WO2013033331A1

WO2013033331A1 - Method for preparing semi-solid beverage product

Info

Publication number: WO2013033331A1
Application number: PCT/US2012/053047
Authority: WO
Inventors: Amber STEPHENSON; Kenric MARSHALL; Marilea FITING
Original assignee: Dow Global Technologies Llc
Priority date: 2011-09-01
Filing date: 2012-08-30
Publication date: 2013-03-07

Abstract

The disclosure provides a method for preparing a semi-solid beverage product that comprises propylene glycol to provide a beverage product that is semi-solid at a freezing temperature.

Description

METHOD FOR PREPARING SEMI-SOLID BEVERAGE PRODUCT

FIELD OF DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure relates to a method of preparing a beverage product and, in particular, a method for preparing a semi-solid beverage product.

BACKGROUND

Reconstituting a frozen juice concentrate or frozen juice drink concentrate often requires significant effort by the consumer to produce a homogenous mixture. Unless thawed in advance, it is difficult for the consumer to transfer the frozen concentrate from its packaging to the final vessel, e.g., a pitcher, and also difficult to blend the frozen concentrate with water to form a final, homogenous composition. Improvements in methods for preparing beverage products are desired. SUMMARY

The present disclosure presents an advance in the preparation of beverage products. Prior to this disclosure, reconstituting frozen juice and or juice drink concentrates to produce a drinkable beverage composition was difficult for the consumer. According to the methods of the present disclosure, reconstituting a semi-solid beverage product with a diluent to form a ready-to-drink beverage composition has advantages over reconstituting conventional juice drink concentrates and juice concentrates.

The present invention provides a method for preparing a semi-solid beverage product, the method comprising contacting a juice drink formulation with propylene glycol to provide a beverage product comprising 0.5 % propylene glycol to eight % propylene glycol by weight of the beverage product, for example, in one embodiment the beverage product comprises in the range of from 1.0 to 8.0 % propylene glycol by weight of the beverage product, in an alternative embodiment the beverage product comprises in the range from 2.0 to 8.0 % propylene glycol by weight of the beverage product;

subjecting the beverage product to a freezing treatment in a freezer to provide a semi- solid beverage product, wherein upon removal from the freezer the semi-solid beverage product has an improved flow characteristic as compared to the juice drink formulation subjected to the same freezing treatment. In certain embodiments, the improved flow characteristic is an earlier onset to flow, an increased rate of flow, or a combination thereof. For example, the improved flow characteristic can be an earlier onset to flow for the semi-solid beverage product, e.g., at least 25% earlier or at least 50% earlier, as compared to the onset to flow of the juice drink formulation subjected to the same freezing treatment. In another embodiment, the improved flow characteristic can be a faster rate of flow for the semi-solid beverage product, e.g., at least 150% faster or at least 200% faster, as compared to the rate of flow of the juice drink formulation subjected to the same freezing treatment. In one embodiment, the improved flow characteristic is not due to the presence of an alcohol, a sugar, or a combination thereof.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the time required to reconstitute the semi-solid beverage product to provide a homogenous, ready-to-drink beverage composition can be reduced as compared to the time to reconstitute the juice drink formulation subjected to the same freezing treatment to provide a homogenous, ready-to - drink juice drink, for example, the time can be reduced by at least 50%.

In certain embodiments of the invention, the juice drink formulation comprises an ingredient selected from the group water, fruit juice, for example, in certain embodiments 100% fruit juice, 0.001 weight % to 29 weight % fruit juice, or 1 weight % to 15 weight % fruit juice, fruit pulp, fruit puree, a sweetener, a calcium additive, a vitamin, a mineral, a natural flavor, citric acid, potassium citrate, sodium citrate, modified corn starch, partially hydrogenated soybean oil, an artificial flavor, a dye, a preservative, malic acid, gum acacia, and any combination thereof. In one embodiment, the juice drink formulation does not comprise alcohol. In certain embodiments of the present invention, the juice drink formulation does not include 0.5 % propylene glycol to eight % propylene glycol by weight of the juice drink formulation.

In an embodiment of the invention, the freezing treatment comprises a freezing temperature, such as in the range of -30 °C to 0 °C, e.g., in the range of -25 °C to -10 °C or in the range of -20 °C to -12 °C; and an amount of time, such as at least 48 hours, e.g., in the range of from 24 to 48 hours.

Additional embodiments of the present invention include a beverage product and a beverage composition. As for the latter, a beverage composition of the present invention comprises a beverage product prepared according to the method disclosed herein.

