JPH02135080A - Sterilizing preservative for food - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide the title preservative capable of effectively sterilizing and preserving foods without giving astringency, consisting of a combination of chitosan and yeast extract. CONSTITUTION:Chitosan (e.g., 20000-40000 in average molecular weight) is dispersed in water followed by adding acetic acid to the resultant solution while stirring to prepare a chitosan aqueous solution. A yeast extract is then added to this aqueous solution, thus obtaining the objective preservative.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Field of Industrial Application] This invention relates to a food sterilizing preservative that is a food additive for food preservation, and more particularly to a sterilizing agent and a food sterilizing agent that has the effect of killing microorganisms in food. , both to preservatives that inhibit the growth and physiological activity of microorganisms.

(Prior Art) In recent years, as interest in the safety of food additives has increased and standards have become stricter, natural additives, which are safer than chemically synthesized products, are attracting attention. Among these, food preservatives and disinfectants are often a problem due to the balance between their effectiveness and the possibility of harm.Natural preservatives/sterilizers are needed to replace synthetic preservatives/sterilizers that carry the risk of toxicity. There is a strong need for the development of new agents.

Chitin, a natural polysaccharide, and chitosan, its deacetylated product, have recently attracted particular attention as materials with new functions. The use of sterilization and preservation is being considered ["Food Chemical J vol. 4. No.
, 2. p, 22-29 (1988), ``Bessatsu Food Chemical I J p, 1-4 (1987), etc.].

Furthermore, JP-A-63-169975 reports the relationship between the molecular weight of chitosan and its bactericidal effect.
The highest effects have been found in those with a high molecular weight, with an average molecular weight of 70,000 to 90,000.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

As described above, chitosan is expected to be a non-toxic and safe food sterilizing preservative, but as a result of further investigation by the inventors, it was found that chitosan affects the flavor of foods. The taste of chitosan is a persistent astringent taste (including bitterness), and foods to which chitosan is added are
As the chitosan content increases, the preservability (antibacterial effect) increases, but on the other hand, the astringency also increases. Sometimes, this astringency can cause a loss of appetite, or the astringency can linger even after eating, making you feel sick. Of course, if the amount of chitosan added is small, the astringency will be reduced accordingly, but if the amount added is such that the astringency is slight, an antibacterial effect sufficient to preserve food will not be obtained. However, the originally expected mission of chitosan is not achieved.

Furthermore, when chitosan oligosaccharide is used, the astringency and bitterness peculiar to chitosan disappear, but the antibacterial activity of this oligosaccharide has been found to be approximately 1/1 or less lower than that of chitosan ( (See the relevant section of the above document “Food Chemicals”)
.

In view of these circumstances, it is an object of the present invention to provide a safe food sterilizing preservative that can prevent food spoilage and improve its preservation without impairing the flavor of the food. It is an object of the present invention to provide a food sterilizing preservative that can add as much chitosan as possible without producing an astringent taste.

[Means to solve the problem]

As a result of repeated studies to solve the above problems, it was discovered that the astringency associated with the addition of chitosan could be masked by yeast extract, and this invention was completed.

Therefore, the food sterilization preservative according to the present invention combines chitosan and yeast extract.

[For production]

Yeast extract can mask the astringent taste of chitosan, so
The food sterilization preservative of this invention has chitosan as an active ingredient for sterilization and preservation, and can be added to foods without imparting an astringent taste.

In addition, yeast extract has a unique "umami" flavor, so when added to food as a food sterilization preservative component that masks the astringent taste of chitosan, it can also serve as a seasoning that provides a hidden flavor. .

〔Example〕

The present invention will be explained in detail below.

First, as the chitosan used, chitosan that has been used conventionally can be similarly used. In other words, natural chitin obtained from crustaceans such as shrimp and crabs or insect carapaces, mollusk shells such as krill and squid, mushrooms such as matsutake and enoki mushrooms, and the cell walls of fungi is mixed with sodium hydroxide, Deacetylation in a concentrated alkali such as potassium hydroxide yields a suspension of chitosan. This chitosan suspension is filtered to obtain a powder, which is washed with water and dried.
The result is a white chitosan powder.

When added to food, it can be used as is in powder form, but
It is usually convenient to add chitosan as an aqueous solution. However, chitosan is generally poorly soluble in water, and requires the help of an organic/inorganic acid to form an aqueous solution and use it.

In particular, it is preferable to add a small amount of a low molecular weight organic acid such as acetic acid or lactic acid to prepare a weakly acidic chitosan aqueous solution.

The amount of chitosan added is not particularly limited, and it is preferable to set the required amount appropriately depending on the food to which it is applied. It is appropriate that the content is about 0.300% by weight.

Next, the yeast extract used in combination with the chitosan will be explained. Yeast extract can be obtained by autolyzing yeast, or by extracting it with hot water, or by hydrolyzing it with acid and then extracting it with hot water. The raw material yeast can be arbitrarily selected from baker's yeast, beer yeast, sake yeast, wine yeast, etc., and the method for producing it is not particularly limited. However, in the latter two methods such as hot water extraction, the aroma and soft taste are lost and vitamins are also destroyed, so it is preferable to use the former method of autolysis. This is a method of decomposing yeast with its own enzymes, and the resulting yeast extract has the most natural and delicate aroma, and is rich in nutritional value such as vitamins and amino acids.

