WO2008152472A1

WO2008152472A1 - 'functional food composition comprising cheese, process for its manufacture and uses thereof'

Info

Publication number: WO2008152472A1
Application number: PCT/IB2008/001488
Authority: WO
Inventors: Nando Rabaglia
Original assignee: Treerre Dei Fratelli Rabaglia Ec. Snc
Priority date: 2007-06-13
Filing date: 2008-06-10
Publication date: 2008-12-18
Also published as: ITMI20071187A1

Abstract

The invention relates to a composition based on grated cheese with functional activity, with the addition of prebiotic fibers, a process for the preparation of said grated cheese with functional activity and uses thereof for the preparation of foods, hi particular, prepackaged foods.

Description

"FUNCTIONAL FOOD COMPOSITION COMPRISING CHEESE, PROCESS

FOR ITS MANUFACTURE AND USES THEREOF"

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SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a composition based on cheese with functional activity, in particular a composition of grated cheese and prebiotic fibers that possess beneficial properties for the organism but which also presents the advantage of offering improved shelf-life with respect to conventional grated cheeses. The invention also relates to a process for the preparation of said grated cheese and use thereof for the preparation of foods, in particular, of prepackaged foods. PRIOR ART

The intestinal microflora residing in the intestine is responsible for numerous activities in favor of the health of the organism, including resistance to infections, modulation of the immune system and reduction of allergies. The ability of some probiotic microorganisms to perform this action has been reported in the scientific literature.

Prebiotics are substances that cannot be assimilated by the organism, in general non- digestible carbohydrates, which promote the growth of useful bacterial in the colon. Foods with functional properties, otherwise known as foods with "functional activity", are those foods that besides providing the consumer with his amount of nutrients, also offer further advantages over and above the simple nutritional content of the specific food.

For example, there are known "functional" cheeses, which are cheeses to which components beneficial for the organism have been added, such as probiotic lactic bacteria or essential substances such as minerals, vitamins, etc. These cheeses are normally prepared by adding said components to the milk prior to the cheese making process.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a new composition based on cheese, having functional properties, comprising in particular, but not only, prebiotic agents, attainable through an original preparation process. Another object of the invention is to provide a new composition based on grated cheese offering a prolonged preservability and therefore a longer shelf-life.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Therefore, according to one aspect thereof, the subject matter of the present invention is a composition comprising at least one grated cheese and one or more prebiotic fibers.

According to the present invention, "at least one cheese" is intended as any cheese, or mixture of cheeses, with a consistency that can be grated, for example hard cheeses but also mature stretched curd cheeses. The initial milk used to prepare the cheese is irrelevant for the purposes of the present invention and can be freely chosen from cow's milk, sheep's milk, goat's milk, buffalo's milk and mixtures thereof.

Examples of cheeses according to the invention are Grana Padano, Parmigiano

Reggiano, Bra, Edam, Gouda, Cheddar, Sbrinz, Bitto, Emmenthaler, Gruyere,

Pecorino, Asiago, Montasio, Comte, Provolone and in general cheeses commonly known as grating cheeses, processed cheeses for grating including cheeses deriving from organic farming or with NOP certification.

A preferred cheese according to the present invention is chosen from Grana Padano,

Parmigiano Reggiano and mixtures thereof.

According to a particularly preferred aspect, the cheese present in the composition has a very low water content.

Cheeses that originally present a moisture content above approximately 30% are advantageously treated in order to eliminate the excess water, as will be better described below.

According to the present invention, "prebiotic fibers" (also referred to hereunder only as "prebiotics") are intended as indicating any substance with prebiotic action.

Examples of prebiotic fibers are fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS), inulins, isomalto- oligosaccharides, arabinogalactan, lactilol, lactosucrose, lactulose, pyrodextrins, soy oligosaccharides, transgalacto-oligosaccharides (TOS) and xylo-oligosaccharides.

Arabinogalactan is a new generation prebiotic and represents a particularly preferred prebiotic according to the invention.

The cheese of the invention can comprise a single prebiotic fiber or a mixture of said prebiotic fibers.

Other prebiotic fibers can in any case be used according to the invention; see for example the description in C. Casiraghi - L. Morelli: "/ componenti bioattivi non nutrienti" in Alimentazione Salute Benessere, pages 189-215; Volume 2006, by C. Agostoni- E. Lanzola of the ITEMS series -Istituto Danone.

