WO2016079582A1

WO2016079582A1 - Process for the production of food ingredients from vegetable by products and waste thereof

Info

Publication number: WO2016079582A1
Application number: PCT/IB2015/002160
Authority: WO
Inventors: Aldo DI LUCCIA; Barbara LA GATTA
Original assignee: Di Luccia Aldo; La Gatta Barbara
Priority date: 2014-11-18
Filing date: 2015-11-17
Publication date: 2016-05-26

Abstract

The process allows to obtain from food by-products and fibrous wastes of vegetable origin, refractory to treatments of grinding or milling, an easy to process product for human food. The easy to process product becomes an ingredient to be added to food preparations providing them with important nutraceutical properties, safeguarded by the use of cryogenic techniques based on blast chilling temperature of by-products / waste, by deep freezing and subsequent cold grinding, in which said by-products / waste are frozen immersed in a cryogenic liquid and subjected to crushing.

Description

"PROCESS FOR THE PRODUCTION OF FOOD INGREDIENTS FROM VEGETABLE BYPRODUCTS AND WASTE THEREOF"

The present invention relates to the field of vegetable byproducts and organic waste reuse.

It refers to a procedure for processing byproducts and / or waste resulting from the vegetable material's production chain deriving from plants used in the food industry; in particular, through this process, fruit and vegetable residues refractory to grinding or milling, even after treatment with heat, can be processed; the process is also applicable to fruit and vegetable residues not refractory to grinding, but anyway to all those byproducts particularly object of deterioration and oxidation.

Fruits and vegetables are culinary - nutritional terms used to indicate various products of vegetal origin used in human alimentation.

For organic waste of vegetable origin, in particular fruit and vegetable organic waste, it is meant all those solids and liquids deriving from domestic, agricultural and industrial use, that represent about one-third of urban solid waste daily produced. Vegetable organic food waste is by nature wet, and causes percolation problems in landfills, high costs (and harmful emissions) for incineration, and it ferments and produces odors.

One of the processes currently known for the disposal of such organic waste consists in the transformation into compost that is the result of decomposition and humification of organic products by macro and microorganisms in particular conditions: the presence of oxygen and the balance between the chemical elements present in the product involved in the transformation.

The compost is used as fertilizer on lawns or before plowing. Another known way for the reuse of organic food waste of vegetable origin, which is the field of application of the present invention, is aimed to obtain functional food products both to enhance low nutritional value foods and to reinforce functional properties already present in the food itself.

In the state of the art many processes, plant and devices, for obtaining functional compounds from said organic waste are known; some of them are illustrated in patent documents, among which the following are cited:

- ES2387279 (A1 ), entitled "Procedures for the obtainment of functional compounds of vegetable origin" filed on 21.06.2010;

- GB147833 (A) entitled "Improved method for the utilization of fruit and vegetable refuse" filed on 29.07.1920 and with priority of 08.06.1918;

- US5702746 (A) entitled "Process of converting food waste to re-hydratable edible food" filed on 28.05.1996;

- WO2010114182 (A1 ) entitled "Method for manufacturing and processing raw material processed part" filed on 02.04.2010 and with priority of 02.04.2009;

- W09733688 (A1 ) entitled "Vegetable fibers" filed on 14.03.1997;

- UA96202 (C2) entitled "Production line of extracts from vegetable raw material and waste thereof filed on 20.01.2010;

- EP0223703 (A2) entitled "Process for preparing dietary fibers, fibers obtained and foodstuffs containing the same" filed on 12.11.1986 and with priority of

13.11.1985;

- US8603558 (B1 ) entitled "Waste food recycling machine" filed on 27.03.2013.

As can be seen from the abovementioned documents, most of the vegetable origin compounds are produced by various processes including for example:

- boiling, drying, dehydrating, or other heat treatment, - crushing, crumbling, grinding or other mechanical treatments,

- addition of solvents,

- extraction and processing of juices, etc.

In said prior art, the vegetable product is processed with heat and / or solvents that produce denaturing processes of nutritional components obtaining the only advantage of long fibers.

Moreover, these processes also employ large quantities of water and also produce, in some cases, other waste.

It should be noted that such treatments are used on vegetable waste not refractory to grinding as can be the fibers of the artichoke bracts.

In this case, the treated vegetable material is not specified.

Finally, proceedings or devices to obtain food ingredients, such as functional compounds from vegetable byproducts whose fibers would not allow the above- mentioned processes procedures, allowing at the same time an effective sanitation, are not illustrated.

