# US 10,477,885 B2 · Tomato-derived thickening agent

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- Number: US 10,477,885 B2
- Document ID: US10477885B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 14/880,826
- Filed: 2015-10-12
- Published: 2016-02-04
- Granted: 2019-11-19
- Earliest claimed: 2015-10-12
- Assignees: Conopco, Inc.
- Applicants: Conopco, Inc.
- Inventors: Sander Dubbleman; Nikolaos Mavroudis; Leandro Oliehoek
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10477885B2

## CPC

- A23L 29/20: containing gelling or thickening agents (marmalades, jams, jellies or other similar fruit or vegetable compositions A23L21/10)
- A23L 19/09: {Mashed or comminuted products, e.g. pulp, purée, sauce, or products made therefrom, e.g. snacks (A23L19/01, A23L19/10, A23L27/63 and A23L21/00 take precedence)}
- A23L 27/63: {Ketchup}
- A23L 29/206: of vegetable origin
- A23L 29/231: Pectin; Derivatives thereof
- A23V 2002/00: Food compositions, function of food ingredients or processes for food or foodstuffs
- A23L: FOODS, FOODSTUFFS OR NON-ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; PREPARATION OR TREATMENT THEREOF (preservation thereof A23B)
- A23V: INDEXING SCHEME RELATING TO FOODS, FOODSTUFFS OR NON-ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES AND LACTIC OR PROPIONIC ACID BACTERIA USED IN FOODSTUFFS OR FOOD PREPARATION

## Abstract

The present invention provides a tomato-derived thickening agent, said agent being characterized in that, on a dry weight basis, it contains: 0.1-3 wt. % of lycopene; 14-34 wt. % of protein; 11-35 wt. % of pectin; 17-39 wt. % of sugars selected from fructose, glucose, and combinations thereof. The invention further relates to a process for preparing a tomato-derived thickening agent and to the use of such a thickening agent in food products such as tomato ketchup, tomato-based sauces, pizza sauce, tomato soup and tomato juice.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A process for preparing a tomato-derived thickening agent comprising the steps of:
a. providing a tomato pulp containing 3-15 wt. % tomato soluble solids (TSS) and 0.3-5 wt. % tomato insoluble solids (TIS);
b. isolating from said tomato pulp a tomato serum fraction having a reduced TIS content of less than 2.0 wt. % and a TSS content of at least 3 wt. %;
c. subjecting said tomato serum fraction to a filtration step to produce a retentate and a filtrate, said filtration step employing a membrane with a molecular weight cut-off (MWCO) in the range of 10-20,000 kDa;
d. collecting the retentate; and
e. drying the retentate to obtain the tomato-derived thickening agent.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The process according to claim 1, wherein the tomato serum fraction is isolated from the tomato pulp by means of a solid-liquid separation technique selected from centrifugation, decanting, sieving, filtration and combinations thereof.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The process according to claim 1, wherein the dried retentate is combined with another tomato derived fraction that is obtained as a high solids fraction during isolation step b), said high solids fraction having a TIS content of at least 50% of by weight of dry matter.

### Claim 4 (depends on 3)

The process according to claim 3, wherein the high solids fractions has a TIS content of at least 70% of by weight of dry matter.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The process according to claim 1, wherein the tomato pulp comprises one or more tomato materials selected from tomato paste, tomato puree, and tomato juice.

### Claim 6 (depends on 5)

The process according to claim 5, wherein the tomato pulp is tomato paste and/or tomato puree diluted with water.

### Claim 7 (depends on 1)

The process according to claim 1, wherein the dried retentate is dried to a water content of less than 20 wt. %.

### Claim 8 (depends on 1)

The process according to claim 1, wherein the retentate is dried to produce a free-flowing powder having a mass weighted average diameter in the range of 10-300 μm.

### Claim 9 (depends on 1)

The process according to claim 1, wherein the serum fraction is diluted or concentrated prior to being subjected to step c).