WO2013173869A1

WO2013173869A1 - Cereal based beverage

Info

Publication number: WO2013173869A1
Application number: PCT/AU2013/000531
Authority: WO
Inventors: Keith LINDBECK
Original assignee: Climax Holdings Pty Limited
Priority date: 2012-05-23
Filing date: 2013-05-21
Publication date: 2013-11-28

Abstract

The present invention relates generally to a beverage for human consumption that can be a meal replacer, such as for breakfast. It is based on cereal grains, and preferably on a combination of wholegrain cereals. Cereal grains are ground into a flour, digested with enzymes, and cooked and mixed with a milk- like liquid, to provide a drinkable breakfast replacement, or convenience refreshment. The enzymes are selected from any two or more of an: alpha- amylase, fungal alpha-amylase, gluco-amylase, protease, or cellulase. The production process preferably operates with at least one step where the combination of these enzymes together digest the grains at a p H and temperature suitable for each member of the combination.

Description

CEREAL BASED BEVERAGE

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present invention concerns a beverage that can be a meal replacer especially for breakfast, which is based on cereal grains, and preferably sourced from wholegrain cereals. Cereal grains are ground into a flour, digested with enzymes, and then cooked and mixed with a milk-like liquid, to provide a drinkable breakfast replacement beverage or convenience refreshment.

BACKGROUND ART

[0002] Previously, it has been known to provide a cereal-based breakfast- type beverage that can be a quick and easy replacement for traditional cereal breakfasts. These traditional breakfast cereals are often based on wheat or corn and are commonly consumed as flakes or biscuits in milk. But instead, such breakfast-type beverages are in the form of a similarly tasting liquid that can be drunk from a container preferably through a straw.

[0003] Generally, these beverage products have the same nutritional makeup as a traditional solid cereal breakfast product in milk. They are generally made by combining products having the same nutritional components as the target type of solid breakfast cereal in milk. They are normally created from suitable sources of carbohydrates, starches, fats, proteins and texturing and flavouring ingredients, which otherwise would be obtained by eating the traditional breakfast cereal products, and mixing these in finely ground form with milk, so as to provide a beverage that can be packaged and then drunk by a consumer. Often with such products, the source components of the nutritional ingredients may not be from the same cereals, or even from cereals at all, or may only be indirectly sourced from the breakfast type cereals, which the product attempts to mimic in liquid form .

[0004] These days, consumers are becoming more aware and distrustful about the extent of processing of packaged foods, and so it would be advantageous to provide a breakfast cereal beverage product that is more directly sourced from the cereal grains and which can more accurately purport to be a drinkable version of a traditional type of breakfast cereal product. [0005] Additionally, cereal manufacturers may wish to extend their well- known cereal products, by providing a fully drinkable version for their popular breakfast cereal flakes and biscuits, and so need to produce the product from the same cereal ingredients as the main product, rather than from disparate, and often non-cereal, ingredients that only when combined together in the final product will match the nutritional totality of the product. Otherwise the brand integrity of both of these different types of products can be damaged if it becomes well known that the drinkable version can be very different to the traditional cereal product that is eaten.

[0006] Furthermore, nutritionists and health professionals these days are generally promoting the incorporation of more wholegrain cereals in the mainstream diet. Products containing cereals, and breakfast cereal products themselves, have in the past tended towards becoming progressively more processed which can result in a loss of nutrients, specifically the brans and germ of the grain. The removal of these has in some cases, led to subliminal malnutrition within the population. In many developed countries there is now an interesting paradox that mandatory fortification of baking flours with thiamine (vitamin Bl) is required to replace this same component earlier removed in the bran and germ during the refining of wholegrain flour to these more popular plain white flours.

[0007] Many breakfast cereal manufacturers are now responding to this trend by trying to utilise more wholegrain in their food products, and consequently claims for "wholegrain" are becoming more prominent on packages.

[0008] Some manufacturers have recognized a need for a convenience liquid product that would provide some of the nutrition normally obtained from the traditional cereal style breakfast, that can be easily consumed "on the go" from a simple package, and drunk via a straw, while travelling for example.

[0009] There are now some "so called" cereal-based liquid meal replacers available, of which products like Sanitarium's "Up ^λη Go"™, which is a market leader in Australia, is a typical example. These types of products commonly can contain cereal components (mainly as extracts) or an ingredient derived from cereal, such as maltodextrin (as carbohydrate) from either maize or wheat; inulin (as fibre) derived from chickory; soy or other protein isolates as a source of protein, and so forth .

[0010] Additionally, consumers are being attracted to eating different grains to the ones they traditionally have consumed. Consumers are also keen to consume mixtures of different grains, which are commonly believed to combine a wider variety of important vitamins, minerals and other grain components, and by being a mixture, less of any single component (such as gluten), that may trigger allergies, for instance.

[0011] The need to make available a wholegrain cereal "convenience" product has therefore been recognised, and hence the development of the present invention can achieve this, or at least provide a useful alternative to such previously known products.

[0012] Therefore it would be useful to provide a liquid meal replacement product that is based on cereals, and which can be sourced from wholegrain cereals, and from a combination of mixed grains.

[0013] Accordingly it would be useful to provide a solution that avoids or ameliorates any of the disadvantages present in the prior art, or which provides another alternative to these prior art approaches.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0014] These and other advantages are met with the present invention, which in one broad form concerns a cereal-based beverage composition, which includes (i) at least one cereal grain in finely divided form, dispersed within (ii) a beverage liquid; the composition being suitable for human consumption, and wherein the grain of (i) has been enzymatically digested to render the grain constituents suspendable in solution.

[0015] In one preferred form, the finely divided grain is wholegrain flour.

The finely divided grain may be selected from any one or more of: wheat, oats, corn, or rice. In another preferred form, the finely divided grain is multi-grain consisting of two or more different grains. [0016] The beverage liquid may be selected from any one or more of: water, milk, yoghurt, custard or fruit juice. Preferably, the beverage liquid may be water, or a natural milk, or a synthetic milk substitute. If the beverage liquid is a synthetic milk substitute, then it may be included in the beverage composition at least partly as its source components. The milk may preferably be selected from any one or more of: cow's milk, soymilk, rice milk, almond milk, or macadamia milk.

