A BINDER FOR A SEED AND NUT SNACK AND A METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME

Abstract

A food binding agent and a food product comprising the food binding agent and at least one seed, a cereal or a grain.

Claims

1. A food binding agent for a snack food comprising water and one or more of a plant oil in a range from 1 wt % and 15 wt %, a syrup in a range from 1 wt % and 50 wt %, and a pre-gelatinized starch in a range from 1 wt % and 10 wt %.

2. The food binding agent of claim 1, wherein the oil is in a range of between 1 wt % and 5 wt %, the water is in a range of 1 wt % and 15 wt %, the pre-gelatinsed starch is in a range of between 1 wt % and 5 wt %, and the syrup is in a range of between 5 wt % and 15 wt %.

3. The food binding agent of claim 1, in which the plant oil is selected from the list comprising, sunflower oil, olive oil, vegetable oil, coconut oil, hemp seed oil, flaxseed oil, sesame seed oil, rape seed oil, palm oil, cocoa butter or a combination thereof.

4. The food binding agent of claim 1, in which the syrup is selected from honey, agave syrup, rice syrup, date syrup, oat syrup, barley malt syrup, maple syrup, birch syrup, inulin syrup, or a combination thereof.

5. The food binding agent of claim 1, further comprising an acid, a vinegar, a dairy ingredient, a flavouring, a fruit pulp, a fruit paste, a juice or a combination thereof.

6. The food binding agent of claim 1, further comprising a seed or a nut paste in a range from 1 wt % and 50 wt %, or a combination thereof.

7. The food binding agent of claim 1, in which the pre-gelatinized starch is selected from the group comprising rice starch, corn starch, potato starch, tapioca starch, sorghum starch, chicory starch, cassava starch, arrowroot starch, sago palm starch, waxy maize starch or a combination thereof.

8. The food binding agent of claim 1, further comprising a seed paste, a nut paste or a combination thereof, in a range from 1 paste, pumpkin seed paste, or a combination thereof, and in which the nut paste is selected from almond, macadamia, pecan, walnut, hazelnut, or cashew paste, or a combination thereof.

9-10. (canceled)

11. A food product comprising a food binding agent comprising water and one or more of a plant oil in a range from 1 wt % and 15 wt %, a syrup in a range from 1 wt % and 30 wt %, and a pre-gelatinized starch in a range from 1 wt % and 10 wt %, in which the food binding agent is in the range of 5 wt % to 55 wt % of the food product.

12. The food product of claim 11, further comprising at least one seed or at least one nut, or a combination thereof.

13. The food product of claim 11, in which the food product also comprises a cereal or a grain, or a combination thereof.

14. (canceled)

15. The food product of claim 11, in which the seed is milled, whole or otherwise processed, or a combination thereof.

16. The food product of claim 11, wherein the at least one nut is selected from almond, walnut, pecan, cashew, peanut, macadamia, hazelnut or a combination thereof.

17. The food product of claim 11, further comprising an antioxidant selected from the group comprising tocopherols, cherry extract, vitamin C, acerola (Malpighia etrarginata) extract, green tea extract, sage extract, ascorbyl palmitate, 3,5,4-trihydroxy-trans-stilbene, Mentha spicata extract, turmeric extract, rosemary extract and combinations thereof.

18. The food product of claim 11, further comprising a flavouring, natural sugar replacers, steviol glycosides, monk fruit, vitamins, minerals, chlorella, spirulina, wheatgrass, barley grass, alfalfa, maca, cocoa, turmeric, pea protein, rice crisps, rice flour, galacid powder, onion powder, yeast extract, herbs and spices and their extracts, natural colouring, botanicals, nutraceuticals, probiotics, seaweed products, a freeze-dried component, or a combination thereof.

19-22. (canceled)

23. The food product of claim 11, having 5-40 wt % protein, 5-30 wt % fibre, less than 25 wt % sugar for sweet varieties and less than 10 wt % sugar for savoury varieties, and 10-30 wt % unsaturated fatty acids (dry weight).