The above summary of the present disclosure is not intended to describe each disclosed embodiment or every implementation of the present disclosure. The description that follows more particularly exemplifies illustrative embodiments. In several places throughout the application, guidance is provided through lists of examples, which can be used in various combinations. In each instance, the recited list serves only as a representative group and should not be interpreted as an exclusive list.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES FIG. 1 depicts the experimental set up used for testing flow characteristics; FIG. 2 depicts the experimental set up used for testing flow characteristics;

FIG. 3 depicts the experimental set up used for testing flow characteristics;

FIG. 4 depicts experimental data from Example 1;

FIG. 5 depicts average flow rates for embodiments of the beverage products of the disclosure;

FIG. 6 depicts average flow rate for an embodiment of the beverage product of the disclosure;

FIG. 7 depicts experimental data from Example 3;

FIG. 8 depicts experimental data from Example 4;

FIG. 9 depicts experimental data from Example 5;

FIG. 10 depicts experimental data from Example 5;

FIG. 11 depicts experimental data from Example 6; and

FIG. 12 depicts experimental data from Example 6.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

I. Definitions

When subjected to a "freezing treatment," i.e. , placed under "freezing conditions including a cooling means capable of freezing or solidifying a conventional juice drink concentrate or juice concentrate, such as a freezer, at a "freezing temperature" for an amount of time, conventional juice concentrates and conventional juice drink concentrates freeze, i.e., become solid, substantially solid, crystallized and/or

substantially crystallized. "Substantially solid" is used interchangeably with "nearly solid."

By "freezer" is meant a typical consumer or commercial freezer.

By "freezing temperature" is meant a temperature in the range of the typical consumer and commercial freezer, i.e., from -30 °C to 0 °C, such as in the range of -25 °C to -10 °C, or, for example, in the range of -20 °C to -12 °C.

By "amount of time" is meant at least 24 hours, e.g., in the range of from 24 to 48 hours.

The state of being solid, substantially solid, crystallized and/or substantially crystallized is characterized by being difficult to decant or pour from the original packaging container and difficult to blend with water. When subjected to freezing conditions, i.e., placed in a cooling means, such as a freezer, at a "freezing temperature" for an amount of time, conventional juice concentrates and conventional juice drink concentrates freeze, i.e., become solid, substantially solid, crystallized and/or

substantially crystallized. In contrast, when subjected to the same freezing treatment conditions, i.e., the same or similar freezer at the same or similar freezing temperature and the same or similar amount of time, a beverage product of the present disclosure does not solidify completely, i.e., it does not become solid or substantially solid, nor does it crystallize completely, i.e., it does not become crystallized or substantially crystallized, and is characterized by being easier to pour from the original packaging container and easier to blend with water as compared to the conventional juice concentrates and conventional juice drink concentrates.

As used herein, the phrase "beverage product" refers to the combination of at least a juice drink formulation and from 0.5 % by weight of the beverage product to eight % propylene glycol by weight of the beverage product.

By "juice drink formulation" is meant a juice concentrate, a juice drink concentrate, and/or a beverage concentrate having in the range of 10° Brix to 75° Brix. 1° Brix has 1 gram of solids in a total of 100 grams of a solution. A concentrate refers to a composition that can be reconstituted to a ready-to-drink beverage upon addition of volumes of diluent, e.g., water. For example, a ready-to-drink beverage composition can be prepared by the addition of two to four volumes of water to one volume of concentrate.

A "conventional juice concentrate" and a "conventional juice drink concentrate" does not comprise from 0.5 % propylene glycol to eight % propylene glycol by weight of the respective juice concentrate or juice drink concentrate.

As discussed above, a beverage product of the present disclosure does not solidify completely or crystallize completely when subjected to a freezing treatment that renders a conventional juice concentrate and/or conventional juice drink concentrates solid, substantially solid, crystallized and/or substantially crystallized. Rather, the beverage product of the present invention becomes "semi-solid" when subjected to the freezing treatment; by "semi-solid" is meant the beverage product does not become crystallized or substantially crystallized, and is characterized by being easier to pour from the original packaging container and easier to blend with water as compared to the conventional juice concentrates and conventional juice drink concentrates. When subjected to freezing conditions sufficient to freeze conventional juice concentrates and/or conventional juice drink concentrates, the beverage product described herein is not transformed into a single phase, e.g., solid, but rather into solid phase fractions, e.g., ice crystals, and a liquid phase fraction, which fractions are present at the same time.

As a result, the "semi-solid" beverage products described herein have an improved flow characteristic as compared to conventional frozen juice and/or juice drink concentrates, i.e., juice and/or juice drink concentrates that do not contain from 0.5 % to eight % propylene glycol by weight of the concentrate and that have been subjected to freezing treatment. By "improved flow characteristic" is meant that the semi-solid beverage product flows more readily as compared to a conventional juice concentrate and/or juice drink concentration upon removal from a freezer following a freezing treatment. For example, the improved flow characteristic can be a reduction in the time for the onset of flow, which can be significantly less for a semi-solid beverage product of the present disclosure, e.g. , approximately 50 % less time or less, with respect to a comparable conventional frozen juice and/or juice drink concentrate. In addition, the improved flow characteristic can be an increase in the rate of flow, which can be increased significantly for a semi-solid beverage product of the present disclosure, e.g., approximately 150% to 300% faster, as compared to a comparable conventional frozen juice drink formulation. Methods for measuring the flow characteristics of a particular beverage product are known in the art, see, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,235,936. In addition to having an improved flow characteristic, the semi-solid beverage products of the present disclosure are relatively easier to reconstitute, i.e., become more readily a homogenous composition when mixed with a diluent, such as water, as compared to comparable conventional frozen juice and/or juice drink concentrates. Thus, as compared to conventional frozen juice and/or juice drink concentrates, the semi-solid beverage products are transferred more readily from their packaging upon removal from a typical consumer, i.e., household and/or commercial grade freezer and are blended more easily upon dilution in, for example, water to provide a homogenous, ready-to-drink beverage composition as compared to conventional frozen concentrated juices and/or juice drinks.