[0017] In one alternative, the enzymatic digestion may be carried out using enzymes that digest two or more selected from the starch, protein, or cellulose constituents of the cereal grain . Preferably, the enzymes may be selected from any two or more of an : alpha-amylase, fungal alpha-amylase, gluco-amylase, protease, or cellulase. In a preferred form, these enzymes may include cellulase. In a preferred alternative, the enzymes may be selected from any two or more of an : alpha-amylase, fungal alpha-amylase, or cellulase. Optionally the selected enzymes also include protease. Optionally the selected enzymes also include gluco-amylase.

[0018] As another alternative, one or more additional food components are included in the mixture, selected from finely ground natural fruit or nuts. These one or more additional food components may be selected from among any one or more of: vitamins, minerals, sweeteners, food colourings, or food flavourings. As another option, a source of calcium and potassium is included in the composition .

[0019] The composition is preferably finally heat treated to deactivate the enzymes present.

[0020] Preferably, another aspect of the invention involves aprocess for producing a cereal-based beverage composition suitable for human consumption, comprising the steps of: (a) providing at least one cereal grain in finely divided form; (b) mixing the grain with water; (c) treating the mixture from step (b) with one or more enzymes, at a temperature and pH wherein such one or more enzymes will function, to enzymatically digest the grain ; then (d) repeating step (c) one or more times with another one or more enzymes, at a temperature and pH wherein such one or more enzymes will function to enzymatically digest the grain; to form a beverage composition. Alternatively, the process may also include a step, (e) combining the mixture from step (d) with a beverage liquid, to form a beverage composition.

[0021] Ideally, the enzyme treatment in at least one of step (c) or (d) is carried out at least partly using a combination of two or more enzymes, simultaneously. In this case, this enzyme treatment may preferably be carried out at a temperature and pH that allows all the members in the combination of enzymes to operate, to at least partly digest the grain. Alternatively, the combination of enzymes in at least one of step (c) or step (d) may be selected so that the combination of enzymes can digest the grain at a temperature and pH at which all the members in the combination can operate to digest the grain at least with 50% efficiency.

[0022] As a preferred option the enzymes may be selected from enzymes that digest two or more of the starch, protein, or cellulose constituents of the cereal grain. As a preferred option, the enzymes may be selected from any two or more of an : alpha-amylase, fungal alpha-amylase, gluco-amylase, protease, or cellulase. Preferably, the enzymes may be selected to include cellulase. Preferably, the enzymes may be selected from any two or more of an : alpha-amylase, fungal alpha-amylase, or cellulase. If so, then the selected enzymes may include protease. Or if so, they may also include gluco-amylase.

[0023] As a preferred option, in step (c) an alpha-amylase enzymes may be used, and in a single occurrence of step (d) the enzymes, comprising a fungal alpha-amylase, and a cellulase enzyme, are used simultaneously, the mixture at each of steps (c) and (d) being conducted at a temperature and pH wherein the enzymes can operate effectively. Optionally, in step (d) the enzymes may also include a protease. Optionally, in step (d) the enzymes may also include a gluco- amylase.

[0024] In the process the pH may be adjusted whenever necessary by the addition of a food grade acid or base. In one alternative, the grain may be a wholegrain flour. Optionally, the grain may be selected from any one or more of: wheat, oats, corn or rice. As a preferred arrangement, the grain may be multi- grain selected from two or more different grains. [0025] Generally, the beverage liquid may be selected from any one or more of: water, milk, yoghurt, custard or fruit juice. Preferably, the beverage liquid may be water, or is a natural milk, or is a synthetic milk substitute. If the beverage liquid is a synthetic milk substitute then it may be introduced into the mixture at least partly as its source constituents prior to or in step (d).

[0026] Preferably in the process the enzyme treatment of step (c) or (d) may be allowed to run until the components reach a colloidal state. Also, preferably, after step (d) the cereal-based beverage composition is heat treated to deactivate the enzymes. Also preferably, after step (e) the mixture may be homogenised, sterilised, and packaged aseptically into containers.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0027] Preferred embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which :

Figure 1 is a graph of the optimum temperature and pH conditions for an embodiment of the invention, relating to a combination of several enzymes that may be used to digest cereal flour, according to the invention .

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

[0028] The invention concerns a beverage based on cereals. It resembles traditional solid breakfast cereals that are usually eaten and consumed mixed with milk. Whereas these traditional breakfast cereals are commonly provided as solid cereal grains that have been processed by being rolled, shredded or puffed, for example, and optionally compressed into bricks or biscuits, and then eaten mixed with milk using a spoon . Instead, the present invention concerns a food with analogous dietary and taste characteristics that can be provided readymade and drunk as a beverage, ideally through a straw, rather than eaten with a spoon.

[0029] As mentioned above, such breakfast beverage products are known, but in the main these are constituted from raw ingredients that are mostly only indirectly sourced from the traditional breakfast grain cereals. This approach is necessary, since natural cereal grains are difficult to both solubilise to create a drinkable beverage and then still provide a product that tastes the way the traditional such product tastes. [0030] The invention is instead directed towards a breakfast- cereal type of beverage which is directly sourced from the cereal grains. This is accomplished by starting from a cereal grain raw material that is first ground to a flour, and then digested with enzymes to solubilize the solid components, allowing them to be easily suspended as an emulsion, and combined with a milk or other liquid, to provide a drinkable product. A combination of various enzymes are chosen to digest the various components in the source cereal flour. The digested and solubilised product may then be mixed with additional liquid, and optionally flavouring or like ingredients to provide a beverage. It can be packaged to provide a readymade convenience drink.

