NEW NATURAL COLOR FOR EDIBLE COATINGS

Abstract

The present invention is directed to a bixin form, wherein the bixin is microencapsulated, and preferably whereby the particle size of the inner phase of the bixin form when measured in water by Photon Correlation Spectroscopy (Beckman Coulter N4 Plus Submicron Particle Sizer) is in the range of from 100 to 400 nm. This bixin form is preferably added to the edible coating during its manufacture in the form of a dispersion or in form of a powder. The edible coating is preferably used for coating confectionary such as chocolate lentils yellow-orange to red-orange. The present invention is also directed to precursors of such edible coatings such as sugar syrup and sugar-free alternatives, both comprising such a bixin form.

Claims

1.-26. (canceled)

27. An edible coating comprising a bixin form, wherein the bixin is microencapsulated.

28. The edible coating according to claim 27, whereby the average particle size of the inner phase of the bixin form when measured in water by Photon Correlation Spectroscopy (Beckman Coulter N4 Plus Submicron Particle Sizer) is in the range of from 100 to 400 nm, and/or wherein the bixin in the bixin form is microencapsulated in a matrix of modified food starch, and wherein the matrix optionally further comprises a saccharide, and/or wherein the bixin form upon re-dispersion in water provides a yellow-orange to red-orange color hue at high color strength characterized by an E1/1 value of at least 400, preferably an E1/1 value in the range of from 500 to 1800, and/or wherein the amount of bixin is in the range of from 5 ppm to 70 ppm, preferably in the range of from 10 to 60 ppm, more preferably in the range of from 15 to 50 ppm, based on the total weight of the edible coating.

29. A sugar syrup comprising a bixin form, wherein the bixin is microencapsulated.

30. The sugar syrup according to claim 29, whereby the average particle size of the inner phase of the bixin form when measured in water by Photon Correlation Spectroscopy (Beckman Coulter N4 Plus Submicron Particle Sizer) is in the range of from 100 to 400 nm, and/or wherein the bixin in the bixin form is microencapsulated in a matrix of modified food starch, and wherein the matrix optionally further comprises a saccharide.

31. The sugar syrup according to claim 29, wherein the sugar is selected from the group consisting of saccharose, glucose, fructose, maltose and mixtures thereof.

32. A sugar-free syrup comprising a polyol and a bixin form, wherein the bixin is microencapsulated.

33. The sugar-free syrup according to claim 32, whereby the average particle size of the inner phase of the bixin form when measured in water by Photon Correlation Spectroscopy (Beckman Coulter N4 Plus Submicron Particle Sizer) is in the range of from 100 to 400 nm, and/or wherein the bixin in the bixin form is microencapsulated in a matrix of modified food starch, and wherein the matrix optionally further comprises a saccharide.

34. The sugar-free syrup according to claim 32, wherein the polyol is selected from the group consisting of maltitol, xylitol, mannitol, sorbitol, isomalt, palatinose and mixtures thereof.

35. A panned confection comprising: a) an edible product center, and b) an edible coating according to claim 27.

36. A bixin form, wherein the bixin is microencapsulated.

37. The bixin form according to claim 36, whereby the average particle size of the inner phase of the bixin form when measured in water by Photon Correlation Spectroscopy (Beckman Coulter N4 Plus Submicron Particle Sizer) is in the range of from 100 to 400 nm.

38. The bixin form according to claim 36 being a powder or an emulsion.

39. The bixin form according to claim 36, wherein the bixin is microencapsulated in a matrix of modified food starch, and wherein the matrix optionally further comprises a saccharide.

40. A process for the manufacture of a bixin dispersion or a bixin powder according to claim 36 comprising the following steps: a) forming a solution of the bixin in an organic solvent, optionally adding a fat-soluble antioxidant and/or middle-chain triglycerides; b) providing a matrix of modified food starch and optionally a saccharide and/or a water-soluble antioxidant in water; c) emulsifying the solution obtained in step a) into the matrix obtained in step b) to obtain a dispersion; d) removing the organic solvent from the dispersion obtained in step c) to obtain a bixin dispersion; e) optionally drying the bixin dispersion obtained in step d) to obtain a bixin powder.

