Method for producing a ready-to-use, long-life infant milk

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for producing a milk food made as a substitute for breast milk, in the form of a ready-to-use, long-life liquid. The invention also relates to the facility for implementing said method and to the milk food made as a substitute for breast milk produced by said method.

Claims

1. Method for preparing a long-life, ready-to-use milk food made as a substitute for breast milk in liquid form, comprising the following stages: preparation in two separate tanks of a first phase consisting of a milk composition in a first tank and a second fatty phase in a second tank transfer of said first phase from the first tank to a balance tank, via a duct comprising a route of injection of said second phase, wherein said duct comprises homogenisation means between an injection zone of the second phase into the first phase and the balance tank in order to form a pre-emulsion cooling of said pre-emulsion in the balance tank and holding at a temperature of between 5 and 10° C. for a period of between 3 and 30 H treatment of said cooled pre-emulsion by sterilisation and by a second homogenisation which is performed at high pressure between 500 and 1500 bars to generate a milk food packing of the milk food made as a substitute for breast milk thus obtained in an aseptic environment, wherein the milk food displays no creaming after three months at 20° C.

2. Process according to claim 1, characterised in that cooling of said pre-emulsion in the balance tank and holding at a temperature of between 5 and 10° C. lasts between 8 and 30 H.

3. Process according to claim 1, characterised in that cooling of said pre-emulsion in the balance tank and holding at a temperature of between 5 and 10° C. lasts between 3 and 15 H.

4. Process according to claim 1, further comprising incorporation of food additives in the pre-emulsion.

5. Process according to claim 1, characterised in that sterilisation is performed at a temperature of between 120 and 160° C.

6. Process according to claim 1, characterised in that the pressure of the first homogenisation is between 200 and 1500 bars and that the temperature of the first homogenisation is between 60 and 90° C.

7. Process according to claim 1, characterised in that the pressure of the second homogenisation is between 500 and 1500 bars and that the temperature of the second homogenisation is between 60 and 90° C.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the packed milk food breast milk substitute is an initial milk having a shelf-life of at least 12 months at 20° C. without creaming.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the packed milk food breast milk substitute is a follow-up milk having a shelf-life of at least 15 months at 20° C. without creaming.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the packed milk food breast milk substitute is a growth milk having a shelf-life of at least 12 months at 30° C. without creaming.

11. The method of claim 7, wherein the packed milk food breast milk substitute is an initial milk having a shelf-life of at least 12 months at 20° C. without creaming.

12. The method of claim 7, wherein the packed milk food breast milk substitute is a follow-up milk having a shelf-life of at least 15 months at 20° C. without creaming.

13. The method of claim 7, wherein the packed milk food breast milk substitute is a growth milk having a shelf-life of at least 12 months at 30° C. without creaming.

14. The method of claim 7, wherein the packed milk food breast milk substitute is an initial milk having a shelf-life of at least 12 months at 20° C. without creaming, wherein the obtained milk food is characterised in that it comprises animal fats and vegetable fats, wherein the animal fats comprise fats of dairy origin, with said fats of dairy origin representing between 10 and 25% in weight of the total fat.

Description

DESCRIPTION

(1) The invention will be better understood in the light of the description of non-restrictive examples of embodiment.

(2) FIG. 1 shows a diagram of the method according to the invention.

EXAMPLE 1: MANUFACTURE OF AN INFANT MILK ACCORDING TO THE INVENTION

(3) The example below describes the invention for a batch of 5000 kg.

(4) In a first tank (1), 1256 kg of skimmed milk is mixed with 3166 kg of water, 77.3 kg of powdered proteins and lactose equal to an amount of 227 kg and other additives in order to form a milky phase. These additives in the example described consist of a mixture of minerals and fibres. Table 1 gives the formula of the milky phase. This milky phase undergoes pasteurisation in appropriate equipment, such as a plate exchanger-type pasteuriser (3), well known to the person skilled in the art, at 77° C. for less than one minute.

(5) In a second tank (2), 14.5 kg of an emulsifier and the mono- & di-glycerides of fatty acids are mixed with 157 kg of edible vegetable oils in order to form a fatty phase.

(6) The milky phase in the first tank (1) is transferred to a second balance tank (4). During this transfer, the fatty phase is injected into the feeding pipe conveying the milky phase to the balance tank (4) in order to obtain a pre-emulsion. This injection is performed on line, for example using an on-line blender or at a homogeniser (5) at a temperature of 77° C. and at a pressure of 200 bars. This stage represents an initial homogenisation of the composition.

