WO2013054309A2

WO2013054309A2 - Prepared food for functional food

Info

Publication number: WO2013054309A2
Application number: PCT/IB2012/055562
Authority: WO
Inventors: Massimo Valverde
Original assignee: VALVERDE, Stefano; VALVERDE, Arianna
Priority date: 2011-10-13
Filing date: 2012-10-12
Publication date: 2013-04-18
Also published as: WO2013054309A3; ITPC20120026A1

Abstract

A food preparation comprising (as weight/weight percentages): 10-96.5% of a nutritional ingredient (1) selected from an ingredient with a protein content of at least 7%, vegetables, fruit, and combinations thereof; 0-75% of hemicellulose- based anhydrous insoluble edible vegetable fibres; and 0.5-10% of a nutritional preparation (I) comprising a starchy product, said preparation (I) being obtainable by means of a procedure comprising the following two steps: a) the preparation by mixing together a mixture (A) comprising the following ingredients: 5-92% w/w of a starchy product (i) selected from the starches obtained from rice, potato and corn, tapioca, or deproteinised cereal flours, and mixtures thereof; and 8-95% w/w of at least one amino acid selected from among the sulphur-free amino acids; and b) an ozonation procedure carried out on mixture (A) obtained in the previous step (a). Such food preparation is used in the preparation of functional food products to be used in the dietary treatment of food intolerance to the proteins of some cereals or of the reduction of the body weight, or both.

Description

TITLE

FOOD PREPARATIONS FOR FUNCTIONAL FOODS

DESCRIPTION

The present invention relates to a new nutritional preparation comprising a starchy product and optionally, edible fibres. The present invention also relates to food products prepared with such preparation, as well as to a process for preparing the above preparation and their use in animal feeding, mainly of human beings.

In order to meet the nutritional needs of some categories of individuals, food products have long been available on the market which, due to their particular composition, are defined as "functional foods", that is, foods that are good for the human health as they prevent or reduce the risk of diseases, even important chronic diseases.

The food products obtained from the nutritional preparation according to the present invention fall within the scope of functional foods.

The food industry currently offers various lines of functional foods, with different peculiarities according to the desired effects to achieve. The diet the end food products are suitable for is defined according to the type of ingredients found therein. In detail, such products are suitable for the treatment of the various forms of food intolerance (e.g. proteins) or in the treatments for reducing or controlling the body weight, or both.

A well-known line of foods is represented, for example, by the so-called "gluten- free foods". These are foods intended for individuals having intolerance to specific cereals. It has been proven that a specific class of proteins is responsible for such intolerance, i.e. prolamins (in particular an alcohol-soluble fraction thereof), when present in considerable amounts, as happens with some cereals only. Gliadin also belongs to such class which in certain conditions, together with glutenine, gives origin to gluten.

Nowadays, intolerance to the above proteins of cereals is increasingly widespread among the western populations. It is believed that the increase in the number of intolerance cases is due on the one hand to a larger intake of such proteins, also subsequent to a higher content of such proteins in cereals, in particular in wheat, as compared to the past and on the other hand, to a combination of various other factors that contribute to the onset thereof.

The most renowned and serious intolerance caused by some types of cereal proteins is the celiac disease; the same proteins induce, among the other things, also other forms of intolerance, although they are less widespread and recognized, such as gluten allergy and gluten sensitivity.

As known, individuals with intolerance to such proteins must avoid the intake of cereal flours containing them. At present, the only way to obviate such intolerance is to strictly follow a diet that completely excludes them. Therefore, individuals suffering from such intolerance notoriously eat foods that do not contain certain flours, i.e. those from wheat, barley, rye, spelt and sorghum.

Another line of functional foods is represented by the food products enriched with vegetal fibres, hereinafter for shortness defined as "functional foods with fibres". It is known that edible fibres are neither digested nor assimilated; therefore their calorie intake is null. Such feature makes them especially suitable as ingredient of low-calorie foods. Such foods are used in diets for those wishing to control and/or reduce their body weight, for example in overweight subjects (among which obese individuals), or in maintenance diets once the subject has achieved the desired weight.

Excess weight and also the most serious form thereof, obesity, are increasingly widespread worldwide, not only in western countries. Moreover, it has been established that obesity per se is a chronic disease and is currently considered with increasing worry as it is a certain cause of the onset of various serious diseases associated thereto, such as diabetes mellitus, abnormal haemato-lipid levels, cardiovascular issues, hypertension, arthritis, gout. The large increase in the number of patients with such diseases, moreover, is creating an alarm for a high economic increase in the costs that the both the welfare and the health systems of all countries are expected to bear to handle an actual epidemic of such diseases.

