# US 11,998,032 B2 · Food or beverage with increased sweetness

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- Number: US 11,998,032 B2
- Document ID: US11998032B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 16/619,758
- Filed: 2018-06-07
- Published: 2020-07-02
- Granted: 2024-06-04
- Earliest claimed: 2017-06-08
- Assignees: Suntory Holdings Limited
- Applicants: Suntory Holdings Limited
- Inventors: Tadahiro Ohkuri; Akiko Fujie; Yoshiaki Yokoo
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US11998032B2

## CPC

- A23L 27/36: {Terpene glycosides}
- A23L 33/125: containing carbohydrate syrups; containing sugars; containing sugar alcohols; containing starch hydrolysates (indigestible substances A23L33/21)
- A23L 2/60: Sweeteners
- A23L 27/12: from fruit, e.g. essential oils
- A23L 27/30: Artificial sweetening agents
- A23L 27/31: {containing amino acids, nucleotides, peptides or derivatives}
- A23L 27/33: {containing sugars or derivatives}
- A23L 27/40: Table salts; Dietetic salt substitutes
- A23L 27/88: {Taste or flavour enhancing agents}
- A23L 29/015: {Inorganic compounds}
- A23L 29/30: containing carbohydrate syrups; containing sugars; containing sugar alcohols, e.g. xylitol; containing starch hydrolysates, e.g. dextrin (products from apiculture A23L21/20; artificial sweetening agents A23L27/30)
- A23L 33/16: Inorganic salts, minerals or trace elements
- 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 relates to a food or beverage having enhanced sweetness exhibited by a sugar and a sweetener, a sweetening composition for producing the food or beverage, and a method for producing the food or beverage.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A food or beverage comprising
(a) a natural sugar in an amount corresponding to sweetness intensity X1,
(b) a high-intensity sweetener in an amount corresponding to sweetness intensity X2, and
(c) 5.75 mg/100 ml or more and 26 mg/100 ml or less of sodium,
wherein the food or beverage exhibits a sweetness of sweetness intensity X3 by the ingredients (a) to (c),
wherein the food or beverage has an energy of 50 Kcal/100 ml or less, wherein 2.0≤(X1+X2)<X3≤20, 0≤X1≤4.5, 1.0≤X2≤11, and 2.0≤X1+X2≤11,
wherein the high-intensity sweetener is rebaudioside M, rebaudioside D, luo han guo extract, mogroside V, or a combination thereof;
wherein the natural sugar is glucose, sucrose, fructose, maltose, fructooligosaccharide, maltooligosaccharide, isomaltooligosaccharide, galactooligosaccharide, an isomerized sugar, lactose, psicose, or a combination thereof;
wherein the sodium is from sodium chloride, sodium malate, sodium sulfate, sodium citrate, sodium phosphate, sodium carbonate, sodium disulfide, sodium bicarbonate, sodium alginate, sodium argininate, sodium glucoheptonate, sodium gluconate, sodium glutamate, sodium tartrate, sodium aspartate, sodium lactate, casein sodium, sodium ascorbate, or a mixture thereof; and
wherein the food is a fluid or a liquid.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The food or beverage according to claim 1, wherein
0.5≤{X3−(X1+X2)}≤5
is satisfied.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The food or beverage according to claim 1, wherein the amount of the high-intensity sweetener is P2 ppm, and
0≤X1/(225.2×P2/10000)≤9and I)
2≤X1+225.2×P2/10000≤11 II)
or
0≤X1/(231.0×P2/10000)≤9 and III)
2≤X1+231.0×P2/10000≤11 IV)
are satisfied.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The food or beverage according to claim 1, wherein the amount of sodium is 5.75 to 23 mg/100 ml.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The food or beverage according to claim 1, wherein the energy is 0 to 25 Kcal/100 ml.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The food or beverage according to claim 1, wherein the natural sugar is glucose, sucrose, fructose, maltooligosaccharide, an isomerized sugar, lactose, psicose, or a combination thereof.

### Claim 7 (depends on 1)

The food or beverage according to claim 1, wherein the energy is 0 to 25 Kcal/100 ml, and X3 is 6 or more.

### Claim 8

A method for producing a food or beverage, comprising:
to raw materials,
(i) adding (a) a natural sugar in an amount of sweetness intensity X1 and (b) a high-intensity sweetener in an amount of sweetness intensity X2; and
(ii) adding (c) 5.75 mg/100 ml or more and 26 mg/100 ml or less of sodium,
wherein the food or beverage exhibits a sweetness of sweetness intensity X3 by the ingredients (a) to (c),
wherein the food or beverage has an energy of 50 Kcal/100 ml or less,
wherein 2.0≤(X1+X2)<X3≤20, 0≤X1≤4.5, 1.0≤X2≤11, and 2.0≤X1+X2≤11,
wherein the high-intensity sweetener is rebaudioside M, rebaudioside D, luo han guo extract, mogroside V, or a combination thereof;
wherein the natural sugar is glucose, sucrose, fructose, maltose, fructooligosaccharide, maltooligosaccharide, isomaltooligosaccharide, galactooligosaccharide, an isomerized sugar, lactose, psicose, or a combination thereof;
wherein the sodium is from sodium chloride, sodium malate, sodium sulfate, sodium citrate, sodium phosphate, sodium carbonate, sodium disulfide, sodium bicarbonate, sodium alginate, sodium argininate, sodium glucoheptonate, sodium gluconate, sodium glutamate, sodium tartrate, sodium aspartate, sodium lactate, casein sodium, sodium ascorbate, or a mixture thereof; and
wherein the food is a fluid or a liquid.