24. The food product of claim 11, comprising 50-90 wt % seeds, 0-40 wt % Oats, 0.1-5 wt % Natural Flavouring, <1 wt % Yeast Extract, 1-5 wt % pre-gelatinized Starch, 5-20 wt % Rice Crisps, and 0.1-6 wt % Grass or Kelp Powder.

25. The food product of claim 11, having a shelf life of at least 12 months when stored at ambient temperature.

26. The food product of claim 11, for use in a healthy snack food or a pet food.

27. (canceled)

28. A method of producing a food product comprising a food binding agent comprising water and one or more of a plant oil in a range from 1 wt % and 15 wt %, a syrup in a range from 1 wt % and 50 wt % and a pre-gelatinized start in a range from 1 wt % and 10 wt %, in which the food binding agent is in the range of 5 wt % to 55 wt % of the food product, the method comprising the steps of: premixing and blending dry ingredients being used to form a base mix; adding the binding agent to the base mix and mixing until the base mix is coated with the binding agent; forming the coated mixture into a desired shape; and drying or baking the shaped product.

29-32. (canceled)

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0083] The invention will be more clearly understood from the following description of an embodiment thereof, given by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0084] FIG. 1 is a schematic illustrating the manufacturing process used to make the product described herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0085] The invention broadly relates to a binder recipe which can be used to create hard and crunchy or chewy and soft textured snacks. By changing the amount of syrup used, the sugar levels, baking/drying time and temperatures can be decreased. Also, the binder is lower in sugar to allow application in savoury snacks. In particular, when using pre-gelatinized starch in the liquid binder, the binder permits the user to allow cold forming of the product and create texture during baking/drying. The use of seeds and nuts. and having a sugar content low enough (between 1-5 wt %) for savoury varieties and high enough for sweet varieties (between 1-25 wt %), is also a feature of the invention.

Material and Methods:

[0086] Typical ingredients that may be used in the food product are, but not limited to, the following in wt %:

Seeds 10-70

Nuts 1-35

Oats 1-50

[0087] Rice crispies 1-20

Pea Protein Crispies 1-20

Pulses 1-10

Coconut 1-20

[0088] Chocolate (dark, milk or white) 1-20

Syrups 1-20

Pre-gelatinised Corn Starch 1-10

Spices 1-10

Herbs 1-10

Sea Salt 1-2.5

Natural Flavouring 1-5

[0089] Plant oils 1-15
Seed and/or Nut pastes 1-50
Seed and/or Nut (whole, milled, chopped) 1-20

Dried Onion/Garlic 1-5

Vegetables 1-5

Fruits 5-20

[0090] Fruit powders 0.1-5

Vegetable Powder 0.1-10

[0091] Dairy in powder, fresh or liquid format 1-10

Cacao Products 1-10

Flour 1-5

Other Grains 1-10

Acids 0.1-5

Monkfruit/Stevia Glycosides <0.5

Antioxidant <2

Vanilla Extract 0.05-2

Essential Oils 0.01-5

Botanicals/Nutraceuticals 0.01-10

Probiotics 0-2

Vinegar 0.1-5

Sea Weed/Algae 1-6

Vitamins/Minerals 0-5

Compositions

[0092] Please note that the units used for the ingredient composition are g/100 g or wt %. Please note that the units used for the product composition are g/100 g or wt %. Please note that the sum of all the parts of the composition make up 100 g or 100 wt % of the composition.

TABLE-US-00001 TABLE 1 An example of two typical savoury food product recipe that can contain a combination of two or more of the following ingredients: are as follows: Sea Salt & Kale, Pumpkin Black Pepper Seed & Tangy lemon Wt % Wt % Seeds 50-70 25-45 Nuts 5-15 Rice crispies 10-20 Pea Protein Crispies 5-15 Agave Syrup 5-10 1-10 Inulin 5-15 Pregelatinised 1-5 1-5 Corn Starch Spices 1-5 <1 Herbs <1 Sea Salt <2 <2 Natural Flavouring <1 <2 Olive oil 1-10 Tahini 5-15 Dried kale 1-5 Quinoa 1-5 Lactic Acid <0.5 Citric Acid <1 Antioxidant <0.5 <0.5 Lemon Oil <0.1 Water .sup.1-15% .sup.1-15%

[0093] Table 1 shows the recipe of a typical savoury seed and nut snack.