Differently from what occurs in processes used currently, the purpose of the process according to the present invention, applied to the food ingredients production starting from byproducts and vegetable waste, is to obtain from vegetable waste / byproducts refractory to grinding or milling treatments, even without boiling, an easy to process product usable for human nutrition.

Said easy to process product, becomes a new ingredient which can be added to food preparations providing them with important nutraceutical characteristics, safeguarded by the use of cryogenic techniques according to the present invention.

The process also allows to avoid degradation phenomena that occur after homogenization or grinding treatments, also for vegetable byproducts not refractory to such treatments.

The process, and the plant realizing said process, allow the processing of said vegetable waste and byproducts, particularly those refractory to known grinding or milling processes, also allowing the recovery therefrom of fibers and nutraceutical substances that currently cannot be retrieved, except with the addition of solvents or by means of processes that may alter the initial organoleptic properties.

For these characteristics, the process according to the present invention is an improvement of the already known current processes because it allows to eliminate the costs of disposal of said vegetable waste and byproducts and to provide them with a new nutritional value for human food enhancing even lower economic value parts of plants deriving from an agricultural and agroindustry primary production (byproducts).

Indeed, materials rich of fibers refractory to processing, such as the outer artichoke bracts, which have weel-known health properties, can be treated with this process, obtaining an excellent food ingredient.

The process according to the present invention has a further ecological importance because using this process there is no production of other waste to dispose, on the contrary it allows to obtain a reusable ingredient to enhance the nutritional value of several food products for human nutrition.

The only waste produced by the process of the present invention is the wash water of the vegetables, washed for the possible presence of impurities.

A further object of the present invention is therefore to overcome the problems of reduction of the refractory fiber and to add commercial / nutritional value to vegetable waste or byproduct production enhancing their well-known nutraceutical properties. The process and the devices realizing said process are illustrated in the detailed description that follows, referring to the attached drawings , by way of mere example and without limitation,, in which:

Figure 1 shows a block diagram of the steps of the process;

Figure 2 shows a preferred embodiment of the devices realizing the process;

Figure 3 shows a list of the chemical composition of some vegetable waste (product as it is and processed) with nutritional and nutraceutical different properties;

Figure 4 shows a list of the bacterial growth in the processed waste procedure (M = material before treatment, S = material after treatment).

The procedure allows the vegetable food byproducts and / or fibrous vegetable waste and / or unsold vegetable, resulting from the different parts of a plant, used for human alimentation (fruits and vegetables) and refractory to treatments of grinding or milling, even after boiling, processing.

The product obtained by this procedure also allows the production of food ingredients having high resistance to degradation phenomena.

As already said, the procedure is applicable to products resistant to grinding or milling treatments, even after boiling, such as for example the outer bracts of the artichoke (discarded by food industry in order to use only the heart of the artichoke ), the peel and seeds of tomatoes, the scraps of mushrooms, or even easy grinding products like basil.

The production process includes the following steps illustrated in the block diagram of Figure 1 :

• washing vegetable byproducts / waste,

• eventual cutting said byproducts / waste so as to make them of a size suitable for the subsequent processing,

· draining and transport, • blast chilling of said byproducts / waste by means of deep freezing, for example by IQF (Individual Quick Freezing) process, or by using forced cold air at a temperature between -40 and -60°C for a time necessary to reach a temperature equal to -20°C at the heart of byproduct,

· cold grinding with use of a suitable cryogenic liquid to bring said byproducts / waste at temperatures below -60°C before grinding, to obtain a fiber length of not more than 1 mm.

After the blast chilling step of said byproducts / waste by means of deep freezing, alternatively to the immediate cold grinding step, there is a transport step of said byproducts / waste, carried out by maintaining the cold chain, to a storage cell at a room temperature between -20 and -30°C for subsequent cold grinding treatment in different periods according to their seasonality and to the needs of the market.

The cold grinding is carried out with automatic input of a suitable cryogenic liquid, for example liquid nitrogen, at a temperature equal to -192°C; the time of processing will result from the nature and volume of the processed product.

The amount of liquid nitrogen used per kg of byproduct / waste varies according to the need to process different plant matrices at different times.

The single cold grinding process applied to the fresh product does not lead to the results that are obtained after blast chilling and freezing.

The innovation of the present invention lies in the application of the cold grinding to a deep frozen product so that even the fibers more resistant to grinding can be processed.