### Claim 9 (depends on 8)

The method according to claim 8, wherein
0.5≤{X3−(X1+X2)}≤5
is satisfied.

### Claim 10 (depends on 8)

The method according to claim 8, wherein in the food or beverage, the amount of the high-intensity sweetener is P2 ppm, and
0≤X1/(225.2×P2/10000)≤9and I)
2≤X1+225.2×P2/10000≤11 II)
or
0≤X1/(231.0×P2/10000)≤9 and III)
2≤X1+231.0×P2/10000≤11 IV)
are satisfied.

### Claim 11 (depends on 8)

The method according to claim 8, wherein the amount of sodium in the food or beverage is 5.75 to 23 mg/100 ml.

### Claim 12 (depends on 8)

The method according to claim 8, wherein the energy of the food or beverage is 0 to 25 Kcal/100 ml.

### Claim 13 (depends on 8)

The method according to claim 8, wherein the natural sugar is glucose, sucrose, fructose, maltose, an oligosaccharide, maltooligosaccharide, an isomerized sugar, lactose, psicose, allose, tagatose, or a combination thereof.

### Claim 14 (depends on 8)

The method according to claim 8, wherein, in the food or beverage, the energy is 0 to 25 Kcal/100 ml, and X3 is 6 or more.

### Claim 15 (depends on 8)

The method according to claim 8, wherein the natural sugar is glucose, sucrose, fructose, lactose, an isomerized sugar, psicose, or a combination thereof.

### Claim 16

A composition comprising a natural sugar, a high-intensity sweetener, and sodium, which composition is configured to be blended with a food or beverage such that after blending the food or beverage
(a) comprises the natural sugar in an amount corresponding to sweetness intensity X1,
(b) comprises the high-intensity sweetener in an amount corresponding to sweetness intensity X2, and
(c) comprises 5.75 mg/100 ml or more and 26 mg/100 ml or less of sodium,
(d) exhibits a sweetness of sweetness intensity X3 by the ingredients (a) to (c), and
(e) has an energy of 50 Kcal/100 ml or less,
wherein 2.0≤(X1+X2)<X3≤20, 0≤X1≤4.5, 1.0≤X2≤11, and 2.0≤X1+X2≤11,
wherein the high-intensity sweetener is rebaudioside M, rebaudioside D, luo han guo extract, mogroside V, or a combination thereof;
wherein the natural sugar is glucose, sucrose, fructose, maltose, fructooligosaccharide, maltooligosaccharide, isomaltooligosaccharide, galactooligosaccharide, an isomerized sugar, lactose, psicose, or a combination thereof;
wherein the sodium is from sodium chloride, sodium malate, sodium sulfate, sodium citrate, sodium phosphate, sodium carbonate, sodium disulfide, sodium bicarbonate, sodium alginate, sodium argininate, sodium glucoheptonate, sodium gluconate, sodium glutamate, sodium tartrate, sodium aspartate, sodium lactate, casein sodium, sodium ascorbate, or a mixture thereof;
wherein the food is a fluid or a liquid;
wherein all of the natural sugar, high-intensity sweetener, and sodium present in the food or beverage is from the composition; and
wherein sweetness intensity is the numerical value obtained by multiplying the degree of sweetness of the substance by the concentration Brix value of the substance, where a degree of sweetness of 1 is the sweetness exhibited by sucrose per unit concentration Brix.

### Claim 17 (depends on 16)

The composition according to claim 16, wherein
0.5≤{X3−(X1+X2)}≤5
is satisfied.

### Claim 18 (depends on 16)

The composition according to claim 16, wherein in the food or beverage,
the amount of the high-intensity sweetener is P2 ppm, and
0≤X1/(225.2×P2/10000)≤9and I)
2≤X1+225.2×P2/10000≤11 II)
or
0≤X1/(231.0×P2/10000)≤9 and III)
2≤X1+231.0×P2/10000≤11 IV)
are satisfied.

### Claim 19 (depends on 16)

The composition according to claim 16, wherein the amount of sodium in the food or beverage is 5.75 to 23 mg/100 ml.

### Claim 20 (depends on 16)

The composition according to claim 16, wherein the energy of the food or beverage is 0 to 25 Kcal/100 ml.

### Claim 21 (depends on 16)

The composition according to claim 16, wherein the natural sugar is glucose, sucrose, fructose, maltooligosaccharide, an isomerized sugar, lactose, psicose, or a combination thereof.