[0031] Furthermore, in another embodiment of the invention, because of an increasing preference for healthy foods among consumers, it is desirable to utilise wholegrain flour, rather than cereal flour that has been processed to remove the bran and germ to retain only the endosperm of the grain seeds. In traditional solid breakfast cereal products, the bran and especially the germ are removed, because the bran tends to discolour the product, and the germ tends to make the product go rancid. But wholegrain flour retains the bran and germ, and by solubilising and digesting the wholegrain constituents, and sealing the liquid product in sterile containers, these issues are less relevant. A wholegrain drinkable beverage can therefore retain the desirable nutritional components of the entire grain, increasing the amount of natural protein, fat and fibre in the resulting product.

[0032] Because prior known drinkable cereal beverages are produced by combining some suitable source components that in totality would match the blending together of the components of a traditional solid breakfast cereal in milk, but do not, in fact, come directly from the cereal sources that they attempt to mimic, these products cannot be accurately described as "whole-grain" or "multi- grain" cereal beverages, as consumers and regulatory organisations would understand this to mean . The absence of grains as the direct source material thus undermines the nutritional claims of these types of products.

[0033] Therefore, by also preferably providing a directly sourced multi- cereal beverage, as is one preferred embodiment for the present invention, then such a drink can be accurately described as being a "multi-grain" product as it can be sourced directly from a combination of a number of different grains. Thus, a desirable multi-grain cereal beverage can be provided to consumers that accurately identifies the grains and also confers the nutritional and taste benefits arising from the specific grains being selected.

[0034] The provision of both a wholegrain and a multi-grain product is a preferred embodiment of the invention .

[0035] The invention involves mixing finely divided cereal grains, preferably whole grains, and also preferably multiple types of such grains, in water, and then digesting the mixture with suitable enzymes.

[0036] The enzymatic digestion of grain is known, and has a long history such as in the brewing industry for turning grain into beer using yeast, for instance. More recently, efforts have been taken to utilise enzymes directly to treat grain. An example of this is described in US Patent 7,488,501 by Yunusov et al, published 10 Feb 2009. This discusses processing various grains such as amaranth, oilseed or oatbran, to produce a beverage by digestion with some enzymes by sequential treatment. For instance, the starting material is treated with glycosidase to process polysaccharides at a suitable pH and temperature for this enzyme to operate, then with a protease to break down proteins at a different pH, and then deactivating the protease by changing the temperature, and finally treating the material with an alpha-amylase to break down starch at the modified temperature and pH that allows the alpha-amylase to function effectively. Each such treatment operates individually and in sequence.

[0037] However, in the present invention, the enzymatic digestion occurs with multiple different enzymes. It preferably digests the different components concurrently and combined together in the mixture, instead of consecutively as described in US 7,488,501. In the invention, at least some of the enzymes may be selected so that when combined together in the mixture, they will operate at a temperature and pH where they can all function . Each of the enzymes in such a combination may not function at their ideal capability, but should operate at least well enough to digest the source material to provide the beverage product.

[0038] This approach has advantages over the process described in US

7,488,501. For example, the temperatures at which enzymes operate are high, which tends to cook the grain. The overall processing time for the simultaneous multi-enzyme treatment according to this invention is therefore less than with the prior known separate and sequential process. The shorter overall treatment time means the grain is left to stew at the high temperatures for less time, which helps to preserve the taste, nutrition and integrity of the grain. Shorter processing times also assists to reduce the production costs for the product, because with a faster overall process, the throughput of the processing plant can be increased, or the amount of plant machinery and storage vats can be minimised.

[0039] In addition, the process in US 7,488,501 preferably involves defatting the mixture prior to the glycosidase treatment. In contrast, in the present invention, the fat and oils are left in the mixture. When whole grains are utilised, the germ present introduces a significant amount of oil and fat, but it has been found that these ingredients can enhance the flavour and mouth feel of the product, by creating a certain amount of creaminess, as well as improving its nutritional values. Nevertheless, the present invention does not preclude the option of defatting, especially partially, of the mixture, should the grains chosen contain high levels of oils and fats, or if it is desired for the resultant drink product to have low levels of oils and fats in it, such as with "low-fat" variations of beverages, for instance.

[0040] Furthermore, in the present invention, it is preferred to process the mixture with an enzyme to break down cellulose, such as utilising the cellulase enzyme for example, which is especially useful for whole grain sourced products, because of the presence of the bran . Bran has a significant amount of cellulose in it, and by enzymatically digesting this, the final product may have an improved taste and mouth feel. Nevertheless, in some situations in may be useful to not use a cellulase enzyme, if high fibre versions of the product are desired, for example.

[0041] The invention involves utilising one or more finely divided cereal grains. Ideally, this is in the form of the cereal flour. These grains are finely divided by generally known processes, such as by being ground, chopped or shredded. Ideally the particle size of the resultant flour is in the range of from about 50 to 400 microns and most preferably from less than 140 microns.

[0042] Any of the grains used for human consumption may be utilised.

Examples of these commonly include wheat, barley, corn (maize), rice or oats. Less well known cereals may also be utilised, such as millet, sorghum, rye, triticale, teff, wild rice, spelt, buckwheat, amaranth, quinoa, kaniwa, fonio, or cockscombe. Consumers will find some of the lesser known cereals exotic, and thus desirable, and some of these cereals have special nutritional components which may also be beneficial.

[0043] In one preferred embodiment, the invention utilises a combination of different cereals, using two, three or more of those listed, to provide a multi-grain beverage.

[0044] As mentioned previously, in one preferred embodiment the invention involves using wholegrain cereal, consisting of the endosperm, germ and bran, which are ground into a flour, in the same process, or separately and then recombined. However, the invention may just utilise just one, two or all three of these components.

[0045] The cereal grain flour is enzymatically treated, as described in more detail below.

[0046] The beverage composition also includes a beverage liquid, which is combined with the enzymatically treated cereal solids to provide a beverage for consumption by a consumer. This liquid can be any suitable for human consumption . Preferred such liquids include any one or more of water, milk, yoghurt, custard or fruit juice, for example. More preferably, the beverage liquid may be water, or a natural milk, or a synthetic milk substitute. When the beverage liquid is a synthetic milk substitute it may be included in the beverage composition at least partly as its source components, so that it is constituted during the process of the production of the beverage composition . Preferably, when this occurs, the components, or their majority, of the synthetic milk are mixed together while the cereal is being enzymatically digested, and the two components are combined at the end, and then sterilised, homogenised, and packaged.