(7) The pre-emulsion is subsequently allowed to stand in the balance tank (4) for a period of between 8 to 30 h.

(8) Following this stage, additives are incorporated in the composition, such as, non-restrictively, vitamins of a quality and in a quantity compliant with European legislation for infant milks.

(9) The composition is subsequently sterilised (6) according to the methods well known to the person skilled in the art, at a temperature of at least 134° C. for 50 seconds. The composition is immediately cooled to a temperature of approx. 80° C. and subsequently undergoes a second homogenisation stage in a high-pressure homogeniser (7), at a pressure of 500 bars and at a temperature of 80° C.

(10) The sterile, homogenised composition is subsequently packed into 90 mL single-dose bottles, ready to use.

(11) The composition of the infant milk in this non-restrictive embodiment is summarised in table 1.

(12) TABLE-US-00001 TABLE 1 Composition of an infant milk according to the invention kg/5000 kg Water 3166 Skimmed milk 1256 Lactose 227 Mixture of vegetable oils 157 Soluble fibres 87 Serum proteins 77.3 Emulsifier 14.5 Minerals 7.2 Taurine-Choline-Carnitine-Inositol 5 Vitamins 2.6 Nucleotides 0.31

EXAMPLE 2: EXAMPLES OF FORMULATIONS FOR DIFFERENT INFANT MILK AGES ACCORDING TO THE INVENTION

(13) Infant milks for four different ages were formulated and obtained using the method according to the invention:

(14) a premature milk for premature infants, born beyond the 37th week of pregnancy

(15) an initial milk for infants of between 0 and 6 months of age (example 1)

(16) a follow-up milk for infants of between 6 and 12 months of age

(17) a growth milk for babies of between 1 and 3 years of age

(18) These infant foods are liquid and ready-to-drink and are stable at room temperature according to a BBD of 12 months. These foods contain proteins supplied by total milk proteins and serum proteins.

(19) These infant foods are manufactured according to the method in example 1 according to the invention with resting phase of the pre-emulsion in the balance tank of between 3 and 15 h. Table 2 below summarises the nutritional profiles of these infant milks:

(20) TABLE-US-00002 TABLE 2 Nutritional profile of four exemplary embodiments of the invention. premature milk initial milk follow-up milk growth milk Unit Per 100 ml Per 100 ml Per 100 ml Per 100 ml Energy kcal 80 65 65 65 kJ 335 273 273 273 Proteins g 2.7 1.5 2 2 Casein/Serum 40/60 40/60 60/40 53/47 protein ratio Fats g 4.05 3.3 3.2 3.2 Carbohydrates g 8.2 7.1 7 7 Lactose g 6.6 7.1 7 7 Fibres g may be added Choline/Inositol/Car- mg may be added, in compliance with European legislation and international standards nitine/Taurine as well as according to the ESPGHAN recommendations for premature milks Vitamins μgR E added, in compliance with European legislation and international standards as well as according to the ESPGHAN recommendations for premature milks Nucleotides mg may be added, in compliance with European legislation and international standards as well as according to the ESPGHAN recommendations for premature milks Minerals and trace mg added in compliance with European legislation and international standards as well as elements according to the ESPGHAN recommendations for premature milks

(21) The initial milk in table 2 corresponds to the nutritional profile for 100 mL of exemplary embodiment 1.

(22) The mineral and vitamin profile of these foods is adapted depending on the infant's age. For premature infants and infants of up to 6 months of age, this profile is complete, such that the milks can be used as the single source of nourishment. The milks for premature infants are formulated according to the tolerances defined by the regulations concerning Dietary Foods Intended for Special Medical Purposes and according to the recommendations of the ESPGHAN (European Society for Paediatric Gastroenterology Hepatology and Nutrition). The initial milks and follow-up milks are likewise formulated according to European legislation and international standards concerning infant milks.

(23) In the case of follow-up milk and growth milk, the profile is adapted to diversification of the babies' diets.

(24) These milks can be enriched with DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) and ARA (arachidonic acid) in accordance with European legislation and international standards concerning infant milks.