Moreover, it has by now been proven that in addition to the above effect, insoluble edible fibres per se also carry out a useful and healthy activity as they act both on the intestinal activity, directly, in particular on the motility thereof, and on the general condition of the body, indirectly. In particular, these fibres for example carry out on the one hand a detoxifying and anti-cancer action as they have a "brushing" effect on the walls of the intestinal lumen, and they also increase the transit speed of toxic substances present in the same intestinal lumen; on the other hand, they reduce the assimilation of the nutritional principles, in particular fats, of foods and reduce the absorption speed of carbohydrates, greatly reducing the glycemic index of foods. It is known that eating foods with a low glycemic index is a key factor in the prevention of metabolic diseases and in particular of type 2 diabetes, as it contributes to preventing the onset of the peripheral resistance to insulin. Therefore, said enriched foods are useful in the prevention and treatment of such diseases and they greatly contribute to the prevention of the onset of other diseases such as constipation, hemorrhoids, irritable bowel syndrome and even intestinal cancers. It has by now been scientifically proven by several studies that the intake of solid edible fibres through the diet in an amount of no less than 25 grams/day allows the reduction by at least 50% of the risk of developing a very large number of neoplastic diseases that affect the entire digestive system.

Many foods that are usually eaten, among which functional foods, are products that may be defined as "recomposed", i.e. are the result of a mixture obtained with the use of different methods and ingredients, subsequently divided into portions, shaped and where necessary, cooked with different methods (e.g. in oven, water, oil) to modify not only the consistency thereof but above all the intrinsic chemical composition, thus making it suitable for human digestion. Among the most common examples of such procedure linked to the preparation of foods are bread and all sweet and savoury products obtained from mixtures of vegetal flours cooked differently, pasta, ground meats, divided into portions, shaped, made into sausages, milk derivatives, eggs, etc.

At the end of the production and/or baking process, all the recomposed products share the feature of looking pleasant and "compact", for example they exhibit no phase separations or physical separations of the single ingredients they are made of. Such result is achieved thanks to the use of "binders", which are all those functional compounds or elements - either natural and/or synthesis - which, when added to a food emulsion of any origin, but lacking in the capability of remaining compact during and after the processing and/or baking, positively correct such defect. A typical example of this compound with a binding action is gluten and baked starches, even dosed in small amounts.

The foods rich in edible fibres currently available on the market do not usually have those organoleptic properties of consistency, colour and palatability typical of conventional foods. For example, due to the fibre and once baked, the products tend to be very dry and to disaggregate easily; such differences therefore often make them little appreciated by the consumers, thus reducing the consumption thereof. Moreover, to date, there are technical limits that do not allow the introduction of large amounts of edible fibres, i.e. on an average more than 7% w/w; above such limit it is absolutely difficult to produce a mixture that remains compact even after full baking.

Another typical drawback of functional food products suitable for consumption by subjects having an intolerance to predetermined components (such as the above mentioned proteins) is given by the massive presence of mycotoxins in rice or corn flours with which such products are increasingly frequently prepared. Mycotoxins are produced by some micro-mycetes normally found on and in foodstuffs. The most dangerous mycotoxins, isolated among those most normally found in foods are aflatoxins, ochratoxins produced by mycetes of the Aspergillus family, and respectively flavus and ochracus; other mycotoxins that may be found in foods are, for example, zearalenone, fumonisins, trichothecenes (deoxynivalenol). The dangerousness of such mycotoxins directly depends on both the exposure time and on the concentration thereof in the food which, as already mentioned, in corn and rice may often be much higher than in wheat. The high toxicity of aflatoxins in man has been proven: in addition to being hepatotoxic, they have significant gastrointestinal, hematopoietic, nephrotoxic, immunosuppressor, teratogenic, mutagenic and carcinogenic effects.

Therefore, foods based on flours polluted with such mycotoxins expose the consumer to mycotoxin levels considerably higher than would happen using standard wheat flour.

With reference to the above product lines intended for the above categories of individuals, the need of increasing the range of functional foods as well as that of improving the hygienic-food safety and quality thereof, is increasingly felt. The food preparations of the present invention meet the above market requirements. More specifically, thanks to the present invention, functional foods of the above are provided which at the same time qualitatively provide, on the one hand, a pleasant and complete sense of satiety and on the other hand, are totally similar to their traditional homologs both in terms of appearance, taste, palatability, storage and pre- and post-baking morphological stability.

The present invention therefore relates to nutritional preparations produced with various food ingredients that form cohesive and stable mixtures thanks to the provision of a highly oxidized mixture of amino acids and starches. Such nutritional preparations are adapted for the production of "recomposed" foods.