TABLE-US-00002 TABLE 2 An example of typical sweet food product recipes Caramel, Almond and Sea salt Wt % Seeds 25-45 Nuts 15-35 Oats Pea Protein Crispies 5-10 Coconut Dark Chocolate Agave Syrup 5-15 Inulin 5-15 Sea Salt <2 Natural Flavouring <1 Sunflower Oil 1-5 Coconut oil Dried Fruits Vegetable Powder Caramel Powder 1-5 Cocoa powder Cacao Nibs Pre-gelatinized Starch 1-5 Quinoa 1-5 Amaranth 1-5 Monkfruit/Stevia <0.1 Antioxidant <0.5 Water 1-15

[0094] Table 2 outlines example of sweet seed and nut snack products which can be either seed and nut focused or based on oats or other grains.

TABLE-US-00003 TABLE 3 An example of typical pet food product recipes Chicken and Liver Flavour Beef Flavour Fish Flavour wt % wt % wt % Seeds 50-90 50-90 50-90 Oats 0-40 0-40 0-40 Natural 0.1-5 0.1-5 0.1-5 Flavouring Yeast Extract <1 <1 <1 Pre-gelatinized 1-5 1-5 1-5 Starch Rice Crispies 5-20 5-20 5-20 - Grass or kelp 0.1-6 0.1-6 0.1-6 powder Water 1-15 1-15 1-15

TABLE-US-00004 TABLE 4 Further examples of typical pet food product recipes Ingredient wt % (g) wt % (g) Hemp Seed 10 50 Milled Sunflower 25 25 Defatted Flaxseed Flour 25 10 Whole Flaxseed 10 5 Yeast Extract 2 2 Pre-gelatinized Starch 2 2 water 6 6 Crispies/Rice Crisp 20 Total 100 100

[0095] The ingredients and ingredient distribution for a typical pet food would be as follows: Seeds 50-90 wt %, Oats 0-40 wt %, Natural Flavouring 0.1-5 wt %, Yeast Extract <1 wt %, pre-gelatinized Starch 1-5 wt %, Rice Crispies 5-20 wt %, Grass or Kelp Powder 0.1-6 wt %.

[0096] It should be noted that a dry binder, liquid binder or combination of a dry binder and liquid binder is incorporated into each of the products listed above. In Table 1, the dry binder is starch and flavourings. The liquid binder comprises water, agave syrup, and/or inulin, and/or plant oils, seed pastes, and an antioxidant. In Table 2, the dry binder comprises flour or starch and flavouring. The liquid binder comprises agave syrup, inulin, flavouring, dairy powder, cocoa powder, plant oil and an antioxidant. In Tables 3 and 4 the dry binder comprises starch and the liquid binder comprises water, yeast extract and/or flavourings.

[0097] The sugar content of the product described in EP 1992234, which was discussed in the background section above, is higher than the sugar content of the food product using the binding agent of the claimed invention.

TABLE-US-00005 TABLE 5 Sugar content of product described in EP 1992234 Sugar: min 70% w/w or more than >90% w/w of binder Binder to ingredient ratio: 70:30-50:50 Binder % 70 60 50 Sugar in binder % 70 70 70 % sugar in finished product 49 42 35 Sugar in binder % 80 80 80 % sugar in finished product 56 48 40 Sugar in binder % 90 90 90 % sugar in finished product 63 54 45 Sugar in binder % 95 95 95 % sugar in finished product 66.5 57 47.5

[0098] As noted in Table 5, the lowest w/w sugar content in the product of EP 1992234 is 35% when the binder content used in is 50% w/w of the final product.