[0047] Ideally, the milk may be selected from any one or more of cows milk, goats milk, soymilk, rice milk, almond milk, or macadamia milk, for instance. If the milk is natural animal-sourced milk, it may optionally be processed to reduce its fat content, or alter its characteristics. If the milk is synthetic milk, like soy milk, it can be constituted prior to being mixed with the cereal component, or it may be created during and as part of the production process. A combination of different milks, or a combination with other beverage liquids can be used.

[0048] The cereal grain flour component is digested enzymatically, while dispersed in water that is at a specific temperature and pH, suited for the enzyme functioning. Thus there may need to be some dilution or else some concentration of the milk component, to take into account the water added in the cereal digestion phase, to meet the requirements of the final product.

[0049] As well, additional components suitable for human consumption may be included in the beverage mixture. These include using one or more among vitamins, minerals, sweeteners, food colourings and food flavourings. The beverage may be fortified by adding nutritional components that are sometimes lacking in the diet of consumers, or which may be required in higher amounts in some segments of the population, such as with pregnant women, senior citizens, people at risk from diseases like osteoporosis, and the like. For example, it may be worthwhile fortifying the beverage with folic acid, vitamin D, or added calcium, in this instance.

[0050] Among some suitable vitamins that may be added, are vitamins A, B including thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, or folic acid, C, D and E. Some minerals that may be added include, potassium, sodium, calcium, iron, zinc, iodine, chloride, and the like, and any suitable source for such minerals for human consumption may be utilised. Amino acids may also be included. These components may be added in amounts to match that normally found in cereal products, or at higher levels, to meet recommended nutritional levels, or to match the levels in "health" foods and vitamin and mineral supplements, for example. Salt (sodium chloride) will preferably be added for taste considerations, as well as to provide these minerals, and flavoured versions, such as sea salt may be used.

[0051] It may also be advantageous that the enzymatic digestion of the various food components may give rise to health giving by-products. For example, the enzymatic breakdown on protein components in the cereal flour may give rise to amino acids and peptides that confer a beneficial health effect from consuming the beverage. The enzymes selected for the process according to the invention may be selected to provide this outcome, where specific desirable peptides and amino acids are created. The reaction conditions and processing times may also be selected to optimise the production of such useful components.

[0052] Natural or artificial sweeteners may be included. Breakfast cereals commonly are eaten with sugar or other sweeteners added, and sweeteners may be included in the beverage to provide consumers with a similar taste sensation to what they are used to from the traditional experience. Natural sweeteners include sugar (ie, sucrose), honey, fruit syrup or the like. Processed natural sweeteners may be used, including such as fructose, glucose, high fructose corn syrup, lactose, and the like. Artificial sweeteners may be used such as, acesulfame K, sucralose, aspartame, alitame, saccharin. Intense sweeteners may be used such as monk fruit extract or stevia, for example. Mixtures of different sweeteners may be used. Natural sweeteners are preferred, to maximise the nutritional and health benefits apparent to consumers. It should be noted that the enzyme treatment of the cereal grain, particularly of the carbohydrate components present, can produce simple sugars, particularly disaccharides and mono saccharides, which will influence the sweetness of the final product. These will need to be taken into account when selecting other sweetening additives.

[0053] Alternatively, or in addition, the enzymes used to break down the food components, especially the carbohydrate component, may be selected to generate an improved or desirable sweetness for the product. The enzymatic digestion of the carbohydrate present can give rise to simple sugars, such as maltose, glucose and fructose. Each of these simple sugars has a different sweetness value, and by choosing the enzymes used in the process, the proportions of each of these sugars can be selected to suit the overall sweetness of the product. This can be used to avoid the need to add extra sugar or other sweetener components, which can be advantageous for marketing "no added sugar" beverages, which some consumers prefer.

[0054] Various food colouring and food flavouring may also be added.

Natural flavouring components may be used, such as fruit flavours or concentrates may be used, such as apple or berry flavours or concentrates or powder, or nut flavours or paste, such as macadamia nut paste or powder. Artificial flavours or colourings are less preferred, but may be used in some circumstances. Some flavourings that may be employed in the beverage include coffee, chocolate, strawberry, and peppermint, for example.

[0055] To enhance the flavour, or provide useful variety in the beverage product, fruit may be included, generally in finely divided particulate form that is able to flow through a drinking straw. However, it may be worthwhile including small (generally 2mm or less) particles of real fruit to provide a visual indication of the presence of fruit, as a way of increasing the visual appeal of the product. Fruits, and similar foods, like, apple, oranges or other citrus fruit, pineapple, cherry, grape, mango, peach, apricot, strawberry, blackberry, cranberry and the like. Vegetables or herbs may also be used. Finely ground nuts are also an optional ingredient, such as almonds, macadamia, cashews and the like. For these inclusions sterilisation using a scraped-surface heat exchanger may be required.

[0056] While it is highly preferred that the beverage of the invention be drinkable, the invention also covers thick beverages that are better consumed using very large diameter straws, spoons, paddles or by licking, for example. Such beverages are commonly known as "thick shakes" or batter, custard, or yoghurt. In these, a thickening agent may be included. The invention also encompasses frozen beverages, similar to icecream or frozen yogurt, for example.

[0057] Other components used in the production of milk drinks or milk substitutes, like soy milk, may also be included. For example, it may be useful to add a source of protein, such as pea protein, or rice protein, to increase the protein levels in the final product. Oils or fats, such as vegetable oil may be added to improve the creaminess of the product, although the presence of the germ from wholegrain flour will usually be sufficient so that additional fats or oils should not be needed.