As will be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art, the semi-solid state of the semi-solid beverage products of the present disclosure is influenced by the environmental conditions, e.g., temperature, pressure, etc., to which it is subjected. For example, immediately upon removal from freezing conditions, a semi-solid beverage product of the present disclosure is a semi-solid. However, it will transition to liquid as it approaches thermal equilibrium with ambient temperature, e.g., 23 °C.

By "propylene glycol" is meant aipha-propylene glycol, mono-propylene glycol, or 1,2-propanediol.

All percentages are calculated by weight unless indicated otherwise.

The terms "and/or" means one or all of the listed elements, e.g., ingredients, or a combination of any two or more of the listed elements.

The words "preferred" and "preferably" refer to embodiments of the disclosure that may afford certain benefits, under certain circumstances. However, other embodiments may also be preferred, under the same or other circumstances.

Furthermore, the recitation of one or more preferred embodiments does not imply that other embodiments are not useful, and is not intended to exclude other embodiments from the scope of the disclosure.

The terms "comprises" and variations thereof do not have a limiting meaning where these terms appear in the description and claims. Unless otherwise specified, "a," "an," "the," and "at least one" are used interchangeably and mean one or more than one.

Also herein, the recitations of numerical ranges by endpoints include all numbers subsumed within that range (e.g., 1 to 5 includes 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 2.75, 3.0, 3.80, 4.0, 5.0, etc.).

For any method disclosed herein that includes discrete steps, the steps may be carried out in any feasible order. And, as appropriate, any combination of two or more steps may be carried out simultaneously. II. Methods of the Present Disclosure

A. Juice Drink Formulations

It should be understood that the juice drink formulations in accordance with this disclosure may have any one of a number of different specific formulations. The juice drink formulation in accordance with this disclosure can vary to a certain extent, depending upon such factors as the intended market segment, its desired nutritional characteristics, flavor profile, and the like. For example, a juice drink formulation employed in the present methods might include ingredients such as water, fruit juice, fruit pulp, fruit puree, a sweetener, a calcium additive, a vitamin, a mineral, a natural flavor, citric acid, potassium citrate, sodium citrate, modified corn starch, partially hydrogenated soybean oil, an artificial flavor, a dye, a preservative, malic acid, gum acacia, and combinations thereof.

As an example, a juice drink formulation might include 100 weight % fruit juice. Preferably, a juice drink formulation might include 0.001 weight % to 29 weight % fruit juice. As another example, a juice drink formulation might include 1 weight % to 15 weight % fruit juice. Alternatively, a juice drink formulation might not contain any fruit juice. In other words, the juice drink formulation can contain 0 weight % fruit juice.

A variety of sweeteners can be employed in the juice drink formulation, such as a natural sweetener, an artificial sweetener, high fructose corn syrup, sugar, liquid invert sugar, and combinations thereof.

A calcium additive useful in the juice drink formulations can include calcium phosphate, calcium lactate, and combinations thereof. Exemplary vitamins that can be employed in the juice drink formulations include, but are not limited to, vitamin C, vitamin D, etc.

It will generally be an option to add further ingredients to a particular juice drink formulation, such as other sweeteners, vitamins, minerals, flavoring agents, coloring agents, emulsifiers, thickeners, stabilizers, pH adjusters, preservatives, carbonation, and caffeine, among others. Non-limiting examples of additives that might be included in the juice drink formulation include flavoring agents, food acids, acidity regulating agents, anti-oxidants, colorants, color retention agents, flavor enhancing agents, emulsifiers, stabilizers, preservatives, particle suspension agents, sweeteners, nutritional supplements, thickeners, gelling agents, and any combinations thereof. Other additives, such as those described hereinabove, are also contemplated and within the scope of the disclosure.

In one embodiment, the juice drink formulation does not include an alcohol. As discussed above, juice drink formulations useful in the methods of the present disclosure include juice drink concentrates as well as juice concentrates and/or a beverage from about 10° Brix to about 75° Brix. 1⁰ Brix has 1 gram of solids diluted in 100 grams of the beverage. Exemplary juice drink concentrates include conventional juice drink concentrates such as commercially available juice drink concentrates, for example MINUTE MAID ® Raspberry Lemonade drink (commercially available from The Coca Cola Company), MINUTE MAID ® Limeade drink (commercially available from The Coca Cola Company), BRIGHT AND EARLY® frozen concentrate (commercially available from The Coca-Cola Company), MINUTE MAID ® Berry Punch drink (commercially available from The Coca Cola Company), TROP 50® Raspberry

Lemonade drink (commercially available from Tropicana Products, Inc., a division of PepsiCo, Inc.) and TROP 50® Lemonade drink (commercially available from Tropicana Products, Inc., a division of PepsiCo, Inc.). Exemplary juice concentrates include conventional juice concentrates such as commercially available juice concentrates, for example, MINUTE MAID ® Orange Juice concentrate (commercially available from The Coca Cola Company). B. Propylene glycol Uses for propylene glycol in the food and beverage industry are known in the art, see, for example, page 31 of "A Guide to Glycols" (The Dow Chemical Company, 2003), which is publicly available on the World Wide Web at dow.com. For example, propylene glycol is used in beverages as an emulsifier, a stabilizer and thickener, a flavor agent, a humectant, an antimycotic, etc. Propylene glycol as a heat transfer fluid in the food industry, without being in direct contact with the food, is also known.

