991-08-07
Also published as: GB8926615D0; CA2031624A1

Abstract

The flavouring composition comprises liposomes containing entrained flavouring material. The composition may be dispersed in a fat-based edible medium, for example a biscuit filling.

Description

FLAVOURING OF FOOD PRODUCTS This invention relates to the flavouring of food products.

It is often desired in the manufacture of fat-based (which term is to be understood herein to include also oil-based) food products such as chocolate and biscuit fillings to disperse a flavouring material throughout the fat-based food product. In the past, this has been achieved by the formation of an emulsion of the flavouring material in the fat-based medium. Such emulsions typically comprise water droplets of about 0.5 wm in diameter. The emulsions however often contain at least some droplets of very much larger diameter (up to several tens of micrometers); some droplets could thus have volumes which are up to 104 or more times larger than the smallest droplets. Thus, even if the number of large droplets is small, their total volume is a large proportion of the dispersed flavouring.

Water-based droplets of the sizes mentioned in the preceding paragraph lead to particular problems in cream and filled biscuits, where flavoured, fat-based medium is often in contact with relatively dry biscuit material, for example as in a cream sandwich biscuit.

In these circumstances, there is an increasing tendency with increasing droplet size for water droplets to migrate from the filling into the biscuit material, to the detriment of the eating quality of both the biscuit and the filling.

The present invention provides an edible composition comprising a fat-based edible medium and, dispersed therein, liposomes containing entrained flavouring material.

The invention also provides, for use in the production of such an edible composition, liposomes containing entrained flavouring material. The liposomes may be in aqueous suspension or, preferably, may be dried to form a solid phase, for example a paste.

Further, the invention provides a method of flavouring a fat-based edible medium, the method comprising forming liposomes in the presence of watersoluble flavouring material, in order to entrain flavouring material within the liposomes, and dispersing the liposomes with flavouring material entrained therein in the fat-based medium.

In the product, also provided by the invention, of this process, the flavouring material may remain occluded by the liposomes, or may be released upon breakdown of the liposomes. If this latter occurs, the product will contain the flavouring material dispersed in the fat-based medium as droplets of very much smaller mean size than those formed by the of known emulsion processes.

The invention thus takes advantage of the known property of lipids such as lecithin to form vesicles known as liposomes which have the ability to occlude or sequestrate relatively large volumes of aqueous materials whilst being themselves compatible with fatbased environments.

The diameter of the liposomes of the product and composition of the invention are advantageously less than 100 nm and preferably less than 50 nm, more preferably less than 25 nm. Larger diameters are however possible in appropriate circumstances.

The very small particle sizes of the flavouring material, either as dispersed droplets or occluded by the liposomes, can give rise to a very strong flavour impact when the food composition is eaten, the liposomes (if still present as such) breaking down rapidly at mouth temperature and in an aqueous environment, as compared with the stabilising environment provided by the fat-based medium. It is also found that the water-migration problems referred to above can be avoided by use of liposome-based systems, where the very much smaller flavouring droplets have a much reduced tendency to migrate into the dry, biscuit material.

The liposomes of the present invention can be made by any of the known techniques. This includes hand shaking, ether or alcohol vaporisation techniques, sonication techniques and techniques involving microfluidsation, such as described by H Talsma et al

in Drug Development and Industrial Pharmacy

(2), 197-207 (1989). The lecithin on which the liposomes is based is preferably pure lecithin but commerciallyavailable lecithin fractions can be used instead. The flavouring material can be incorporated into the liposomes simply by its inclusion at an appropriate concentration in the aqueous phase in which the liposomes are formed by whichever method is chosen.

After preparation, the temperature of the liposomes is maintained sufficiently low, for example below 30or, to maintain their stability.

Formation of the liposome flavouring material into a non-aqueous dispersion allows the material, for example in the form of a paste or a dry powder of a fat or oil dispersion (which may be liquid), to be stored and/or transported before its addition to the fat-based product, in which the liposome-based flavouring compositions can be dispersed by mixing of the fatbased product and the solid flavouring composition, if necessary after warming of the latter. This gives rise to particular advantages compared with the known emulsion techniques where the emulsions must be formed on-site with the food product and are not reliably shelf-stable.

Claims

1. An edible composition comprising liposomes containing entrained flavouring material.

2. A composition according to claim 1, in which the lipid component of the liposomes comprises lecithin.

3. A composition according to claim 1 or 2, in which the liposomes have a diameter of less than 100 nm.

4. A composition according to claim 3, in which the liposomes have a diameter of less than 25 rim.

5. A composition according to any preceding claim in the form of a solid.

6. A composition according to claim 5, in the form of a paste or a dry powder.

7. A composition comprising a fat-based edible medium and, dispersed therein, liposomes according to any preceding claim.

8. A composition according to claim 7 and suitable for use as a biscuit filling.

9. A biscuit having a filling according to claim 8.

10. A method of flavouring a fat-based edible medium, comprising forming liposomes in the presence of water-soluble flavouring material, in order to entrain flavouring material within the liposomes, and dispersing the liposomes with flavouring material entrained therein in the fat-based medium.

11. A method according to claim 10, in which the liposomes are formed by bringing together lipids and an aqueous flavour composition.

12. A method according to claim 11, in which the liposomes are formed by hand shaking, ether or alcohol vaporisation, sonication or microfluidisation.