In the findings of the present invention, the food preparation (I) has a supporting or binding action, which for example is carried out by gluten, in a conventional wheat flour food, as mentioned above, or by other protein cereal derivatives, or aggregating or stabilizing agents which it fully or partly replaces. The food preparation (I) therefore imparts the necessary three-dimensional bearing structure to the food products that allows high lacks in stability and cohesion to be made up for which would otherwise need to be corrected with an amount of binders higher than the same amount of primary nutritional principles. This allows both the production of foods suitable for those suffering from intolerance to the above proteins and the introduction, for example, of high percentages of edible fibre without, in this latter case, altering the consistency thereof and keeping a good level of humidity therein, both before and above all, after cooking.

Thanks to the particular ingredients used and even in the presence of large amounts of edible fibres, the food products according to the present invention therefore have organoleptic properties of mouth-watering, palatability, consistency and appearance, as well as shelf life and resistance to mechanical stresses and to the same cooking processes, totally comparable and sometimes even better than those of a conventional product compared to which they are, therefore, totally similar and even indistinguishable.

The functional food products according to the present invention span different food market classes, based on the main food ingredient, such as vegetal flours, also deproteinised flours, meats, milk derivatives, eggs, vegetables and fruit. For example, there are products that are defined as "baked products" and "bakery products", such as bread, dry pasta, egg pasta, buns, breadsticks, savoury cakes, sweets such as biscuits, cakes, sweet puddings and ice creams. Examples of transformed or processed or reconstituted or ready food products are cold meats, meatballs based on a food selected from meat, fish, pulses and vegetables, fruit and mixtures thereof, stuffed pasta, etc., where wheat flour or bread or breadcrumbs are required as ingredient.

The food products according to the present invention optionally contain solid and insoluble anhydrous edible fibres also defined by the terms of "non starchy polysaccharides" or "unavailable polysaccharides", in amounts, preferably, of at least 3% dry w/w of anhydrous edible fibre as is. Such amount can be as large as 75% w/w. High levels of fibre allow a considerable reduction in the calorie density and thus, the reduction of the food calorie intake can even be in a range of about 20 to 70% compared to the fibre-free food. Moreover, as mentioned above, their use allows the immobilization of a good portion of the fats and carbohydrates ingested with foods (about 50%), actually making them not absorbable and thus largely contributing to the reduction in the amount of calorie intake provided by a meal. Such reduction makes the products of the present invention specifically suitable for all those people wishing to follow a clearly low-calorie diet.

The food products according to the present invention have several advantages listed hereinafter.

Such fibre-containing food products have a water content which, while being within the limits imposed by law, the end weight being equal, is higher than that of similar products. This contributes to a dual positive effect. The palatability properties of the product after a thermal cycle consisting of heating, cooling and heating again (as in the case of foods cooked in advance and only eaten after being heated) are greatly improved since it is possible to keep the food soft even after such cycle. Moreover, the calorie intake provided by the food is reduced. The food products of the present invention have a much lower glycemic index compared to similar products prepared with standard wheat flour. Overweight and/or type-2 diabetic individuals or those with a tendency to such conditions undoubtedly benefit from diets that include foods with a lower glycemic index.

Another advantage is that the food products of the present invention provide a good amount of amino acids, similar to that of wheat flour, as compared to a similar product made with standard flour. Moreover, such amino acids are essential amino acids, in particular lysine, which cereal proteins are normally lacking; therefore, compared to similar standard foods, the carbohydrate-based food products of the present invention have a high nutritional value.

As further important advantage, the food products according to the present invention exhibit a strong reduction in the amount of toxins, in particular of mycotoxins, compared to that normally found in several gluten-free vegetal flour foods. Such result is achieved thanks to the procedure for producing the food products according to the present invention. In fact, the ozonation treatment envisioned in such procedure implies the partial, if not total inactivation of micro- mycetes which may be found in the flours. Such treatment therefore carries out a very important sterilization and storage action on the foods. Therefore, the amount of mycotoxins of the food products according to the present invention is very low, well below the limits imposed by law (up to 50 - 60% below the limits imposed by law), although flours are used which are derived from corn or other vegetal families, such as wheat, barley, rye, rice, coffee, cocoa, dry fruit, oilseed crops which are normally highly polluted by the above micro-mycetes.

Moreover, as a consequence of the reduced content of starchy products, the food products of the present invention have the advantage of having very low acrylamide content. It is highly desirable for the foods to be lacking in such molecule as it has been proven to be cancerous and genotoxic. Acrylamide forms naturally in foods during long and high temperature baking processes, i.e. at temperatures higher than 120°C, such as oven baking, grilling and frying. It is believed that it can form at temperatures above 120 °C by chemical reaction (Maillard reaction) between asparagine and reducing sugars (e.g. fructose and glucose) or other molecules with reactive carbonyls.