[0058] During the production process, the pH of the cereal mixture is adjusted, by the addition of food grade acids or bases. Some suitable acids include, phosphoric acid, citric acid, malic acid, tartaric acid, ascorbic acid, and the like. Some suitable bases include sodium bicarbonate, potassium bicarbonate, and the like. Of these, potassium bicarbonate is preferred because of its nutritional advantages over sodium, which many consumers wish to avoid. [0059] During the production process the temperature of the cereal mixture may require adjusting. Common techniques in the food industry to heat or cool the vats or reactors may be employed. Heat exchangers whereby the different temperatures for two difference stages of the process are allowed to equilibrate, may have economic advantages. The temperature during each separate digestion stage is normally monitored and maintained by automatic systems within a narrow temperature range.

[0060] The beverage drink of the invention is generally produced by mixing cereal grain flour with water, to form a type of slurry, and then treating this mixture with enzymes to digest the cereal constituents. Preferably the finely divided cereal consists of a number of grains, and the grain is whole grain.

[0061] Ideally, the process is carried out with a number of enzymes, selected from enzymes that process the constituents of the grain, particularly including those that digest the starch, the protein and the cellulose components of the grain . These enzymes are also all approved for use in food for human consumption .

[0062] Some enzymes that are suitable for digesting the starch components include alpha-amylase, fungal alpha-amylase, gluco-amylase, and beta amylase. Enzymes that can digest the protein component include the proteases. Enzymes that can digest the cellulose component include the cellulases. If bran is present in the flour, then a treatment with cellulase may be particularly desirable.

[0063] Optionally, other enzyme classes may be utilised, depending on the types and quantities of grains present in the mixture. For example, a lipase which breaks down oils may be utilised, especially if a grain with large amounts of oils is included in the mixture, such as oil seed, for instance. But in general, with most common grains, and with the inclusion of the oils in the germ of wholegrain cereal flour, then a lipase induced reduction in oils will not be required. Additionally, the beverage liquid component, normally as a milk, contains oil and fat, and if a synthetic milk liquid is used, the amount of oil in this component may be adjusted in accordance with the oils introduced in the cereal components.

[0064] It is also a preferred feature that the enzyme treatments operate with two or more enzymes combined together, which reduces the time that would otherwise be required for sequential processing. However, each enzyme performs best at a specific and sometimes narrow range of temperatures and pH values. So, in order to combine enzyme treatments, it is necessary to select enzymes that operate in overlapping zones of temperature and pH ranges. It is therefore a preferred feature of the invention to select suitable enzymes to perform the required digestion processes that can operate effectively at the same pH and temperature. There is normally a range of both pH and temperature where a specific enzyme will function optimally, and an extended region beyond and outside this range where the enzyme will operate satisfactorily but not optimally. Therefore it may be necessary to select enzymes that may not perform at their optimum efficiency, but still at a satisfactory efficiency, at the common temperature and pH for the suite of enzymes being utilised in combination . As well, the quantity of source component being digested, and the rate of digestion by each enzyme in the combination, at the selected temperature and pH needs to be taken into account. If there is a potential range where the enzymes in the combination of enzymes will all function, it will then be desirable to choose a precise value within that range where the desired digestion is complete for all the enzymes present at about the same time, with the conditions chosen to achieve this result.

[0065] When deciding on the enzyme treatments, all the potentially useful enzymes should be reviewed and their temperature and pH ranges compared. A suitable way of doing this is to plot the temperature and pH ranges for each of the potential enzymes on a graph, and then determine where they overlap. An example showing this is provided in Figure 1. The plot (1) shows pH values along the "x" axis, and temperature "T" along the "y" axis. Some enzymes are shown on the plot (1). The range of an alpha-amylase (2) that breaks down starch to polysaccharides is plotted. The ranges for a fungal alpha-amylase (3) that breaks down the polysaccharides, a protease (4) that breaks down the protein and a cellulase enzyme (5) which digests cellulose are also shown plotted on the graph. The range for a glucoamylase (7) that converts maltose to glucose is also included in the plot, and the extended range (8) where the enzyme operates less than optimally, but satisfactorily at 50% or greater efficiency is also indicated.

[0066] If necessary a precise activity graph within the permitted range can be reviewed for each enzyme, with the optimum and satisfactory ranges. By this means it is possible to determine the optimum pH and temperature values for the process, to best suit the maximum number of the enzymes able to perform their functions together in the slurry mixture.

[0067] It can be seen, that there is a region where the three enzymes (3),

(4) & (5) overlap, in region (6), at the temperature of 50 to 55 C and at a pH of 5.8. Therefore the three enzymes, such as the fungal alpha-amylase, protease and cellulase can be combined together in the slurry mixture at this temperature and pH, and their respective activities can operate at the same time. If another of the preferred combination of enzymes will converge with the other enzymes, not necessarily at its optimum efficiency but still at a satisfactory level, then in can be utilised. For example, if a glucoamylase is used, then it does not operate optimally at the overlap region (6) of the other enzymes, as indicated as its region (7). But it will operate at point (6) at a reasonable efficiency, where it has 50% or more activity, as shown as region (8) and so it can be included in the enzyme suite for the invention .

[0068] Where an enzyme is used not at its optimum efficiency, then the processing time can be adjusted to allow the desired amount of digestion. The amount of source components will vary and the efficiency of each enzyme may allow this to be taken into account. The quantities of each enzyme component selected will be adjusted according to the efficiency of the enzyme at the pH and temperature at which it is operating. For example, if the glucoamylase enzyme operates at 50% efficiency at the sweetspot (6) then twice the normal amount of the enzyme that would be used in region (7) will be added to the reactor.

[0069] As can be seen from Figure 1, the operating conditions for the alpha- amylase (2) is well outside the operating regions for the other enzymes. This means that this digestion step will need to operate as a separate step in the overall processing sequence. As mentioned previously, it is desirable to minimise the number of steps so as to reduce the overall processing time. Therefore ideally an enzyme suite is selected where the minimum number of separate steps with different temperature or pH conditions are required.