The use of low temperatures in the deep freezing phase, determines a complete nucleation of the processed product generating crystals of very small size not harmful to the cells; this implies that in the final product the weaving and the intracellular liquids of the plant remains the same, allowing to avoid deterioration of nutritional and functional properties.

The subsequent phase of using nitrogen liquid, crystallizes the plant tissue and bacterial membranes making them fragile to breakage during grinding, the weight losses due to dehydration because of the crystallization of the water are also limited and is preserved the cellular structure and the natural color.

The use of the step of cold grinding immediately following the deep freezing step makes sure to be able to optimize the crystallization of water (100%) and to be able to obtain also the crystallization of the fiber thereby producing an easy to process product.

The procedure also ensures the complete inhibition of the oxidation and bacteria degradation processes, preserving the original color and flavor of the fresh product. In this way, fibers and nutraceutical substances, that would otherwise be lost, are recovered.

The use of cryogenic liquids in the cold grinding stage allows to:

• preserve heat-sensitive products;

• prevent oxidation;

• preserve the original flavor of the product, avoiding the loss of volatile aromatic essences;

· obtain finer and homogeneous granulomeres;

• obtain an accurate adjustment of the cold chain during the entire production process;

• obtain a significant energy saving, since the products to be ground become brittle by the action of liquid nitrogen;

· break down the bacterial growth sanitizing the ingredient (Table 1 ). The product or the ingredient obtained from the waste / byproducts, by the process of the invention, preserves all the nutritional and nutraceutical properties of fresh vegetables.

The product or the ingredient obtained is presented in granular form and its humidity depends on the starting material (see table in Figure 3) and it preserves the same color and aroma of the starting vegetable product (scrap or second choice) with little change in its composition.

As an example, we have considered the chemical and nutritional compositions of some of the most interesting and with different health properties byproducts (as it is and processed):

• bracts of artichoke (antioxidant, cleansing, anti-tumor);

• lemon albedo (pectin, flavonoids, essential oils for the food, pharmaceutical and cosmetics industry);

• stalks of basil.

As all plants treated with the process of the present invention have shown little variation whose differences were not significant, the increase of the protein content in the bracts shall be noted; such increase being due, probably, to the release of proteins from the wood-cellulose matrix chopped in reduced fiber.

The fats of the lemon albedo and of the basil stems are increased, probably for the extraction of essential oils from the chopped vegetable matrix.

Similarly, the content of polyphenols increase their concentration for treatment effect and in function of the relative humidity after treatment.

It is well known that polyphenols have important antioxidants properties that prevent cancer and cardio-vascular diseases.

Their presence therefore protects food against oxidation (photo-oxidation, hydrolytic oxidation and oxidative rancidity) making food healthier, also acting during its digestion.

This shows the potential of these products that can increase or even enrich food compound with little or no content of polyphenols.

All this entails greater the nutraceutical availability of all elements present in the vegetables.

It is therefore concluded that the products obtained by the process according to the procedure of the present invention, enhance their health and aromatic properties into a small volume of food and with a considerable reduction of the bacterial growth (see table in Figure 4), thereby finding a wide range of applications.

The product obtained by the process according to the present invention can be used in various food preparations, for example: in the kitchen, in the preparation of stock cube for soups, in the preparation of fillings for the fresh and dry pasta or as an ingredient of the dough for the production of pasta and all the baked goods such as bread, crackers, rustic, snacks and the like.

It may also be used as an ingredient to be added to meat products or fish.

The conservation of the product obtained may take place by:

- freezing in bowl;

- lyophilization;

- deep freezing.

The lyophilized product has a longer shelf life, better management in transport and can be used as a classic spice in the various gastronomic recipes as it is presented as a powder flavored.

The process of the invention offers the advantage to cancel any vegetable waste disposal costs, increasing the waste / byproducts value in the best way, sanitizing the ingredient by cryogenic grinding, making it suitable for human nutrition even without pasteurization. It offers the availability of a food ingredient not influenced by seasonality, and as such always able to meet the market demand.

In this case, an advantage for the consumer would be having seasonal ingredients at lower costs.

The environmental sustainability of the process of the invention is also amplified by the fact of not using chemical solvents, but only very small amounts of water and by producing no other waste in the food chain.

The process of the invention can be realized with moderate investment by the industry, since it can be conducted with equipments available on the market that take up little space for installation and are manageable in an automated fashion by a computer by requiring only one unit operator.