Moreover, both the food preparation and the food product according to the present invention do not require a modification of the equipment used for their production, but even the cooking parameters do not deviate from conventional ones by more than 10%.

Finally, unlike the functional foods currently on the market with fibres and those individuals suffering from the celiac disease, the production costs of the food products according to the present invention are competitive with standard equivalent products.

The present invention therefore relates to a food preparation comprising (as weight/weight percentages):

1) 10-96.5%, preferably 30-99%, of a nutritional ingredient (1) selected from an ingredient of vegetal or animal origin with a protein content of at least 7%, preferably at least 12%, more preferably at least 15%, vegetables, fruit, and a combination thereof;

2) 0-75%, preferably 3-65%, of hemicellulose-based anhydrous insoluble edible vegetable fibres; and

3) 0.5-10%, preferably 1-9%, of a nutritional preparation (I) comprising a starchy product.

Such food product (I) is obtainable by a procedure comprising the following two steps:

a) the preparation by mixing together a mixture (A) comprising the following ingredients (weight/weight percentages):

(i) 5-92% of a starchy product (i) lacking in potentially allergenic proteins preferably selected from the starches obtained from rice, potato, corn, tapioca, deproteinised cereal flours, and mixtures thereof, and

(ii) 8-95% of at least one amino acid selected from among the sulphur-free essential amino acids;

b) an oxidation procedure of the mixture (A) by means of ozone.

In the present description, the term "flour" is understood to also include starch, arrowroot, super fine corn and cereal bran, if not otherwise indicated.

For shortness, hereinafter in the present description, the expression "potentially allergenic proteins" refers to both those proteins and the biological precursors thereof that cause the onset of the above food intolerance, among which the celiac syndrome.

In the present description, the expression "lacking in potentially allergenic proteins" or "substantially lacking in potentially allergenic proteins" means that the potentially allergenic proteins are below a concentration equal to 200 ppm. Such determination of the concentration of potentially allergenic proteins and/or biological precursors thereof, such as for example gluten, gliadin and glutenine, is carried out according to the conventional analytical techniques, among which the Berliner method or the Zeleny sedimentation test, all procedures well known by a person skilled in the art.

In the present description, the term "cereal" has a broad meaning. Thus, such term also includes both monocotyledone plants belonging to the Graminaceous family, and dicotyledone plants, also called pseudocotyledone, belonging to other families, such as Polygonaceae.

Mixture (A) may optionally comprise also edible fibre. In this case, mixture (A) preferably comprises 3-90% w/w of said vegetal fibre, the balance 10-97% consists of the above starchy compound (i) and at least one amino acid, divided as indicated above.

In said mixture (A), the starchy product (i) is preferably in an amount of 22-92%, more preferably 40-92%, w/w.

In said mixture (A), the amino acid (ii) is preferably in an amount of 8-65%, more preferably 8.5-65%, w/w.

Preferably, the food preparation contains said edible fibre in a minimum amount in the range of 10 to 15% w/w in relation to the total preparation weight.

When the food preparation contains an amount of said edible fibre ranging from 3 to 35%, preferably from 3 to 30%, w/w, mixture (A) preferably contains an amount of amino acids in the range of 8 to 25%, preferably 8.5 to 25%, w/w.

When the food preparation contains an amount of edible fibre higher than 35% and up to 75%, preferably 50-75%, w/w, mixture (A) preferably contains an amount of amino acids higher than 25% and up to 65%, preferably 30 to 65%, w/w. The food preparation of the present invention preferably comprises an amount of food preparation (I) that increases proportionally to the amount of fibre found in the same preparation. The approximate amount by weight of said food preparation (I), weight calculated without the optionally present fibre intake, is about 5-15%, preferably 7-12%, in relation to the total weight of said fibre in the food preparation.

The starchy product (i) typically is a starch selected from the starches obtained from rice, potato, corn, tapioca, and deproteinised cereal flours. More preferably, the starchy product is a starch or flour selected from those obtained from rice, corn and potato.

The sulphur-free amino acid (ii) is preferably selected from the group consisting of non anionic amino acids, more preferably cationic amino acids and aliphatic monocarboxylic monamine amino acids. Even more preferably, the amino acid is selected from the group consisting of lysine, leucine, isoleucine, valine and a combination thereof. The preferred amino acid is lysine. Mixtures comprising also leucine are preferred as well. Preferably, leucine represents at least 40% mole of the amino acids in the mixture.

The edible fibres used in the present invention generally are totally white and moreover, since they generally are also odourless and tasteless, such fibres do not impart any undesired organoleptic feature to the food product. The above fibres mainly consist of hemicellulose and are totally calorie-free and non-toxic, as for example they are free from proteins, simple sugars and mycotoxins. An example of such fibres is that known by the "Citadel" brand manufactured and sold by Rettenmaier & Sonne GmbH+Co.