[0070] It is a straightforward process of determining the amount of each enzyme required, based on the proportions and quantities of the components present in the flour that are to be digested. The food-grade enzymes used in the invention are well known, and their effectiveness at the selected temperature and pH can be calculated, and the time required for each digestion stage, along with the quantities for each enzyme can be readily calculated. Some basic testing may be required to help select the optimum conditions and processing times. Also, the source components will vary in their makeup, depending on the varieties of grains utilised, and their growing conditions, and so some fine tuning of the selected parameters may be needed as part of the normal process.

[0071] With the present invention, it is preferred to firstly treat the cereal slurry with an alpha-amylase which breaks down the starch present to shorter chain polysaccharides. A suitable alpha-amylase enzyme that can be used for this purpose is "Spezyme AA" from Genencor International. This will function satisfactorily in a temperature range from about 85 to 95 C, and in a range of pH 6 to 7. This digestion can be run initially, at this temperature and pH range. In this example, this takes around 2 hours to digest all the starch present; the end point being testable by the iodine test for starch. This particular enzyme needs the presence of calcium ions to function, and so a source of calcium, such as "Gadocal K" needs to be added to the mixture.

[0072] Then in a second and combined operation the fungal alpha-amylase such as "Diazyme FA" from Genencor International, the protease such as "Multifect Neutral" from Genencor International, and the cellulase such as "GC 220" from Genencor International can be added to the mixture and allowed to digest their specific components. As these are the enzymes shown in Figure 1, the slurry mixture is kept at the "sweet spot" (6) as shown in Figure 1, at a temperate of 50 to 55 C, and at a pH at 5.8. The pH is adjusted from that of the first step, such as by adding a suitable amount of phosphoric acid. This step will continue until the action of the enzymes indicates that a colloidal state has been reached, or in other words, is sufficiently advanced so as to promote suspendability, which can take around 4 hours.

[0073] The use of a fungal-amylase to treat the carbohydrate material will result in a high maltose concentration in the sugar profile that results. Many consumers will find that level of sweetness satisfactory. But if higher levels of sweetness are required, especially without the recourse to adding extra sugar or other sweeteners, then a glucoamylase enzyme may be included. A suitable such glucoamylase enzyme is "Diazyme X4NP" available from Danisco. This splits the maltose into two glucose units; each maltose molecule has a sweetness index value of 0.3, whereas glucose's value is 0.75, so there is a detectable increase in the sweetness as a result, of around 25%. The Diazyme X4NP enzyme functions optimally around a pH of 4.5, which is lower than that for the sweetspot of 5.8. But it is still 50% active at a pH of 5.8. So by increasing the concentration of the Diazyme in the mixture (from 0.1% to 0.2%) then sufficient activity is available to create the desired sweetness end result. It operates at an optimum temperature of 50 - 60 C, so it works well in the sweetspot temperature conditions.

[0074] One alternative is that a protease is not used. The protease enzyme breaks down the protein present, and the peptide and amino acid fragments that result from this can have a bitter or unpleasant flavour for some consumers. Therefore, it is an optional feature not to include a proteolytic enzyme in the process, so as to avoid this result.

[0075] However, it is another alternative that a protease is used. Some of the amino acids or peptides resulting from the use of a proteolytic enzyme may confer a beneficial health outcome from their consumption. Therefore some versions of a beverage according to the invention may benefit from the use of the protease. In this case, a masking agent to disguise the resulting unpleasant flavour may be included in the beverage composition. So as yet another alternative, the protease may be used but in a lower concentration, or for a shorter time, or under temperature and pH conditions to reduce its activity, to only partially breakdown the protein components present, so as to provide some amount of useful breakdown product, but in lesser quantities than otherwise in order to reduce the bitter or unpleasant flavour.

[0076] After this step is complete, then the pH is adjusted to that desired for the finished product, such as around 6.5 to 6.8, near neutral, by adding potassium (preferred nutritionally) or sodium bicarbonate, and the mixture is cooled. All the enzymes will be deactivated during the sterilisation process preceding packaging.

[0077] Using this technique, other suites of combination of alternate enzymes may be used, ideally chosen so that several of them may operate in combination, their operating conditions selected as described above, or by trial and error, to give the desired results, with the minimum of time required.

[0078] It is highly preferred that the enzymes be deactivated in the composition in the finished product. This essentially destroys and removes the enzymes from the beverage. This can be accomplished by heat treatment as a preferred option, or else by a dramatic change in the pH. Most preferably the enzymes are deactivated by the sterilisation step just prior to packaging the beverage, although heat treatment to deactivate the enzymes may occur at other stages in the production process, once the digestion runs its course.

[0079] The enzymes are permitted to digest their source materials for sufficient time to produce a suitable product that has the desired properties and flavour. Ideally the digestion runs until the constituents reach a colloidal stage, whereby the components are distributed in an emulsion and do not settle out. As a guide, the starch digestion, using the preferred alpha-amylase enzyme can take around 2 hours, and the second digestion stage using the combination of a preferred fungal alpha-amylase and a protease and a cellulase and optionally a glucoamylase can take around 4 hours. It is often advantageous to allow the digestion to proceed for the shortest time consistent with the desired results, to increase the throughput for the production process.

[0080] Ideally the digestion is allowed to proceed until the components go into a colloidal state. If the digestion is stopped earlier than this, a suitable product can still be produced, but the components will have a tendency to settle out into layers. But even so, a beverage can still be provided like this, but an indication for the consumer to "shake well before opening" will often be needed on the packaging in this situation. Having the components in a colloidal state has an advantage in that shaking by a consumer is not generally required as the components will remain in suspension within the mixture for the normal product distribution cycle period.

[0081] Alternatively, the digestion step may be allowed to run for a longer time. This allows the digestion to proceed further, and more of the source components will then be reduced to simple sugars, which will tend to sweeten the beverage. Therefore, by adjusting the digestions times, the flavour of the resultant beverage (primarily the level of sweetness) may be altered. However, it is preferred in many instances to keep the digestion times to the minimum, so as to increase throughput, and instead to sweeten the beverage by adding a sweetener component separately, or arising from the other components being added.