The cost of nitrogen is ridiculous, reaching the order of a few euro cents per m³ (1000 liters liquid).

Further advantages and features of this invention will become apparent from the following description of an example of embodiment of an installation realizing the process, provided by way of non-limiting example based on the attached figure 2. The waste fibrous plants are introduced in a washer 1 for washing and cleaning of the byproduct / waste.

Then a drainer conveyor belt 2, carries the waste to a blast 3, for example an IQF freezer, which lowers the temperature by using cold air from -40 to -60°C in a variable time depending on the thickness of the vegetables to freeze, with the aim to reach in the heart of the waste / byproduct a temperature equal to -20°C.

The frozen waste / byproducts can be sent in a storage cell 4 in order to be processed at a later time or immediately transported on a conveyor belt 5 and inserted in a cold grinder 6, for example a cryogenic grinder, with rungs or mesh, connected to a tank 7 of liquid nitrogen, in order to grind the product which has become brittle by the low temperatures of liquid nitrogen (-195.82°C), with the purpose of obtaining a product with a particle size less than 1 mm.

The product can be sent to a freezer 8, or alternatively to a lyophilizer 9, or to a deep freezer 10 that allows a preservability for longer periods.

The products thus obtained are packaged by suitable devices 11 then stored in suitable seats 12 or alternatively distributed.

All the operations of transportation of byproducts and waste and of the final ingredients carried out in the plant according to specific conditions of temperature, are performed while maintaining the cold chain (illustrated in dashed lines in figure 2). Without altering the principle of the invention, the details of its realization and the forms of embodiment may of course widely vary from those described purely by way of example, without thereby departing from the invention as defined in the enclosed claims.

Claims

"Process for the production of food ingredients from vegetable byproducts and waste thereof including the following steps:

- washing vegetable byproducts / waste;

- eventual cutting said byproducts / waste so as to make them of a size appropriate to the subsequent processing,

- draining and transport,

and characterized by the following steps:

- blast-chilling said byproducts / waste by means of deep-freezing,

- cold-grinding in which said frozen vegetable byproducts / waste are immersed in a cryogenic liquid and subjected to crush by means of known systems.

Process according to claim 1 characterized in that it produces food ingredients from vegetable byproducts and waste that is from matrix composition with wood - cellulose fibres.

Process according to claim 1 characterized in that the blast-chilling of vegetable byproducts / waste is carried out using cold air at a temperature between -40 and -60°C for a variable time depending on the thickness of the vegetable to deep-freeze until reaching a temperature equal to -20°C at the heart of byproduct / waste.

Process according to claim 1 characterized in that the cryogenic liquid used in the cold-grinding step brings byproducts / waste at temperatures between -20 and -160°C.

Process according to claims 1 to 4 characterized in that the cryogenic liquid used is liquid nitrogen.

6. Process according to claim 1 characterized in that the cold-grinding step is carried out by a cryogenic grinder.

7. Process according to the preceding claims characterized by further lyophilisation, freezing or deep-freezing steps of said already cold-grinded byproducts / waste.

8. Process according to the preceding claims characterized in that the cold- grinding step after that deep-freezing step is carried out at a constant temperature, in line on a single plant.

9. Process according to the preceding claims characterized in that the cold- grinding step after that deep-freezing step is carried out by maintaining the cold chain, not in line on different plants.

10. Process according to the preceding claims characterized in that after blast- chilling step of said byproducts / waste by means of deep-freezing, there is a transport step, carried out by maintaining the cold chain, to a storage cell at a room temperature between -20 and -30°C.

11. Ingredient obtained by the process according to the preceding claims, wherein there is a complete crystallization of the wood - cellulose matrix of fibers and a complete crystallization of water.

12. Ingredient according to the preceding claim in which the crystallized fibers are crushed to obtain fibers having a length not exceeding 1 mm.

13. Ingredient according to claims 11 and 12, characterized in that it is a flavoured and workable powder.

14. Ingredient according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the values of humidity (%), protein (% d.m.), fat (% d.m.) and alimentary fiber (% d.m.) remain unchanged with respect to the product as it is.

15. Ingredient according to any of the preceding claims, wherein there is an increase in polyphenols values (mg / d.m.) with respect to the product as it is.

16. Ingredient according to any of the preceding claims, wherein there is a decrease in bacterial load with respect to the product as it is.