The edible fibres preferably have a mean particle size distribution in the range of 9-12 pm. The nutritional ingredient (1) is an ingredient selected from various different ingredients, the choice whereof depends on the type of food product to be prepared, i.e. in particular, depending on the diet the food product is intended for. Therefore, such ingredient may be an ingredient rich in carbohydrates, such as cereal flour, or proteins, or vegetables or fruit or a combination thereof.

More in particular, in the case of food products as functional foods suitable for food intolerance, such nutritional ingredient (1) will be suitably selected. For example, if the food preparation is intended for producing a functional food for people suffering from intolerance to the above allergenic proteins, the cereal flour will be selected from flours obtained from rice, maize, millet, oats, buckwheat, sorghum, cassava, amaranth, quinoa, and flours rich in starch and substantially lacking in potentially allergenic proteins, and combinations thereof. Preferably, the cereal flour is flour lacking in mycotoxins subsequent to specific pre-treatments. Examples of an ingredient with a protein content of at least 7%, preferably at least 12%, more preferably at least 15%, i.e. a food with a medium-low to high protein content, are fresh or dry pulses and animal products, such as muscle tissue, guts, eggs, milk and derivatives thereof, for example powder milk and cheese. Such ingredient may for example be in the form of flour (such as pulse flours or fish flour), ground meat of animal muscle tissue, such as fish or mammals or oviparus or ovoviviparous animals, powder derivatives, for example for milk and eggs.

The present invention also relates to a procedure for preparing the above nutritional preparation (I). Such product is produced by a procedure that comprises various steps.

The first step, step (a), consists in preparing a mixture (mixture (A)) comprising said starchy product (i) and at least one amino acid (ii). The next step (step (b)) consists in subjecting said mixture (A) to an ozonation treatment. The mixture subjected to such oxidation treatment is at the dry state.

The last step (step 2) consists in mixing the previously-obtained nutritional preparation (I) with the nutritional ingredient (1), and optionally with the anhydrous vegetable fibre (2).

Both in step (a) and in step (2), the mixing of the above components is carried out dry in a mixer having suitable capacity for the amount of components introduced. In step (a) it is for example possible to use a mixing hopper.

In both steps, the principles known in this field of the art apply for this mixing operation, i.e. for example type of mixing equipment, temperature and mixing speed.

For example, mixture (A) is preferably prepared at room temperature. The mixing time is preferably in the range of 1 and 60 minutes.

In both steps, the ingredient addition sequence is not critical.

An alternative procedure envisions the addition of the edible fibre during step (a), so that it is contained into mixture (A). The amount of fibre present in mixture (A) may correspond to all the fibre present in the nutritional preparation or only to a part thereof.

Thereafter, mixture (A) is subjected to an oxidation treatment by means of ozone. Such treatment, also called ozonation, which is per se known, is briefly described hereinafter.

The ozonation treatment uses an ozone generator that produces a gas current containing ozone, typically from 15 to 25% w/w of ozone. Such current is sent to a closed container wherein there is mixture (A) to be oxidized. During the entire procedure, the mixture is preferably kept under stirring, for example by the gas flow or other mechanical means especially provided, or by both, for ensuring a good contact of the oxidizing means with all of the mixture parts. The ozonation procedure is arranged so as to happen in countercurrent.

The oxidation reaction of the subject procedure is preferably carried out under the following conditions.

The ozone concentration in the reaction system preferably ranges from 0.3 to 100 ppm, preferably from 10 to 20 ppm.

The ozone flow speed in the container during such treatment approximately is in the range of 2 to 2000 mg/h by 1000 grams of substrate to be oxidized, i.e. mixture (A).

The contact time between the ingredients and the gas is typically in the range of

1 to 60 minutes, preferably 10 to 40 minutes.

The oxidation procedure by means of ozone is preferably carried out at a temperature between 4 °C and 27 °C, excluding extremes, more preferably between 15 and 22 °C.

When the desired oxidation level is achieved, the ozone-containing gas flow is interrupted and the preparation is discharged from the container.

Subsequent to the oxidation reaction, an oxidation level of the substrate is achieved that is preferably in the range of 70 to 75%. The oxidation level is measured by means of liquid phase chromatography.

According to a preferred embodiment, the procedure according to the invention comprises a further ozonation treatment that is carried out on the nutritional preparation (I) or after adding at least one nutritional ingredient (1) to the nutritional preparation (I), preferably after the addition of cereal flour. Such further procedure can be carried out adopting the same methods and times described above for step (a).