Now, it has been found surprisingly that the addition of low weight percent (%) of propylene glycol, e.g., in the range of 0.5 weight percent (wt %) to 8.0 wt % (based upon the total weight of the beverage product) to a juice drink formulation, e.g., a juice drink concentrate or a juice concentrate, to provide a beverage product can influence its physical state when subjected to a freezing treatment, i.e., a freezing temperature for an amount of time, so as to result in a semi-solid beverage product at a freezing temperature. The disclosure is based on the discovery that low weight percentages of propylene glycol in a juice drink formulation can improve a flow characteristic of the product, e.g. , can increase significantly the ability of the beverage product to flow, both flow onset and rate, as it is manipulated at room temperature. For example, 8 wt % or less weight percent of propylene glycol added to a juice concentrate increases significantly the ability of the concentrate to flow at a freezing temperature, which increases consumer convenience when making a beverage such as juice from a frozen concentrate. This disclosure provides a semi-solid beverage product, such as a juice concentrate, that can be blended directly with water to produce a ready-to-drink beverage composition, with much less effort relative to a conventional frozen juice concentrates and/or juice drink concentrates. The results provided herein are surprising, because the efficacious amount of propylene glycol required is low, and at such low concentrations propylene glycol is expected to have only a de minimus impact on the freezing point. For example, it is known in the art that 10 wt % propylene glycol reduces the freezing point of water by only about 3°C (see page 9 of "A Guide to Glycols" (The Dow Chemical Company, 2003), which is publicly available on the World Wide Web at dow.com.

The semi-solid beverage products of the present disclosure are not transformed into a solid state under normal freezing conditions, I e. , when subjected to a cooling means capable of freezing or solidifying the typical conventional juice drink concentrate or juice concentrate. Rather, their physical state is transformed from that of a liquid to that of a semi-solid. Thus, one aspect of the semi-solid beverage products of the present disclosure is that they possess the ease of handling desired by consumers. For example, immediately upon removal from a typical consumer freezer, certain embodiments of the semi-solid beverage products of the present invention are pourable more readily from their packaging into another container relative to comparable juice drink concentrates and juice concentrates. In addition, immediately upon removal from a typical consumer freezer, the semi-solid beverage products are reconstituted more readily as compared to conventional frozen juice drink concentrates and frozen juice concentrates, i.e., approximately 50% less time is required to prepare a single-strength homogenous beverage composition when the product is diluted with two to four volumes of water.

Not wishing to be bound by theory, it is thought that the propylene glycol modifies and/or alters a physical property of the juice drink formulation. The presence of a certain low weight percentage of propylene glycol in the juice drink formulation may affect the size and/or structure of ice crystals that form under normal freezing conditions. The propylene glycol may interact with sugars and longer chain molecules to interfere with the formation and/or interaction of ice crystals forming at normal freezing temperatures.

In certain embodiments of the inventive method, the beverage product comprises a food grade quality propylene glycol, for example, DOW PuraGuard™ Propylene

Glycol USP/EP procured from The Dow Chemical Company. Certain beverage products according to the present disclosure include 0.5% propylene glycol; 1.0% propylene glycol; 1.5% propylene glycol; 2.0% propylene glycol; 2.5% propylene glycol; 3.0 % propylene glycol; 3.5% propylene glycol; 4.0 % propylene glycol; 4.5% propylene glycol; 5.0% propylene glycol; 5.5% propylene glycol; 6.0% propylene glycol; 6.5% propylene glycol; 7.0 % propylene glycol; 7.5% propylene glycol; or 8.0%» propylene glycol, where the percent by weight is based on the total weight of the beverage product.

C. Beverage Compositions of the Disclosure

As discussed above, the beverage product of the present disclosure is semi-solid when subjected to a freezing treatment. Therefore, upon removal of the semi-solid beverage product of the present disclosure from the freezer, it is capable of being diluted with a diluent such as water and/or another liquid by the consumer, and in addition, is homogenized easily upon mixing, e.g., stirring, to provide a ready-to-drink beverage composition. As used herein, the phrase "ready-to- drink" with reference to the beverage composition means a composition of the present disclosure that has been diluted, for example, with water, such that the composition is in drinkable form according to instructions from the packaging or manufacturer. For example, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure, when diluted with three volumes of water, a semisolid beverage product having 8 weight % propylene glycol based upon the total weight of the beverage product will provide a ready-to-drink beverage composition having 2 weight % propylene glycol based upon the total weight of the composition.