[0099] The sugar content of the product of the claimed invention using the binding agent of the claimed invention is much lower, with the highest level of sugar being 21.81% w/w when the binder content is 55% (using honey), which equates to 19.82% w/w when the binder content is 50%.

TABLE-US-00006 TABLE 6 Sugar content of possible binding agent of the claimed invention: Sugar content in Sugar content in Syrup 1 wt % of binder 50 wt % of binder Inulin 0.13 6.5 Honey 0.79 39.65 Agave 0.74 37.00 Maple 0.60 30.00

TABLE-US-00007 TABLE 7 Sugar content of food product of the claimed invention using the binding agent of the claimed invention Binder: 5-55 wt % in finished product Binder % 5 55 INULIN Sugar in binder % @1% 0.13 0.13 % sugar in finished product 0.01 0.07 Sugar in binder % @ 50% 6.50 6.50 % sugar in finished product 0.33 3.58 HONEY Sugar in binder % @1% 0.79 0.79 % sugar in finished product 0.04 0.44 Sugar in binder % @ 50% 39.65 39.65 % sugar in finished product 1.98 21.81

[0100] As shown here, the sugar content of the binding agent of the claimed invention being used in a food product described herein is lower than the sugar content of the binding agents and food products of the prior art.

Storage of Product for Testing

[0101] The shelf life of the product is determined by using an Accelerated Shelf Life Test model, documenting any evidence that proves that the shelf life of that product is accurate and that it will maintain its safety and quality until the end of that shelf life according to European Commission (2002) Regulation No 178/2002, BRC 5.1 Product design/development.

[0102] Typically, a product representing the worst-case recipe with a high concentration of oil-based components and under harsh storage conditions is selected for the storage testing.

[0103] Measurements are taken at the following time points: [0104] Time Point 1Start of Trial. [0105] Time Points 2at 6 weeks at accelerated conditions (Equivalent to 3 months storage at ambient conditions). [0106] Time Point 3 at week 12 (equivalent to 6 months storage at ambient conditions). [0107] Time Point 4at week 18 (equivalent to 9 months storage at ambient conditions). [0108] Time Point 5 at week 24 (equivalent to 12 months storage at ambient conditions).

[0109] The samples were stored at 30 C. The rationale for the accelerated shelf life tests is that each 10 C. increase in storage temperature above ambient roughly doubles the rate of chemical reactions, such as oxidation. Therefore, 30 C. provides a roughly 2-fold increase in reaction rate. Ambient temperature is regarded as being room temperature varying between 1525 C. (5977 F.). An external testing facility will facilitate the storage of the samples at accelerated temperature (30 C.) and conduct the chemical and microbiological analysis. The facility is compliant with the international standard ISO 17025. Water activity and Moisture will be measured internally by the Applicant.

[0110] Chemical Tests include determining the Peroxide Value (PV) in meq/kg and Free Fatty Acid (FFA) in %, which act as an indicator of rancidity, as chemical and enzymatic activity cause lipid breakdown, colour, odour, flavour, and texture changes.

[0111] Microbial testing is conducted for a total aerobic count and food pathogens such as Salmonella, E. coli, Enterobacteria to evaluate the food safety.

[0112] Peroxides are intermediate products of lipid oxidation, which would eventually lead to the formation of volatile compounds responsible for rancid off flavours. According to the literature, rancid notes can be detected from 30 to 40 meq/kg. Values less than this are considered acceptable and therefore the products at end of shelf life is acceptable in terms of food quality.

[0113] Free Fatty Acids (FFA) are the products resulting from the hydrolysis of FFA esters. Presence of FFA esters is associated with hydrolytic rancidity in food products, which may result in the imparting of objectionable flavours to the food. High FFA concentrations indicate rancidity in food products. Generally, values <1% would be considered acceptable.

