Beta-glucan process, additive and food product
AssigneeQuaker Oats/Rhone-Poulenc Partnership
InventorsAnthony P. Cahill JR., Douglas J. Fenske, Mark Freeland, Gene W. Hartwig
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The method for abstracting high levels of β-glucan from a grain product such as oat or barley grain to produce a β-glucan product containing at least about 18% by weight β-glucan is provided. The β-glucan product can be produced as an agglomerated food additive having at least about 18% by weight β-glucan. Methods are provided for enriching a food product with the β-glucan agglomerated food additive to produce an enriched resulting food product.
Claims18
A process for preparing a high concentration β-glucan product comprising:
- forming an aqueous slurry of a β-glucan-containing grain product having a relatively low concentration of β-glucan, the slurry having a temperature in an operating temperature range of from about 110° F. to about 140° F.;
- adjusting the pH of the aqueous slurry to be in the range of from about 7.0 to 10.0 while maintaining the slurry in the operating temperature range;
- holding the pH-adjusted slurry in the operating temperature range for at least about 50 minutes to about 75 minutes;
- thereafter acidifying said slurry to a separating pH in the range of from about 4.0 to about 4.8;
- separating from said slurry while at the separating pH a β-glucan rich supernatant fraction having a β-glucan concentration on a dry weight basis of about 18% to about 30%.
A food additive derived from grain and comprising β-glucan present in a concentration in the range of from about 18% to about 30%;
- said food additive being composed of agglomerations of particles, said particles being in the size range of from about 75 mμ to about 840 mμ and said agglomerations being readily dispersible in food products and being in the size range of from about 75 mμ to about 840 mμ.
A food product comprising:
- at least one food component;
- a high content β-glucan food additive uniformly dispersed in said food component and present in sufficient amount such that the concentration of the β-glucan present in the food product from the additive is in the range of from about 0.1 to about 20.0% by weight of the total food product, said β-glucan food additive being derived from grain and composed of from about 18-30% by weight β-glucan.
A method of making a β-glucan containing food product composed of at least one food component having less than a desired amount of β-glucan comprising:
- adding to the food component a food additive derived from grain comprising β-glucan present in the food additive in the range of from about 18% to about 30% by weight, said food additive being composed of agglomerations of particles, said particles being in the size range of from about 75 mμ to about 840 mμ and said agglomeration being readily dispersible in said food component in the size range of from about 75 mμ to about 840 mμ;
- dispersing said food additive in said food component so that the additive is uniformly dispersed therein.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.