[0082] After digestion, the beverage liquid, preferably in the form of a milk, is then added. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the milk chosen is a synthetic milk analogue, based on powdered skimmed milk. While this can be prepared separately, or obtained as a finished product, it is preferred to manufacture this synthetic milk ingredient at the same time as the cereal slurry is being processed. Other milks or milk analogues may be used alternatively as the basis for the beverage liquid component.

[0083] This synthetic milk is made in the known manner, generally by combining the ingredients of soy lecithin powder, finely ground nuts (such as macadamia), and vegetable oil, to another mix of skimmed milk powder, pea protein isolate, maize fibre such as "Nutriose", salt, gums such as gellan gum and carrageenan, flavours and vitamins and minerals, and combining these in water as an emulsion.

[0084] The beverage milk is then combined and thoroughly mixed with the enzymatically digested cereal, and its concentration and pH adjusted to the desired level. Further flavouring or fruit additives may also be included.

[0085] The resulting mixture is generally then homogenised, sterilised and packaged aseptically in suitable containers, such as in 250 ml softpacks which, upon purchase, may be pierced with a straw, to allow consumers to drink the beverage.

EXAMPLES

[0086] An example of a beverage according to the invention was prepared as follows :

EXAMPLE 1

[0087] An example was prepared in order to produce 300 litre batch of a cereal beverage drink. (1.) Add a wholegrain mix (32kg) made up of finely ground wholegrain oats (20kg), finely ground wholegrain yellow maize (8kg), finely ground wholegrain brown rice (4kg) with continuous stirring to 160 litres of warm water at a temperature of less than 55 C. This should achieve approx 17% solids (w/w).

(2.) Check the pH, so that it is in the range of from 6.0 - 7.0.

(3.) Add 32g (0.1% = l kg/MT grain) of alpha amylase enzyme liquid. Preferably use an alpha amylase such as "Spezyme AA", obtainable from Genencor International.

(4.) Add 67g "Gadocal K" , preferably at amount of 50ppm Ca (Gadocal K = 15% min. Ca.), so as to provide mineral stimulus for the enzymic reaction.

(5.) Increase temperature to 85 - 90 C. The viscosity of the mixture will increase as the gelling temperature is reached. Keep at this temperature with slow stirring for about 2 hours. Compensate for any evaporation losses, by topping up with water. This will liquefy and digest the starch, then cool to 50-55 C. Test for starch removal using the iodine test before cooling; if starch is still present, leave at this temperature longer.

(6.) Add (4kg) pea protein isolate, then adjust pH to 5.8, in necessary using phosphoric acid.

(7.) Add 32g (0.1% = l kg/MT grain) fungal alpha-amylase liquid. Preferably use the fungal alpha amylase "Diazyme FA" obtainable from Genencor International.

(8.) Add 32g (0.1% = lkg/MT grain) protease liquid. Preferably use a protease such as "Multifect Neutral" obtainable from Genencor International.

(9.) Add 32g (0.1% = lkg/MT grain) cellulase liquid. A preferred cellulase is that obtained as "GC 220" from Genencor International.

(10.) With slow stirring, maintain at 50 - 55 C. Continue reaction for at least 4 hours, until a colloidal state is reached, and by which time the digestion is sufficiently advanced as to support solids suspension . (11.) Then, screen the mixture to remove any large insoluble components. Adjust to pH 6.5 - 6.8 using preferably potassium or alternatively, or sodium bi-carbonate. This mixture becomes "Solution A".

(12.) Preparation of "Solution B" - Add the dry solids mix, and the paste mix with rapid stirring to 100 litres water at ambient temperature. The dry solids mix consists of: skimmed milk powder (6.0kg); pea protein isolate (4.0kg); maize fibre such as "Nutriose" (2.0kg); sea salt (200g); gums consisting of "Kelco" gellan gum HM-B (300g) and "Kelco" carrageenan J- DS (63g); apple powder (500g), flavours; selected vitamins and minerals - including "Gadocal" (2.5kg). Premix these dry ingredients thoroughly in dry form before adding to water. The paste mix consist of premixed : "extra smooth" roasted macadamia nut paste (2.0kg), vegetable oil (1.2 litres), and soy lecithin (500g).

(13.) Combine Solution A with Solution B, check pH and make to final volume (300 litres), which should need the addition of about 4 - 6 litres of water. The final volume will be 300 litres; S.G. = 1.068; and final weight should be 320.4 kg.

(14.) Without much delay, pass through homogenizer at 150 bar (15,000 kpa) at 70 - 75 C. Immediately sterilize using indirect UHT (143 C for 8 seconds); cool to 70 - 75 C and pass through 2-stage homogenizer at 150/50 bar (25,000 kpa).

(15.) Cool to 20 - 25 C and pack aseptically into suitable containers.

[0088] The product can be packed into containers having 250 ml of beverage. The contents of a 250 ml pack is shown in Table 1, below.

Ingredients Quantity (g)

Oatmeal flour 16.7

Brown rice flour 3.4

Maize flour 6.7

Skimmed milk powder 5.0 Ingredients Quantity (g)

Pea protein isolate 6.7

Maize fibre 1.7

Kelcogel HM-B 0.25

Fruit powder - apple 0.42

Macadamia nut (as paste) 1.7

Sunflower oil 0.9

Lecithin granules 0.8

Salt 0.8

Gadocal K 2.1

Water 225

Flavour 0.4

TOTAL 272.6

Table 1 9] The product will have nutritional values as indicated in Table 2, perml of beverage.

Nutritional Information Value

Quantity 100 ml

Energy (cal) 65.0

Protein (g) 4.2

Fat total (g) 1.6

Fat saturated (g) 0.28

Dietary fibre (g) 1.5

Carbohydrates (g) 8.7

Sugars (g) 1.2

Sodium (mg) 32 Nutritional Information Value

Potassium (mg) 53

Calcium (mg) 132

Table 2

[0090] In this specification, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, the term "comprising" has the non-exclusive meaning of the word, in the sense of "including at least" rather than the exclusive meaning in the sense of "consisting only of". The same applies with corresponding grammatical changes to other forms of the word such as "comprise", "comprises" and so on .