Purified or filtered water can be used in the manufacture of certain embodiments of the semi-solid beverage product, juice drink formulation, and composition disclosed herein. Water of a standard beverage quality can be employed to not affect beverage taste, odor, or appearance adversely. The water will be typically clear, colorless, and free from objectionable minerals, tastes and odors, free from organic matter, low in alkalinity and of acceptable microbiological quality based on industry and government standards applicable at the time of producing the beverage. In certain exemplary embodiments, water is added at a level of from about 0% to about 90% by weight of the beverage composition, e.g., about 15% to about 80% by weight, about 40% to about 70% by weight, or about 50% to about 60% by weight. For example, one embodiment of the beverage composition of the invention has 75% water by weight of the beverage composition. D. Method of Preparing the Semi-Solid Beverage Products

Known methods of preparing beverage products such as juice concentrates and juice drink concentrates may be utilized with the specific embodiments disclosed herein. For example, some embodiments of the beverage products of the present invention may be processed in accordance with good manufacturing process, as set forth in 21 C.F.R. Part 110 of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) guidelines, and may be commercially ready to use. Such products may meet the requirements for Grade A, Grade B, or other grades according to the USDA guidelines.

While the general procedure for making a beverage product described herein might vary, in one embodiment the procedure involves adding the propylene glycol to a juice drink formulation, adding any number of optionally additional ingredients as described herein, and mixing the ingredients together.

The beverage product is packaged in individual containers having a prescribed size, e.g., in the range of ten fl. oz. to 16 fl. oz, and stored under freezing conditions. While the size of the package might vary, it is preferred that the quantity be such that the contents of a single package can be combined with a prescribed amount of a liquid ingredient, such as water, to form a ready-to-drink beverage composition. The ratio of semi-solid beverage product to water is about one part of semi-solid beverage product to about two to four parts of diluent. It has been found for example, that a package containing about 12 fluid ounces of the semi-solid beverage product, when combined with three volumes of water, results in a beverage composition.

Prior to using the herein described semi-solid beverage product, it is subjected to a freezing treatment, e.g., placed in, for example, a freezer at a freezing temperature for an amount of time. As the beverage product cools, ice crystals begin to form at a temperature ranging from in the range of -30 °C to 0 °C, depending upon the composition of the juice drink formulation. As noted above, the temperature of the typical consumer freezer unit ranges from approximately -30 °C to 0 °C. At this temperature level, the contents within the package remain in a semi-solid state, rather than in a solid frozen state.

When a beverage composition such as a juice or juice drink is desired, a single package containing the semi-solid beverage product is removed from the freezer, the package opened, and the contents can be transferred immediately to a container. There is no need to wait for the contents to thaw or otherwise manipulate the semi-solid beverage product for easy removal from the package. The required amount of water is then placed in the container, the contents mixed for approximately one minute with a utensil for a sufficient time to obtain a homogenous beverage, such as juice, that is ready for serving and consumption. EXAMPLES

Example 1

Materials and Methods

A schematic diagram of the experimental apparatus 10 employed to test the flow characteristics of the beverage products of the present disclosure is provided in FIGs. 1, 2, and 3.

Five beverage products were prepared and tested for flow according to the following procedure:

(a) six 12 fl. oz. cans of each of the following commercially available frozen juice drink concentrates: (i) MINUTE M AID ® Raspberry Lemonade drink (commercially available from The Coca Cola Company); (ii) MINUTE MAID ® Limeade drink (commercially available from The Coca Cola Company); (iii) BRIGHT AND EARLY® frozen concentrate (commercially available from The Coca-Cola Company); and (iv) MINUTE MAID ® Berry Punch drink (commercially available from The Coca Cola Company); and one 12 fl. oz. can of MINUTE MAID ® Orange Juice (commercially available from The Coca Cola Company) were allowed to melt overnight, approximately 12 to 16 hours, in a consumer-grade FRIGID AIRE® refrigerator at approximately 2°C;

(b) six cans of each sample, i.e., juice type, were opened and poured into an individual large plastic pitcher;

(c) each sample was blended in the pitcher by hand using a plastic spoon for approximately one minute;

(d) for the control samples, three glass cylinders were filled with 300 ml of the sample (some sample remained in pitcher);

(e) for the beverage product samples, propylene glycol USP (DOW

PuraGuard™ Propylene Glycol USP EP procured from The Dow Chemical Company) was added to the sample remaining in the pitcher until the propylene glycol concentration was 8 % by weight of the sample and propylene glycol mixture, i.e., the beverage product;

(f) three additional glass cylinders were filled with 300 ml of the beverage product sample; 7

(g) all cylinders (controls and beverage product samples) were placed in the freezer compartment of a consumer-grade FRIGIDAIRE® refrigerator/freezer unit. The freezer compartment was set to -23 °C;

(h) all cylinders (controls and beverage product samples) remained in the freezer for approximately 48 hours;

(i) each cylinder was removed one at a time from freezer to test for flow characteristics;