[0114] Microbiological testing is conducted at the beginning of the study at week 0 and at the end of the study at week 24. Most, but not all, foodborne pathogenic bacteria require water activity levels in products to be greater than 0.91 to support them. The target water activity for the food product and food binding agent of the claimed invention is less than 0.60.

[0115] Turning now to FIG. 1, the textured food product is made, but not limited to this process and equipment type, by using the following steps: [0116] Preparation of the dry mix: Mix the base mix for a sufficient time to uniformly distribute each ingredient in a mixture. [0117] Add the dry ingredients to the base mix mixture and mix for a sufficient time to uniformly distribute each ingredient. [0118] Preparation of binder: Mix the dry binder and the liquid binder ingredients for a sufficient time until all ingredients are uniformly distributed to form the binder. The prepared binder requires a resting time varying from 1-30 minutes. [0119] The binder is added to the dry mix (mixed base mix with dry ingredients) and is mixed for a sufficient time to incorporate and solubilise all the ingredients in the dry mix. [0120] Any additional dry ingredients, such as sea salt and ingredients which break down easy like parsley, herbs, dried leaves, vegetables or fruits that are required, are added and mixed for a sufficient time to uniformly distribute all ingredients. [0121] The resulting mix requires resting time of between 0-30 minutes before transferring to the forming/shaping step. [0122] The mixture is then formed to have the desired shape, typically by moulding into a desired format. Individual pieces can be formed before or after drying. The mix can be cut, punched, or otherwise formed into pieces of the desired shape and size. Similarly, a sheet can be cut into strips, evenly spread on a belt, followed by rolling and shaping. The mixture is then dried/baked, cut or punched as necessary to form individual pieces, then cooled and packed. Pieces cut after drying/baking typically are cut before cooling. [0123] Typical drying/baking parameters are 10-30 min @ 100-130 C.

[0124] The finished food product is also packaged for storage. The packaging can be in consumer units or bulk quantities bag-in-box. The packaging material for consumer units is preferably a metalized polyester material (or a compostable material), which is hermetically sealed using a modified atmosphere. Various modified atmospheres can be used, such as, for example, carbon dioxide, nitrogen and combinations thereof. The packaged products typically have a moisture content of 4.5%-6% and a water activity of 0.4.

[0125] Using the recipes and methods described herein, a textured, plant-based, food product can be produced in a cubed, round, elliptical or any other shape that is required. These food products are wheat-free, low in sugars and carbohydrates, provide a source of protein and magnesium, are high in fibre and unsaturated fatty acids. They do not contain any refined sugar, high glycemic sugar syrups or chemically modified starches. They have a much higher nutritive value than conventional seed and nut cluster products. The product of the invention is provided to meet the demand for more nutritious seed and nut snack offerings, while still maintaining the crunchy or chewy texture that consumers like without being sticky like traditional cluster snack products. The food product is non-genetically modified (non-GM), allergen free, plant based (a more sustainable protein source), and incorporates other highly nutritious ingredients with nutraceutical effects such as turmeric, wheatgrass, chlorella, spirulina, etc., and has no added sugar. The clusters have distinctive culinary flavours and are lower in carbohydrates than crisps, popcorn or cereal bars. They are also oven-baked into crunchy, bite-sized pieces of seeds, nuts and dried vegetables and packaged in ready to eat snack packs.

[0126] They can also be tailored for the pet food industry by incorporating suitable flavours such as meat flavours (chicken, chicken and liver, beef, lamb, mutton, venison, game, fish, and the like) and other nutraceutical components such as turmeric, glucosamine, chondroitin etc.

[0127] The products will be significantly more nutritious than many snack products currently on the market containing lower levels of carbohydrates, and salt and higher levels of proteins fibre and essential fats.

[0128] In the specification, the terms comprise, comprises, comprised and comprising or any variation thereof and the terms include, includes, included and including or any variation thereof are considered to be totally interchangeable and they should all be afforded the widest possible interpretation and vice versa.

[0129] The invention is not limited to the embodiments hereinbefore described but may be varied in both construction and detail.