[0091] It will be apparent that obvious variations or modifications may be made which are in accordance with the spirit of the invention and which are intended to be part of the invention, and any such obvious variations or modifications are therefore within the scope of the invention .

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

[0092] The invention can be utilised in the food industry, to provide a drinkable breakfast product, that is convenient to distribute and use, and which can match or improve on the nutritional qualities in traditional breakfast cereals. It provides a convenience food, dietary supplement able to be consumed as a beverage through a straw, for example.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. A cereal-based beverage composition, which includes

(i) at least one cereal grain in finely divided form, dispersed within (ii) a beverage liquid; the composition being suitable for human consumption, and wherein the grain of (i) has been enzymatically digested to render the grain constituents suspendable in solution.

2. The composition of claim 1, wherein the finely divided grain is wholegrain flour.

3. The composition of claim 1, wherein the finely divided grain is selected from any one or more of: wheat, oats, corn, or rice.

4. The composition of claim 1, wherein the finely divided grain is multi-grain consisting of two or more different grains.

5. The composition of claim 1, wherein the beverage liquid is selected from any one or more of: water, milk, yoghurt, custard or fruit juice.

6. The composition of claim 5, wherein the beverage liquid is water, or is a natural milk, or is a synthetic milk substitute.

7. The composition of claim 6, wherein when the beverage liquid is a

synthetic milk substitute, it is included in the beverage composition at least partly as its source components.

8. The composition of claim 5, wherein the milk is selected from any one or more of: cow's milk, soymilk, rice milk, almond milk, or macadamia milk.

9. The composition of claim 1, wherein the enzymatic digestion has been carried out using enzymes that digest two or more selected from the starch, protein, or cellulose constituents of the cereal grain .

10. The composition of claim 9, wherein the enzymes are selected from any two or more of an : alpha-amylase, fungal alpha-amylase, gluco-amylase, protease, or cellulase.

11. The composition of claim 10, wherein the enzymes are selected to include cellulase.

12. The composition of claim 10, wherein the enzymes are selected from any two or more of an : alpha-amylase, fungal alpha-amylase, or cellulase.

13. The composition of claim 11, wherein the selected enzymes also include protease.

14. The composition of claim 11, wherein the selected enzymes also include gluco-amylase.

15. The composition of claim 1, wherein one or more additional food

components are included in the mixture, selected from finely ground natural fruit or nuts.

16. The composition of claim 1, wherein one or more additional food

components are included in the mixture, selected from among any one or more of: vitamins, minerals, sweeteners, food colourings, or food flavourings.

17. The composition of claim 1, wherein a source of calcium and potassium is included in the composition.

18. The composition of claim 1, which is finally heat treated to deactivate the enzymes present.

19. A process for producing a cereal-based beverage composition suitable for human consumption, comprising the steps of:

(a) providing at least one cereal grain in finely divided form ;

(b) mixing the grain with water;

(c) treating the mixture from step (b) with one or more enzymes, at a temperature and pH wherein such one or more enzymes will function, to enzymatically digest the grain ; then

(d) repeating step (c) one or more times with another one or more enzymes, at a temperature and pH wherein such one or more enzymes will function to enzymatically digest the grain ; to form a beverage composition .

20. The process of claim 19, which also includes the step, (e) combining the mixture from step (d) with a beverage liquid, to form a beverage composition .

21. The process of claim 19, wherein the enzyme treatment in at least one of step (c) or (d) is carried out at least partly using a combination of two or more enzymes, simultaneously.

22. The process of claim 21, wherein the enzyme treatment is carried out at a temperature and pH that allows all the members in the combination of enzymes to operate, to at least partly digest the grain .

23. The process of claim 19, wherein the combination of enzymes in at least one of step (c) or step (d) is selected so that the combination of enzymes can digest the grain at a temperature and pH at which all the members in the combination can operate to digest the grain at least with 50% efficiency.

24. The process of claim 19, wherein the enzymes are selected from enzymes that digest two or more of the starch, protein, or cellulose constituents of the cereal grain .

25. The process of claim 24, wherein the enzymes are selected from any two or more of an : alpha-amylase, fungal alpha-amylase, gluco-amylase, protease, or cellulase.

26. The process of claim 24, wherein the enzymes are selected to include cellulase.

27. The process of claim 24, wherein the enzymes are selected from any two or more of an : alpha-amylase, fungal alpha-amylase, or cellulase.

28. The process of claim 26, wherein the selected enzymes also include

protease.

29. The process of claim 26, wherein the selected enzymes also include gluco- amylase.

30. The process of claim 19, wherein in step (c) an alpha-amylase enzymes is used, and in a single occurrence of step (d) the enzymes, comprising a fungal alpha-amylase, and a cellulase enzyme, are used simultaneously, the mixture at each of steps (c) and (d) being conducted at a temperature and pH wherein the enzymes can operate effectively.

31. The process of claim 30, wherein in step (d) the enzymes also include a protease.

32. The process of claim 30, wherein in step (d) the enzymes also include a gluco-amylase.

33. The process of claim 19 wherein the pH is adjusted whenever necessary by the addition of a food grade acid or base.

34. The process of claim 19 wherein the grain is wholegrain flour.

35. The process of claim 19 wherein the grain is selected from any one or more of: wheat, oats, corn or rice.

36. The process of claim 19 wherein the grain is multi-grain selected from two or more different grains.

37. The process of claim 19 wherein the beverage liquid is selected from any one or more of: water, milk, yoghurt, custard or fruit juice.

38. The process of claim 37 wherein the beverage liquid is water, or is a

natural milk, or is a synthetic milk substitute.

39. The process of claim 38, wherein when the beverage liquid is a synthetic milk substitute it is introduced into the mixture at least partly as its source constituents prior to or in step (d).

40. The process of claim 19 wherein the enzyme treatment of step (c) or (d) is allowed to run until the components reach a colloidal state.

41. The process of claim 19 wherein after step (d) the cereal-based beverage composition is heat treated to deactivate the enzymes. The process of claim 19 wherein after step (e) the mixture is homogenised, sterilised, and packaged aseptically into containers.