(j) turning now to FIG. 1 , line level 12 was attached to the side of the cylinder 15 using two rubber bands (not shown);

(k) a clamp was used to attach and suspend the cylinder 15 from ring stand

17;

(1) with reference to FIG. 2, the cylinder 15 was rotated to horizontal as indicated by the line level 12;

(m) with reference to FIG. 3, the rate of flow was measured by collecting the sample 18, e.g. , the control sample or the beverage product sample, in bowl 20 placed on balance 25 and recording the mass every minute;

(n) the flow characteristics experiment was repeated for all juice drink concentrates. FIG. 1 depicts the above-described experimental apparatus and procedure with particular reference to Steps (a) through (j), above. FIG. 2 depicts the experimental apparatus and procedure with particular reference to Step (k). The experimental apparatus and procedure with particular reference to Step (1) is shown in FIG. 3. Results

The control samples were frozen solid or nearly solid after Step (g), whereas the beverage product samples were semi-solid. FIG. 4 depicts data collected from the flow characteristics testing. Each curve represents the arithmetic average of three

experiments. Dashed lines represent beverage product samples; solid lines represent control samples. As seen in FIG. 4, beverage product samples containing 8 wt. % propylene glycol by weight of the beverage product began to flow significantly earlier (about 13 minutes) as compared to the control samples, which did not contain propylene glycol.

Turning now to FIG. 5, the average rate of flow is illustrated for the sample beverage products having juice drink concentrate, /^'. e. , MINUTE MAID ® Raspberry Lemonade drink (commercially available from The Coca Cola Company); MINUTE MAID ® Limeade drink (commercially available from The Coca Cola Company);

BRIGHT AND EARLY® frozen concentrate (commercially available from The Coca- Cola Company); and MINUTE MAID ® Berry Punch drink (commercially available from The Coca Cola Company). Each beverage product tested included 8 wt. % propylene glycol based upon the total weight of beverage product. Dashed lines represent beverage product samples; solid lines represent control samples. As shown in FIG. 5, the average rate of flow was greater for all beverage products as compared to the control samples.

Turning now to FIG. 6, the average rate of flow is illustrated for the sample beverage product prepared with juice concentrate, i. e. , MINUTE MAID ® frozen orange juice concentrate (commercially available from The Coca Cola Company). The beverage product tested included 8 wt. % propylene glycol based upon the total weight of beverage product. Dashed lines represent beverage product samples; solid lines represent control samples. The rate of flow was extremely rapid for both the control and beverage product samples, as shown in FIG. 6.

Discussion

The earlier onset of flow and faster rate of flow for beverage product samples as compared to the control samples indicates that the energy required for mixing the concentrates with water by manual blending with a spoon to produce a homogenous ready-to-drink beverage composition is significantly less. Therefore, preparing a composition from samples containing propylene glycol requires significantly less effort on the part of the consumer. Example 2

Materials and Methods (a) Two 12 fl. oz. cans of commercially available frozen orange juice concentrate (MINUTE MAID® frozen orange juice concentrate commercially available from The Coca Cola Company) were allowed to melt at room temperature, viz., about 21°C;

(b) one of the cans was opened;

^' (c) propylene glycol USP (DOW PuraGuard™ Propylene Glycol USP/EP procured from The Dow Chemical Company) was added to the liquid concentrate until the propylene glycol content is 2.5 wt.% based upon the total weight of the beverage product;

(d) the lid was placed back on the can and the can was vigorously shaken to produce a homogeneous beverage product;

(e) the two cans (one with 2.5 wt. % propylene glycol and one without propylene glycol) were placed in the freezer compartment of a consumer- grade

FRIGIDAIRE® refrigerator set at approximately -23 °C;

(f) both samples were allowed to remain in the freezer for approximately 24 hours;

(g) the samples were removed from the freezer;

(h) each sample was transferred from each can into an individual pitcher;

(i) 3 parts water was added to each pitcher;

(j) using a plastic spoon, each was mixed. The time was measured until a homogenous mixture was obtained.

Results

The control samples were frozen solid or nearly solid after Step (f), whereas the beverage product samples were semi-solid. The beverage product sample blended with water to a homogeneous mixture much more easily than the control sample. It took approximately 1 minute to blend the beverage product sample and water to a

homogenous mixture, while it took approximately 2 minutes to blend the control sample and water to a homogeneous mixture. In addition, more vigorous mixing was required to blend the control sample. This example demonstrates directly that the addition of a small amount of propylene glycol to a frozen juice concentrate makes the process of producing a ready-to-drink beverage more facile for the consumer.