The above ozonation procedure is carried out in such conditions as to allow the gas to have a further effect on the mixture. In fact, thanks to the standard oxidation potential thereof, the gas acts on the polluting agents, in particular mycotoxins, usually found in flours, making them harmless to the health of the consumers of such flours. Such sterilization effect is much appreciated as it greatly reduces the amount of mycotoxins optionally found in the flour.

If the food preparation includes ingredients with substances capable of altering during the ozonation treatment, giving rise to undesired compounds (for example due to colour or smell), as in the case of millet flour, egg powder, fats, the second ozonation treatment is not carried out or it is carried out before adding such alterable ingredients.

The present invention also relates to a food product (II) obtained with the above nutritional preparation. By subjecting the latter to suitable processing that includes the addition of an aqueous or non aqueous liquid, such as water, milk, or oils, or a further component or both, the desired food product (II) is prepared.

If the nutritional ingredient (1) is a flour, in particular a cereal flour, the nutritional preparation is mixed with water to obtain the raw food product (II), such as pasta, dough for bakery products, e.g. bread. In particular, in order to produce products as (raw) pasta, dough for bread and similar products (i.e. breadsticks and others), water and optionally at least one more ingredient (e.g. salt) are added to the nutritional preparation. Generally, the starting weight ratio between the nutritional preparation and the water is in the range of 1.5:1 to 3:1 in the case of the preparation of a raw food product (II) suitable for dry pasta.

The raw food product (II) obtained by mixing the food preparation according to the present invention with water has good rheological properties, in particular resistance and elasticity. In particular, such food product (II) has a strength comparable to that of a wheat flour with strength values in the range of 180 to 350 w.

Without being limited to a particular theory of action mechanism, it is believed that the ozonation causes the oxidation of the starchy product (i) and of the amino acid (ii) and that thanks to the use of such highly oxidized components, the intrinsic Theological features of at least one nutritional ingredient present in the nutritional preparation according to the present invention are modified. Such ingredient, of a vegetal or animal origin, such as vegetal flours - among which also the deproteinised ones - ground meat and fish products, thanks to the above modification, acquire the capacity to be mixed with other ingredients, including those with a low cohesion and aggregation index, such as solid edible fibres, for constituting foods with appearance, taste, palatability, shelf life and pre- and post- baking morphological stability totally similar to the traditional homologs thereof.

It is believed that the food preparation (I) is able to carry out a binding action thanks to which gluten-free products can be equally leavened and elastic. Said preparation therefore totally and satisfactorily replaces gluten.

As mentioned above, before or during the processing of the nutritional preparation for transforming it into a food product (II), it is possible to add a further component thereto, for example water, food additives usually used in the industry of the fields, such as natural or synthetic yeasts, flavouring agents, colorants, flavour and taste enhancers (e.g. salt, monosodium glutamate), preservatives, antioxidants, in the normally used doses, a person skilled in the art knows such ingredients and the doses thereof, therefore further details shall not be described hereinafter.

The procedure for obtaining the food product (II) depends on the type of desired end food; such procedure, comprising if necessary the sizing of the food, takes place according to the usual known techniques for producing the desired food. Examples of such techniques are mixing, pasteurization, for example a flash pasteurization, and in the case of pasta, a drying process. Such pasteurization is carried out, for example, at a temperature in the range of 100 to 110 °C.

Since the procedures for obtaining the food products (II) are well known to the person skilled in the art, they will not be described herein.

As mentioned above, said food products in particular are functional foods suitable for all those individuals suffering from intolerance to the above proteins, as in individuals suffering from the celiac syndrome, or require low-calorie foods, or both categories of individuals.

The food products according to the present invention replace all those products the conventional recipe whereof envisions the presence of a flour made from wheat, barley, rye, spelt and sorghum, which may be fully or partly replaced with said food preparation (I). Therefore, the above products are both those flour-based and products wherein the flour, especially a transformed product thereof, is a quantitatively secondary ingredient, as in the case of certain stuffing or breaded foods. As already mentioned, specific examples of such foods according to the present invention are both sweet and savoury bakery products, dry or egg raw pasta, stuffed pasta, potato gnocchi or other types of gnocchi, bread etc. and cold meats, ready or half-cooked foods that in standard recipes require the presence of wheat flour or bread, such as foods containing ground meat (meatballs), cold meats, breaded foods, stuffed foods containing breadcrumbs, sweet puddings, etc.

The following examples are intended to illustrate the invention, but are not intended to be limiting thereof in any manner.

The oxidation level is determined by liquid phase chromatography using Sephardex® as stationary phase and, as eluent of the mobile phase, ethanol for starch and a mixture of water and ethanol for amino acids. The assessments on the resulting final food product, either cooked or uncooked, for example colour and consistency, are only of the sensorial type. Examples 1-4 - Semolina pasta

Step (I)

A) Preparing mixture (A)

The following ingredients are added to a mixer (10:1 weight ratio) 10 kg rice starch and 1 kg lysine.