Stability Tests on the Infant Milk in Example 1 (Initial Milk)

(25) Stability of the initial infant milk (example 1) was monitored over time and was verified using two tests. The first test comprised an observation over time of the products under normal storage conditions (room temperature of 20° C.) and non-optimal storage conditions (room temperature of 30° C.). The second test involved an analysis of physical stability of the infant milks according to the invention using an accelerated method.

(26) Observation test: A portion of the bottles of infant milk previously obtained was divided into two batches of twelve bottles. One batch of bottles was placed at a room temperature of 20° C. and the other at a room temperature of 30° C. The bottles were controlled every month. The appearance of the product contained in the bottles was checked, mainly colour, creaming and the deposit at the bottom of the bottles.

(27) Using the methods and formulations of the prior art, the infant foods display creaming and a deposit thicker than 2 mm after three months.

(28) The infant food prepared according to the invention and particularly by means of dual homogenisation, the second homogenisation of which is performed at high pressure, makes it possible to avoid these problems. Indeed, after 6 months, no creaming was observed in the bottles at 20° C. and likewise at 30° C. A slight deposit of 1 to 2 mm depending on the bottles was observed. The observations performed on both batches are listed in table 3. The infant milks still did not display any creaming after 12 months, in addition to very slight deposits, fulfilling the regulatory criteria for a very long BBD.

(29) TABLE-US-00003 TABLE 3 Observation of keeping qualities of the infant milk over time in bottles stored at 20° C. or 30° C. Time after manufacture Observations at 20° C. Observations at 30° C. D + 3 days Clear colour, homogeneous, good D + 2 months No creaming, 1 mm No creaming, no deposit deposit D + 4 months No creaming, 1 mm No creaming, 1 mm to 2 mm deposit deposit D + 6 months No creaming, 1 mm to No creaming, 1 mm to 2 mm 2 mm deposit deposit D + 12 months No creaming, 1 mm No creaming, 1 mm deposit deposit

(30) Analysis of physical stability using an accelerated method

(31) This analysis involves accelerating the ageing process of the infant milks in order to qualify their keeping qualities over time. This test is based on the ability of the particles present in the infant milk, particularly fat, to separate according to their density. Optical density measurements are performed by transmission over time, in order to obtain two parameters, the instability index and the percentage sediment.

(32) The stability index is a dimensionless number representing the change in percentage transmission of the sample between the beginning of centrifugation and at any time during centrifugation. The stability index 0% point is defined by the measurement of optical density transmission before the beginning of centrifugation.

(33) The quantity of sediment is expressed as a percentage of the centrifuged volume.

(34) The previously prepared infant milks were centrifuged at 4000 rpm at 30° C. for 2 h. The optical density over time was measured by transmission, before centrifugation and throughout centrifugation.

(35) The infant milks showed an instability index of 0.3504 and a sedimentation percentage of 3.93%. By way of comparison, infant milks prepared without the high-pressure dual homogenisation displayed an instability index of 0.437 on average and a percentage sediment of 8.6% on average.

(36) The infant milks prepared according to the invention therefore display better keeping qualities over time; they therefore keep better and longer, allowing a BBD of at least 6 months to be achieved.

Stability Tests on the Follow-Up and Growth Infant Milks

(37) Stability of the follow-up and growth infant milks was monitored over time and was controlled by an observation over time of the products under normal storage conditions (room temperature of 20° C.) and non-optimal storage conditions (room temperature of 30° C.).

(38) A portion of the bottles of follow-up and growth infant milk prepared according to the invention was divided into two batches of twelve bottles. One batch of bottles was placed at a room temperature of 20° C. and the other at a room temperature of 30° C. The bottles were controlled every month. The appearance of the product contained in the bottles was checked, mainly colour, creaming and the deposit at the bottom of the bottles.

(39) Using the methods and formulations of the prior art, the infant foods display creaming and a deposit thicker than 2 mm after three months.

(40) The infant milks prepared according to the invention and particularly by means of dual homogenisation, the second homogenisation of which is performed at high pressure, makes it possible to avoid these problems.

(41) For the follow-up milk, at 20° C., no creaming was observed for up to at least 15 months of storage. The odour and colour had not changed. At 30° C., slight creaming was observed in addition to a slight change in colour.

(42) For the growth milk, at 20° C., a few spots of cream were observed at 6 and 9 months. At 30° C., the milk did not display any creaming, even after 12 months. The other organoleptic parameters were substantially constant at 20° C. and 30° C.