Physical process for simultaneous deodorization and cholesterol reduction of fats and oils
AssigneeGeneral Mills, Inc.
InventorsSteven S. Marschner, Jeffrey B. Fine
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Disclosed are physical processes for fats and oils, especially fish oil, involving simultaneous deodorization and cholesterol level reduction. Either freshly refined or stored oils that have oxidized (reverted fish oil) can be treated. In the process the fish oil is deaerated, mixed with steam, heated, flash vaporized, thin-film stripped with countercurrent steam, cooled (all steps being performed under vacuum), and then stored under oxygen free conditions. The process provides fish oils which are clean tasting and from which has been removed substantially all of the free or non-esterified cholesterol.
Claims19
A method for deodorizing and reducing cholesterol of fats and oils comprising the steps of:
- A. providing a feed stream of refined or reverted, deaerated oil having less than about 0.1% by volume of dissolved oxygen, said oil having a native cholesterol and odoriferous material level;
- B. introducing and intimately mixing a first steam feed under vacuum into and with the deaerated oil to form a steam and heated oil mixture;
- C. heating the mixture to a temperature of about 400.degree. to 550.degree. F.;
- D. flash vaporizing the mixture to vaporize the steam and at least a portion of the cholesterol and odoriferous materials to realize a par-treated oil liquid phase and loaded vaporous steam phase and wherein the temperature is maintained at about 400.degree. 500.degree. F.;
- E. thin-film steam stripping the par-treated oil in a stripper having an evaporative surface at a pressure of about 1 to 7 mmHg. with a countercurrent steam feed to strip a portion of the cholesterol and odoriferous material from said par-treated oil to provide a clean oil having a cholesterol content less than its native level and a loaded steam feed containing said stripped cholesterol and odoriferous material;
- F. removing the loaded vaporous steam phase and the loaded steam feed;
- G. cooling the clean oil under vacuum to a temperature of less than about 100.degree. F.;
- and
- H. anaerobically storing the clean oil.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.