Stirring is carried out for 5 minutes at room temperature.

B) Ozonation procedure

Mixture (A) is introduced into a glass vessel connected to an ozone generator that produces a gas containing 20% w/w ozone. During the procedure, such vessel is rotating on its main axis at a speed of 100 rpm and receives said gas. The ozone-containing gas is made to pass through the mixture kept to a temperature of 20 °C for 30 minutes. The ozone flow rate is 8 g/h and is constant all the time.

At the end of such period, the ozone flow is blocked and the food preparation, which has an oxidation level of about 72%, is discharged.

The food preparation thus obtained of examples 2-4 is subjected to a flash pasteurization process at 105 °C for about 3-4 minutes and then to drying at a temperature between 40 and 70 °C for at least 16 hours.

C) Preparing the nutritional preparation

The following components are loaded into a mixing hopper: the food preparation obtained at step (B), hemicellulose and wheat flour. The amounts are shown in the following table 1.

The mixing, which is carried out dry and at room temperature, lasts 15 minutes.

D) Second ozonation procedure The nutritional preparation obtained in the previous step is subjected to a second ozonation treatment that is carried out in the same way as the first one. Ozone flow: 8 g/h; ozonation time: 30 minutes.

Step (II)

The nutritional preparation obtained in the previous step (I) is mixed with water according to the ratio indicated in the following table 1. The mixing, which is carried out in the usual manner, lasts 30 minutes. The preparation is processed in the usual manner to obtain pasta that undergoes a flash pasteurization process at 105 °C for 3 minutes and 30 seconds and then dried for 16 hours at 60 °C.

Table 1

' PA: food preparation (I)

The pasta thus obtained stays firm after cooking and has

- a fibre content of 20% w/w;

- a light colour;

- a standard cooking time (by boiling) as with standard pasta; and

- highly appreciable organoleptic properties.

The pasta thus obtained has features substantially similar to the pasta obtained in the previous examples. Example 5 - Meatballs

Step (I) of example 1 is repeated with the following differences. A mixture (A) is prepared, obtained mixing rice flour and lysine in a 10:1 weight ratio. The oxidation level of the food preparation is about 72%.

The resulting food preparation (I) is mixed with adult beef meat and hemicellulose. The nutritional preparation thus obtained has a fibre content of 3% by weight and a beef meat content of 70% w/w.

Once cooked, the meatball has organoleptic features similar to a standard meatball produced with the same type of meat and also a significantly lower calorie content (about 55% less), the meatball weight being equal. Moreover, the meatball remains soft also after a cooling cycle at room temperature and heating up to about 40 °C.

Example 6 - Corn pasta

Step (I)

A) Preparing mixture (A)

The following ingredients are added to a mixer (5:1 weight ratio): 5000 g rice starch (83.3%) and 1000 g lysine (16.6%). Stirring is carried out for 5 minutes at room temperature.

B) Ozonation procedure

Mixture (A) (6000 g) is discharged and the procedure continues as in example 1. The oxidation level of the food preparation is about 72%.

C) Preparing the nutritional preparation

The following components are loaded into a mixing hopper:

- 600 g food preparation (I) obtained in the previous step,

- 6 kg hemicellulose, and

- 30 kg super fine corn. The mixing, which is carried out dry and at room temperature, lasts 15 minutes. D) Second ozonation procedure

The nutritional preparation obtained in the previous step is subjected to a second ozonation treatment that is carried out in the same way as the first ozonation procedure with the exception that the ozonation time is 15 minutes. Step (II)

The nutritional preparation obtained in the previous step (I) is mixed with water using a weight ratio between the nutritional preparation and water of 2 to 1. The same methods and procedure conditions used in example 1 are adopted.

The pasta thus obtained stays firm after cooking and has

- a fibre content of 16.66% w/w;

- a light colour;

- a standard cooking time (by boiling) as with standard pasta; and

- highly appreciable organoleptic properties.

Example 7 - Millet pasta

Example 6 is repeated with the only differences that the starch/lysine weight ratio is 2:1 , i.e. 66.7% rice starch and 33.3% lysine, millet flour is used instead of corn and the second ozonation treatment is not carried out. The amounts of food preparation (I), millet, fibre and water are shown in the following table 2.

The oxidation level of the food preparation is about 72%.

Table 2

PA: food preparation (I) The pasta thus obtained has features substantially similar to the pasta obtained in the previous example.