Again according to the invention, the term "prebiotic fibers" includes beta-glucans. According to an embodiment, the present invention relates to a composition as defined above, comprising from 1 to 20% in weight of one or more prebiotic fibers, preferably from 5 to 15% and advantageously approximately 10%. In the present description, unless otherwise indicated, all the percentages are intended as percentages in weight and, where possible with respect to the total weight of the final composition.

According to another aspect thereof, the present invention relates to a composition comprising at least one grated cheese, one or more prebiotic fibers and one ore more additional components chosen from elements, probiotic bacteria, Omega 3, antioxidants and liposoluble vitamins. However, other components can also be added. The term "elements" indicates in the present description any natural element or mixture of elements, beneficial for the human and animal organism, whose presence is acceptable in the composition of the invention. Examples of elements are calcium, magnesium, selenium, zinc, etc..

The term "vitamins" indicates in the present description any vitamin or mixture of vitamins whose presence is acceptable in the composition of the invention. Examples of vitamins are A, D, E, K, folic acid, etc.. According to a preferred embodiment, the composition of the invention comprises at least one grated cheese, one or more prebiotic fibers and one or more additional components chosen from calcium, calcium lactate, vitamin D and mixtures thereof. The additional components according to the present invention can be present in the composition in quantities compatible with the recommended dietary allowance (RDA). If necessary or desired, stabilizing agents can also be added to the composition, such as the anti-caking agent E551 or tricalcium phosphate, or yet other products that improve flow, generally at a rate of approximately 1-2%.

The composition of the invention is prepared according to a process that comprises:

(a) if necessary, dehydrating the at least one grated cheese to a moisture content of below approximately 30%, for example between 25% and 31%;

(b) adding the preselected prebiotic fibers to the grated cheese thus obtained; and

(c) if necessary, weighing and/or dosing and/or packaging the composition thus obtained. Step (a) of the process of the invention is necessary for all cheeses having a moisture content greater than approximately 30%, to obtain a cheese suitable for the purposes of processing and of stability of the composition, hi fact, it has been noted that simple mixing of grated cheeses having a high moisture content, for example a moisture content of over 30%, and prebiotic fibers leads to the formation of lumps and to the formation of a non-homogeneous dispersion of the components.

The drying of step (a) can be conducted with any method known in the art. For example, the mass of grated cheese can be ventilated with hot air, at a temperature that can vary according to the type of cheese or to the preselected mixture of cheeses, for example a temperature between 35 and 90°C, in suitable devices, for example in fluid bed dryers. The spent air will preferably be exhausted through filters.

The cheeses dried in step (a) are mixed with the prebiotic fibers with any method, for example by feeding the prebiotic fibers to a mixer that maintains the cheeses under stirring and mixing the composition thus obtained in order to make it homogeneous. The composition thus obtained can, if desired, be dosed and/or weighed and/or packaged according to methods known in the art, with apparatus conventionally used in the grated cheese industry. Packaging will preferably take place in a modified atmosphere, for example in a mixture of carbon dioxide and nitrogen. Any additional components present in the composition of the invention can be added either to the milk prior to the cheese making process or to the cheese already grated, i.e. during step (b) of the process described above.

Any stabilizing agents can also be added in step (b) of the process. The composition of the invention is very stable and possesses an improved preservability (shelf-life) with respect to conventional grated cheeses. In fact, the presence of prebiotic fibers, which are particularly dry and tend to absorb moisture, allow stabilization of the composition and decrease the free moisture content, making the composition particularly stable and less susceptible to deterioration.

Some stability studies have been conducted and it has been proved that the composition of the invention, packaged in a conventional manner, i.e. according to the methods currently used in the industry of this specific food field, normally in a modified atmosphere, has a shelf-life of over 150 days, up to 180 days or more. It is understandable that this improved shelf-life makes the composition of the invention particularly advantageous with respect to conventional fresh grated cheeses, as a shelf-life of this duration is unthinkable for grated cheeses currently on the market. The composition of the invention can be utilized in the same manner as conventional grated cheeses, i.e. it can be used uncooked or cooked and can also be frozen.