In addition, this autolysis method specifically breaks down the proteins and nucleic acids contained in yeast into peptides, aluminum acids, and nucleotides, which are the sources of flavor, resulting in a highly refined
Since a yeast extract with a strong flavor can be obtained, it can be expected to be useful as a seasoning or a hidden flavor for foods.

Since the yeast extract produced as described above is easily soluble in water, it can be added as a powder when used. Of course, an aqueous solution or the like may be prepared in advance and added.

In addition, various products are available on the market as yeast extract obtained by the above-mentioned autolysis method, and such commercial products can also be used. For example, "Meast" made by Asahi Beer @, Fould Springer (FOULD-3PR)
Yeast Autoliza Soto J, manufactured by INGER (France)
UNIVER3AL FOODS
TASTONE' 15 manufactured by ) company (USA)
41 etc. are mentioned. In addition to being used alone, these
Multiple types may be used in combination.

In the above combination of chitosan and yeast extract,
The ratio is not particularly limited, and since the perceived degree of astringency differs depending on the food to which it is added, it is preferable to appropriately set the amount of yeast extract that can mask the astringency of chitosan depending on the individual food. Specifically, for example, 5.0 to 5.0 to 100 parts by weight of yeast extract is added to 100 parts by weight of chitosan.
It is preferable to use about 50.0 parts by weight. If the amount added is too small, the astringent taste of chitosan cannot be sufficiently masked, while if it is too large, the flavor of the food will be affected.

The food sterilization preservative according to this invention can be applied to a very wide range of foods. For example, rice, noodles,
Processed grain products such as bread, - Processed legumes such as tofu and boiled beans, - Processed vegetable and fruit products such as pickles and jam, - Dairy products such as cheese, butter, and margarine, - Meat, ham, bacon,
Meat products such as sausages, processed marine products such as kamaboko, chikuwa, and tsukudani, confectionery such as manju, yokan, and cakes,
Examples include miso, oil, noodle soup, sauce sugar seasonings, etc. In addition, it can be used for fresh foods such as fresh fish and fruits and vegetables, as well as for any of the above-mentioned various preserved foods, processed foods, fresh foods, and side dishes.

Next, more detailed examples of the present invention will be described together with comparative examples.

Examples and Comparative Examples ■ Chitosan...2-1 Chitosan (average molecular weight 20,000 to 40,000) 5) was dispersed in 95 parts of water, and 5 parts of acetic acid was added under stirring to bring the total to 100). , and stirred and dissolved to prepare an aqueous chitosan solution with a concentration of 5%. Hereinafter, this 5% chitosan aqueous solution will be simply referred to as "chitosan aqueous solution."

■ Yeast extract As a yeast extract, the above-mentioned commercial product A shown below.

B and C were used. In addition, the total nitrogen content of each product (
-T) will also be described.

A: "Meast" (powder) made by Asahi Beer@, T=1
2.0±2.0% B: “Autoliza Soto J” manufactured by Fouldo Springer
(Powdered low salt product), T = 11.0% or more C: "Taston 154" manufactured by Universal Foods, T = 10.1% ); A custard cream was prepared by a conventional method.

(b) Water yokan Each component below (values are rounded up as percentages); A water yokan was prepared by a conventional method.

(C1 seasoning liquid for shallow pickles Each component below (values are wt%); A seasoning liquid for shallow pickling was prepared.

The above (ω~(C1) was judged by 10 panelists as to the presence or absence of astringency.The evaluations were: astringent (+),
Astringency was difficult to detect (±), no astringency -).

The results are also shown in Tables 1 to 3.

As shown in Tables 1 to 3, the astringency of chitosan is masked by adding yeast extract, and
It was found that the amount of yeast extract added (ratio of chitosan) required for masking differs depending on the food. In addition, the components that affect the astringency of chitosan are thought to be amino acids, peptides, and nucleic acids contained in the yeast extract, and the total nitrogen content (T ) is approximate as described above, the amount added to mask the astringency of chitosan was about the same among the three types.

■ Custard cream A custard cream similar to that used in the astringency test in ■ above (see Table 4 below for the amount of chitosan and yeast extract added) was prepared, and each sample was stored at 30°C. The time until deterioration such as syneresis, discoloration, etc. occurs (effective storage time) was measured.

(bl Water yokan) Prepare the same water yokan (see Table 5 below for the amounts of chitosan and yeast extract added) as in the astringency test in Item ① above.
Each sample was stored at 30°C, and the time until the appearance of a putrid odor was measured.

+11.1 Seasoning liquid for light pickling A seasoning liquid for light pickling similar to that used in the astringency test in ① above (see Table 6 below for the amounts of chitosan and yeast extract added) was inoculated with 104 coliform bacteria per sample.

This was stored at 20°C, and the time until the seasoning liquid became cloudy was measured.

The above results are also shown in Tables 4 to 6. Note that the effective storage time is the average value of multiple test results.

As shown in Tables 4 to 6, the effective storage time was significantly extended by adding chitosan. In this way, by using yeast extract in combination, it is possible to mask the taste of chitosan such as astringency, so a sufficient amount of chitosan can be added without any restrictions from the viewpoint of preservation.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As mentioned above, the food sterilization preservative according to the present invention uses chitosan as an active ingredient for sterilization preservation, and because it is combined with yeast extract that masks the astringency of chitosan, it does not impart astringency. Food can be effectively sterilized and preserved. Furthermore, it can be expected to be effective as a seasoning that imparts the flavor of yeast extract to foods.

Agent: Patent Attorney Takehiko Matsumoto

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A food sterilization preservative made by combining chitosan and yeast extract.