Comparison example 1

Example 1 is repeated with the only difference that mixture (A) has not been subjected to any oxidation process with ozone. The food product thus obtained has the following features:

- poor cohesion of the end product that tends to flake easily and lack of firmness even in short cooking times, with consequent loss of shape, and

- of the initial product dimensions and the forming of a mass of pulp, i.e. similar to a highly hydrated food mixture.

Claims

1. A food preparation comprising (as weight/weight percentages):

1) 10-96.5% of a nutritional ingredient (1) selected from an ingredient of vegetal or animal origin with a protein content of at least 7%, vegetables, fruit, and combinations thereof;

2) 0-75% of hemicellulose-based anhydrous insoluble edible vegetable fibres; and

3) 0.5-10% of a nutritional preparation (I) comprising a starchy product, said preparation (I) being obtainable by means of a procedure comprising the following two steps:

a) the preparation by mixing together a mixture (A) comprising the following ingredients:

(i) 5-92% w/w of a starchy product (i) selected from the starches obtained from rice, potato, corn, tapioca, deproteinised cereal flours, and mixtures thereof; and

(ii) 8-95% w/w of at least one amino acid selected from among the sulphur-free amino acids; and

b) an oxidation procedure of the mixture (A) by means of ozone.

2. The food preparation according to claim 1, wherein the amino acid (ii) is at least one selected from the group consisting of cationic amino acids and aliphatic monocarboxylic monamine amino acids.

3. The food preparation according to any of the previous claims, wherein the amino acid is selected from leucine, isoleucine, valine, lysine and a combination thereof.

4. The food preparation according to any of the previous claims, wherein the nutritional ingredient (1) is selected from the group consisting of flours obtained from rice, maize, millet, oats, buckwheat, sorghum, cassava, amaranth, quinoa, and flours rich in starch and substantially lacking in potentially allergenic proteins.

5. The food preparation according to any of the previous claims, wherein the nutritional ingredient (1) of vegetable or animal origin with a protein content of at least 7% is selected from the group consisting of pulses, beef, horse meat, lamb, mutton, pork, poultry, fish, milk and milk products, and eggs.

6. The food preparation according to any of the previous claims, wherein the nutritional ingredient (1) accounts for between 30% and 99% w/w, the insoluble edible vegetable fibres are in the range of 3% to 65% w/w, and the nutritional preparation (I) is in the range of 1% to 9% w/w.

7. The food preparation according to any of the previous claims, wherein the edible fibre has a mean particle size distribution in the range of 9 to 12 pm.

8. A procedure for producing the food preparation according to any of the previous claims, comprising the following steps:

1) preparing the nutritional preparation (I) by means of:

a) the preparation by mixing together a mixture (A) essentially comprising the following ingredients:

(ii) 8-95% w/w of at least one amino acid selected from among the sulphur-free amino acids; and optionally

(iii) hemicellulose-based anhydrous insoluble edible vegetable fibres;

b) a procedure of partial oxidation of the mixture (A) by means of ozone, said procedure being carried out on the dry mixture (A) obtained at the previous step (a), and the with an ozone-containing gas flow rate being in the range of 2 to 2000 g/h by 1000 grams of substrate to be oxidized, and the contact time between the mixture (A) and the gas being in the range of 1 to 60 min;

2) mixing the previously-obtained nutritional preparation with the nutritional ingredient (I), and optionally with the anhydrous vegetable fibre (2).

9. The procedure according to the previous claim, comprising a further partial oxidation procedure with ozone conducted after the nutritional ingredient (1) has been added to the nutritional preparation (I).

10. The procedure according to one of the claims 8 and 9, wherein the mixture (A) comprises the edible fibre in quantities in the range of 3% to 90% w/w in relation to the sum of the weights of the ingredients (i), (ii) and (iii).

11. A food product obtainable by mixing the food preparation according to any of the claims from 1 to 7 with a liquid selected from water, milk and oils.

12. A functional food product according to claim 11 for the preparation of a functional food product selected from dry pasta, egg pasta, stuffed pasta, potato gnocchi, other types of gnocchi, sweet and savoury baked products, cold meats, sausages, breaded foods, foods with fillings containing bread or breadcrumbs, sweet puddings.

13. A functional food product according to claim 11 for the preparation of a functional food product selected from among bread, buns, breadsticks, biscuits, sweet and savoury cakes and pies, prepared using flour obtained from cereals.

14. A functional food product according to claim 12 or 13 intended for use in body weight reduction treatments or prevention or to maintain a given body weight, and for the treatment and/or prevention of constipation, diverticulitis, irritable bowel syndrome, hemorrhoids, intestinal cancers, or for the dietary treatment of forms of food intolerance.

A functional food product according to claim 12 or 13 intended for the dietary prevention and treatment of forms of celiac disease, gluten intolerance and gluten sensitivity.