Example 3

Materials and Methods

(a) Six 12 fl. oz. cans of commercially available frozen juice drink concentrate (MINUTE MAID ® Raspberry Lemonade drink commercially available from The Coca Cola Company) was allowed to melt overnight, approximately 12 to 16 hours, in a FRIGIDAIRE® consumer- grade refrigerator;

(b) each can was opened and poured into a separate plastic container;

(c) propylene glycol PG USP (DOW PuraGuard™ Propylene Glycol USP/EP procured from The Dow Chemical Company) was added to five of the containers to obtain beverage product samples with the following concentrations of propylene glycol: 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, and 2.5 wt %;

(d) each container was sealed and vigorously shaken for approximately one minute;

(e) six glass cylinders were filled with 300 ml of the beverage product samples;

(f) all six cylinders were placed in the freezer compartment of a consumer- grade FRIGIDAIRE® refrigerator/freezer set to approximately -15°C;

(g) all samples remained in the freezer for 46 hours;

(h) each sample was removed one at a time from the freezer and tested for flow characteristics. The ambient temperature was 21°C;

(i) a line level was attached to the side of the cylinder using two rubber bands (not shown);

(j) a clamp was used to attach and suspend the cylinder from a ring stand; (k) the cylinder was rotated to horizontal as indicated by the line level; (1) the rate of flow was measured by collecting the juice leaving the cylinder in a bowl placed on a balance and recording the mass every minute;

(m) the flow experiment was repeated for all samples. Results and Discussion

The control samples were frozen solid or nearly solid after Step (g), whereas the beverage product samples were semi-solid. As shown in FIG. 7, the sample having 0.5 wt % propylene glycol had a small decrease in the onset and a small increase in the rate of flow under the experimental conditions as compared to the control. However, samples with 1.0 to 2.5 wt % propylene glycol remained liquid and flowed

instantaneously.

Example 4

Materials and Methods

a) Seven 12 fl. oz. cans of frozen orange juice concentrate (MINUTE MAID ® Orange Juice (commercially available from The Coca Cola Company) were allowed to melt overnight, approximately 16 hours, in a FRIGID AIRE® consumer-grade refrigerator set at approximately 2°C;

(b) each can was opened and the contents poured into a separate plastic container;

(c) propylene glycol USP (DOW PuraGuard™ Propylene Glycol USP EP procured from The Dow Chemical Company) was added to each of six of the containers to obtain beverage product samples with the following concentrations of propylene glycol: 0.5; 1.0; 2.0 and 2.5 weight %. Triplicate samples with 2.0% propylene glycol were prepared;

(e) individual glass cylinders were filled with 300 ml of each beverage product samples;

(f) all six cylinders were placed in the freezer compartment of a consumer-grade refrigerator/freezer unit, with the freezer compartment set to approximately -13°C;

(g) each sample remained in the freezer for approximately 72 hours;

(h) each sample was removed one at a time from the freezer and tested for flow characteristics;

(i) a line level was attached to the side of the cylinder using two rubber bands (not shown); (j) a clamp was used to attach and suspend the cylinder from a ring stand;

(k) the cylinder was rotated to horizontal as indicated by the line level;

(1) the rate of flow was measured by collecting the juice leaving the cylinder in a bowl placed on a balance and recording the mass every minute;

(m) the flow experiment was repeated for all samples.

Result and Discussion

The control samples were frozen solid or nearly solid after Step (g), whereas the beverage product samples were semi-solid. As shown in FIG. 8, the presence of propylene glycol increases the rate of flow of frozen juice concentrate even at low concentrations.

Example 5

Materials and Methods

Beverage products were prepared and tested for flow according to the following procedure:

(a) nine 12 fl. oz. cans of MINUTE MAID ® Raspberry Lemonade drink (commercially available from The Coca Cola Company) were allowed to thaw, approximately 3 hours at ambient temperature (approximately 19°C);

(b) each of the nine cans was opened and the contents poured into an individual large plastic pitcher;

(c) the contents of the pitcher were blended by hand using a plastic spoon for approximately one minute;

(d) a magnetic stir bar was then added to the pitcher, the pitcher placed on a stir plate and allowed to stir for an additional 20 minutes;

(e) for the control samples, three polypropylene cylinders were filled with 300 ml of the sample (some sample remained in pitcher);

(f) for the beverage product samples, propylene glycol USP (DOW PuraGuard™ Propylene Glycol USP/EP procured from The Dow Chemical Company) was added until the propylene glycol concentration was 1 % by weight or 2% by weight of the sample and propylene glycol mixture, i.e. , the beverage product; (g) each sample was stirred for 20 minutes on the stir plate

(h) three additional polypropylene cylinders were filled with 300 ml of the 1 wt% PG beverage product sample and three additional polypropylene cylinders with 300 ml of the 2 wt PG beverage product sample;

(i) each of the cylinders (controls and beverage product samples) was placed in the freezer compartment of a non-frost free consumer-grade

HOLIDAY® 5-cubic foot chest freezer unit. The freezer control was set to its lowest setting (-23 °C);

(j) each cylinder (controls and beverage product samples) remained in the freezer for approximately 48 hours;

(k) three cylinders were removed from the freezer (1 of each PG concentration and one control) to test for flow characteristics;

(1) turning now to FIG. 1, line level 12 was attached to the side of the cylinder 15 using two rubber bands (not shown);

(m) a clamp was used to attach and suspend the cylinder 15 from ring stand 17;

(n) with reference to FIG. 2, the cylinder 15 was rotated to horizontal as indicated by the line level 12;