As specified, with respect to conventional grated cheeses, the composition of the invention presents numerous advantages, in terms of nutrition and technology. In fact, from a nutritional viewpoint, the composition of the invention allows components beneficial for the organism to be added without any need to change the eating habits of the consumer who, simply by replacing the grated cheese normally used with the composition based on cheese of the invention, can take a functional food beneficial for his organism while continuing to eat and cook without varying his habits. The prebiotic fibers and any additional components contained in the composition in fact have a triple beneficial effect on the consumer:

1. they reduce the caloric content of the dose used without compromising the organoleptic qualities of the product,

2. they give the consumer a quantity of prebiotic fibers capable of favorably modifying balances between the various bacterial components of the intestinal microflora,

3. they can contribute toward increasing absorption by foods of important elements such as calcium.

Moreover, the surprising and unexpected advantage of being able to produce a food product based on cheese whose preservability is greatly superior to that of cheeses currently available on the market by approximately 80%, represents an improvement of great technological and industrial interest. For example, due to the longer shelf- life thereof, the product can even be marketed in places at great distance from the place of production, as the product maintains the organoleptic qualities of fresh grated cheese intact for several months. The composition of the invention can be added to food preparations, such as ready- made meals, frozen, tinned, packeted or otherwise preserved.

Food preparations with functional activity comprising the composition of the invention form a further subject matter of the present invention. The examples below show the invention in a non-limiting way. EXPERIMENTAL SECTION Example 1

General process for the preparation of a composition based on cheese and prebiotic fibers

Figure 1 is a flow sheet illustrating the process indicated below.

Starting from hard cheeses, with moisture standards between 35% and 40% ,through a conventional operation of grating the cheese placed on a hopper with loading conveyor belts and maintaining a constant pressure at approximately 2 atmospheres, a fresh grated product is obtained, which is then transported to be subjected to initial handling and initial cleaning through a circular screen sifter. Subsequently, the cheese is sent on conveyor belts to the first removable loading section, where it is subjected to a second mixing operation. If necessary, the moisture content of the product is reduced by ventilated evaporation with hot air generated by a heating battery, with prior filtering of the ambient air inside fluid bed drying machines which maintain the air at a temperature between 34°C and 90°C, depending on the product of origin and exhausting the spent air after filtration. In this way an optimal moisture content between approximately 25% and 31% can be obtained at the end of the process. By subsequently applying a concentric movement and adding the fibers via an auger the product is stabilized and optimized, and is ready to be transported via load belts to weighing cells where, depending on the formats, the packeting machine prepares the finished product in packs or tins containing a mixture of carbon dioxide and nitrogen. The stored product loses free moisture during storage due to the hygroscopic properties of the fibers contained therein.

Example 2

Preparation of a composition of Grana Padano, Parmigiano Reggiano and arabino galactan Using the same process as example 1, a composition of cheese is prepared from a mixture of Grana Padano and Parmigiano Reggiano (approximately 50%-50%) adding approximately 10% of arabinogalactan (percentage in weight based on the total weight of the final composition).

Example 3 Preparation of a composition of Grana Padano grating cheese and arabinogalactan, transgalacto-oligosaccharides

Using the same process as example 1, a mixture of Grana Padano and grating cheeses is prepared (approximately 70%-30%) adding approximately 10% of arabinogalactan and approximately 10% of transgalacto-oligosaccharides (percentage in weight based on the total weight of the final composition).

Example 4

Preparation of a composition of Grana Padano, Pecorino, fibers and calcium

Using the same process as example 1, a composition of cheese is prepared from a mixture of Grana Padano and Pecorino (approximately 50%-50%), adding approximately 10% of fibers (percentage in weight based on the total weight of the final composition) and approximately 10% of calcium.

Example 5

Stability Test

Stability of the composition of Example 2 The composition of example 2 was subjected to a stability test.

A sample of the composition was evaluated after 6 months of storage with the following results:

Microorganisms c.f.u./g

moisture 13.07% fat in as is 28.0% fat in dry matter 32.21 % pH 5.27 sodium chloride 2.14 %

Example 6 Efficacy Test

Evaluation of product efficacy was tested with the following protocol: Objective of the study

To verify the ability of a composition of the invention of example 2 "product A" to modify the composition of intestinal microflora in human beings, in particular to increase the content of bifidobacteria and/or lactobacilli. Design of the experiment

Some healthy volunteers were chosen for a study with open controlled design, Dimension of the sample

As this was a pilot study, a total of n° 12 samples to test was deemed sufficient. Selection of the volunteers:

Criteria for inclusion in for the colonization test: Subjects:

• of both sexes

• aged between 18 and 65 • who had not taken fermented milk, fresh cheeses and food supplements containing lactic bacteria in the week prior to administration of product A • who had not taken foods and/or food supplements containing prebiotic fibers the week prior to administration of product A

• who had given written consent for participation in the test, after reading the specific information form Exclusion criteria Subjects:

• who were undergoing pharmacological treatments that could modify or influence the intestinal bacterial flora

• who did not fall within the inclusion criteria Duration of the study

The duration of the study in each subject was 35 days divided as follows:

• 7 days of pre-treatment or wash-out (in this period the subject must not take fermented milk, fresh cheeses and dietetic/ethic products containing lactic bacteria). • 21 days of administration of product A

• 7 days of suspension of the treatment and follow-up. Pre- and post-study analysis

Evaluation of the beneficial effects of the product was determined from frozen fecal samples, collected at the end of each of the three time periods of the test. The samples were collected in sterile containers for microbiological analysis and stored at -20°C until the time of analysis, which was implemented using the DGGE (Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis) molecular technique. Prior to the start of the product administration step (at the end of the wash-out step), the feces of the subjects to be treated were analyzed to evaluate the quantity of beneficial flora present. At the end of the administration period, an analysis was carried out to evaluate the quantity of beneficial flora after administration of the product in question.

At the end of the follow-up period a further analysis was carried out to evaluate the quantity of beneficial flora remaining after administration of the product in question had terminated.

The samples of feces were always taken in the same conditions. Results

The test carried out according to the protocol above proved the efficacy of product A in positively modifying intestinal bacterial flora, with a significant increase in the bifidobacteria group, which are bacteria associated with functions of maintaining well-being and health.

Claims

1. Composition comprising at least one grated cheese and one or more prebiotic fibers.

2. Composition according to claim 1, characterized in that said at least one cheese is chosen from Grana Padano, Parmigiano Reggiano, Bra, Edam, Gouda,

Cheddar, Sbrinz, Bitto, Emmenthaler, Gruyere, Pecorino, Asiago, Montasio, Comte, Provolone and mixtures thereof.

3. Composition according to any one of claims 1 or 2, characterized in that said cheese is chosen from Grana Padano, Parmigiano Reggiano and mixtures thereof.

4. Composition according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that said prebiotic fibers are chosen from fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS), inulins, isomalto-oligosaccharides, arabinogalactan, lactilol, lactosucrose, lactulose, pyrodextrins, soy oligosaccharides, transgalacto-oligosaccharides, xylo- oligosaccharides and beta-glucans.

5. Composition according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that said prebiotic fiber is arabinogalactan.

6. Composition according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that it comprises from 1 to 20% in weight of one or more prebiotic fibers.

7. Composition according to claim 6, characterized in that it preferably comprises from 5 to 15% in weight of one or more prebiotic fibers

8. Composition according to claim 7, characterized in that it contains approximately 10% in weight of one or more prebiotic fibers.

9. Composition according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that it also comprises one or more additional components chosen from elements, probiotic bacteria, Omega 3, anti-oxidants and liposoluble vitamins.

10. Composition according to claim 9, characterized in that said additional components are chosen from vitamins A, D, E, K, calcium lactate and folic acid.

11. Composition according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that it also comprises elements beneficial for the human and animal organism.

12. Composition according to claim 11, characterized in that said elements are chosen from calcium, magnesium, selenium and zinc.

13. Food preparation with functional activity, comprising the composition according to any one of claims 1 to 12.

14. Food preparation according to claim 13, which are ready-made meals, frozen, tinned, packeted or otherwise preserved.

15. Process for the preparation of a composition according to any one of claims 1 to 14 that comprises:

(a) if necessary, dehydrating the at least one grated cheese to a moisture content of below approximately 30%;

(b) adding the preselected prebiotic fibers and any additional components and beneficial elements to the grated cheese thus obtained;

(c) if necessary, weighing and/or dosing and/or packaging the composition thus obtained.

16. Process according to claim 15, characterized in that in step (c) the composition is packaged in a modified atmosphere.

17. Process according to any one of claims 15 or 16, characterized in that said cheese is as defined in claims 2 or 3.

18. Process according to any one of claims 15 to 17, characterized in that said prebiotic fibers are as defined in claims 4 or 5.

19. Composition obtained according to any one of claims 15 to 18.