(o) with reference to FIG. 3, the rate of flow was measured by collecting the sample 18, e.g., the control sample or the beverage product sample, in bowl 20 placed on balance 25 and the mass was recorded every minute;

(p) the flow characteristics experiment was repeated for the remaining cylinders. Results and Discussion

The control samples were frozen solid or nearly solid after Step (j), whereas the beverage product samples were semi-solid. As shown in FIG. 9, the presence of propylene glycol increases the rate of flow of frozen juice concentrate even at low concentrations. In FIG. 10, it is demonstrated that the onset of flow for the juice concentrate with 1 % PG occurs at approximately the same time as for the juice with no PG added. Example 6

(b) the nine cans were each opened and the contents poured into an individual large plastic pitcher;

(d) a magnetic stir bar was added to the pitcher; the pitcher placed on a stir plate, and allowed to stir for an additional 20 minutes;

(e) for the control samples, each of three polypropylene cylinders was filled with 300 ml of the sample (some sample remaining in pitcher);

(f) for the beverage product samples, propylene glycol USP (DOW

PuraGuard™ Propylene Glycol USP/EP procured from The Dow Chemical Company) was added to a portion of the sample from the pitcher until the propylene glycol concentration was 1 % by weight or 2% by weight of the sample and propylene glycol mixture, i.e., the beverage product;

(g) each was stirred for 20 minutes on the stir plate;

(h) three additional polypropylene cylinders were filled with 300 ml of the 1 wt% PG beverage product sample and three additional polypropylene cylinders were filled with 300 ml of the 2 wt% PG beverage product sample;

(i) each cylinder (controls and beverage product samples) was placed in the freezer compartment of a non frost-free consumer- grade HOLIDAY® 5-cubic foot chest freezer unit. The freezer control was set to its highest setting (-16 °C);

(k) three cylinders were removed from the freezer (1 of each PG concentration and one control) to test for flow characteristics; (1) turning now to FIG. 1, line level 12 was attached to the side of the cylinder 15 using two rubber bands (not shown);

(m) a clamp was used to attach and suspend the cylinder 15 from ring stand 17;

(p) the flow characteristics experiment was repeated for the remaining cylinders.

Results and Discussion

The control samples were frozen solid or nearly solid after Step (j), whereas the beverage product samples were semi-solid. As shown in FIG. 1 1, the presence of propylene glycol increases the rate of flow of frozen juice concentrate even at low concentrations. In FIG. 12, it is demonstrated that the onset of flow for the juice concentrate with 1% PG occurs at sooner than the onset of flow for the juice with no PG added when the juice is stored at a warmer freezer temperature.

Claims

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

1. A method for preparing a semi-solid beverage product, the method

comprising:

contacting a juice drink formulation with propylene glycol to provide a beverage product comprising 0.5 % propylene glycol to eight % propylene glycol by weight of the beverage product; and

subjecting the beverage product to a freezing treatment in a freezer to provide a semi-solid beverage product, wherein upon removal from the freezer the semi-solid beverage product has an improved flow characteristic as compared to the juice drink formulation subjected to the same freezing treatment.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the improved flow characteristic is an earlier onset to flow, an increased rate of flow, or a combination thereof.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the onset to flow for the semi-solid beverage product is at least 25% earlier compared to the onset to flow of the juice drink formulation subjected to the same freezing treatment.

4. The method of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the rate of flow for the semi-solid beverage product is at least 150% faster compared to the rate of flow of the juice drink formulation subjected to the same freezing treatment.

5. The method of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the time required to reconstitute the semi-solid beverage product to provide a homogenous, ready- to-drink beverage composition is reduced as compared to the time to reconstitute the juice drink formulation subjected to the same freezing treatment to provide a homogenous, ready-to-drink juice drink.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the time required to reconstitute the semisolid beverage product to provide a homogenous, ready-to-drink beverage composition is reduced by at least 50% as compared to the time to reconstitute the juice drink formulation subjected to the same freezing treatment to provide a homogenous, ready-to-drink juice drink.

7. The method of any of the preceding claims, wherein the juice drink

formulation comprises an ingredient selected from the group water, fruit juice, fruit pulp, fruit puree, a sweetener, a calcium additive, a vitamin, a mineral, a natural flavor, citric acid, potassium citrate, sodium citrate, modified corn starch, partially hydrogenated soybean oil, an artificial flavor, a dye, a preservative, malic acid, gum acacia, and any combination thereof.

8. The method of any of the preceding claims, wherem the juice drink

formulation comprises 100 weight % fruit juice.

9. The method of any of the preceding claims, wherein the juice drink

formulation comprises 0.001 weight % to 29 weight % fruit juice.

10. The method of any of the preceding claims, wherein the freezing treatment comprises a freezing temperature and an amount of time.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the freezing temperature is in the range of -30 °C to 0 °C.

12. The method of claim 10 or 11, wherein the amount of time is at least 48 hours.

13. The method of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the improved flow characteristic is not due to the presence of an alcohol, a sugar, or a

combination thereof.

1 . The method of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the semi-solid beverage product does not comprise alcohol.

15. A beverage product prepared according to the method of any one of the preceding claims.