41. Use of a bixin form, wherein the bixin is microencapsulated, for coloring edible coatings, sugar syrups or sugar-free syrups, and/or whereby the average particle size of the inner phase of the bixin form when measured in water by Photon Correlation Spectroscopy (Beckman Coulter N4 Plus Submicron Particle Sizer) is in the range of from 100 to 400 nm, and/or whereby the bixin form upon re-dispersion in water provides a yellow-orange to red-orange color hue at high color strength characterized by an E1/1 value of at least 400, preferably an E1/1 value in the range of from 500 to 1800, and/or wherein the bixin in the bixin form is microencapsulated in a matrix of modified food starch, and wherein the matrix optionally further comprises a saccharide.

42. A method for coloring edible coatings, sugar syrups or sugar-free syrups, wherein a bixin form, wherein the bixin is microencapsulated, is used to impart the color to the edible coatings, sugar syrups or sugar-free syrups, and/or whereby the average particle size of the inner phase of the bixin form when measured in water by Photon Correlation Spectroscopy (Beckman Coulter N4 Plus Submicron Particle Sizer) is in the range of from 100 to 400 nm, and/or whereby the bixin form upon re-dispersion in water provides a yellow-orange to red-orange color hue at high color strength characterized by an E1/1 value of at least 400, preferably an E1/1 value in the range of from 500 to 1800.

Description

EXAMPLES

Example 1: Manufacture of a Bixin Form According to the Present Invention

[0142] 60 g of crystalline bixin (commercially available as AlcabixP) and 8 g of dl-alpha-tocopherol were dispersed in 532 g of methylene chloride. The matrix phase consisted of 231 g of modified OSA-starch (HiCap 100) which were dissolved in 693 g of water at 65 C.

[0143] The suspension was heated up to 112 C. to dissolve the whole amount of bixin. Then this solution was held at 117 C. in the holding vessel. The emulsification process consists of two steps and is carried out under pressure.

[0144] Both phases are continuously fed to a rotor stator device where the solution was emulsified into the matrix phase. The rotation speed was 5000 rpm (revolutions per minute) and the mixing temperature was 66 C. The next step entailed a second micronisation step and consists of a sapphire orifice. The orifice diameter was 230 m and the applied pressure drop over the orifice was 56 bar at 66 C.

[0145] Then the methylene chloride was removed from the emulsion by using a thin film evaporator cascade. The applied evaporation conditions were 75 C. at 206 mbar for the first evaporator and 81 C. at 105 mbar for the second one. After that the solvent free emulsion was sprayed into a fluidized corn starch bed where the particles were dried.

[0146] The final product has a bixin content of 9.0%, E1/1 corr. in H.sub.2O (max)=710 and an average particle size of the inner phase of 306 nm measured by Photon Correlation Spectroscopy (Beckman Coulter N4 Plus Submicron Particle Sizer).

[0147] The color intensity E1/1 is the absorbance of a 1% solution and a thickness of 1 cm and is calculated as follows: E1/1=(Amax-A650)*dilution factor/(weight of sample*content of product form in %).

[0148] (Amax-A650) means the value you get when you subtract the Adsorption value measured at 650 nm (A650) wavelength from the value (Amax) that was measured at the maximum Adsorption in the UV-Spectrophotometer.

* means multiplied with.
dilution factor=the factor by which the solution has been diluted.
weight of sample=the amount/weight of the formulation that was used in [g]
content of product form in %=the amount of bixin in the powder in % which is 9.0% in the present case.

Example 2: Manufacture of the Bixin Form According to the Present Invention

[0149] 26 g of crystalline bixin (commercially available as AlcabixP), 2.3 g of dl-alpha-tocopherol and 2.3 g of medium chain triglyceride (commercially available as Bergabest 60/40) were dispersed in 590 g of methylene chloride.

[0150] The matrix phase consisted of 361 g of centrifuged modified OSA-starch (HiCap 100), 31 g of glucose syrup (invert sugar), 32.8 g of which were dissolved in 1226 g of water at 52 C.

[0151] The suspension was heated up to 103 C. to dissolve the whole amount of bixin. Then this solution was held at 102 C. in the holding vessel. The emulsification process consists of two steps and is carried out under pressure.

[0152] Both phases are continuously fed to a rotor stator device where the solution was emulsified into the matrix phase. The rotation speed was 5000 rpm (revolutions per minute) and the mixing temperature was 106 C. The next step entailed a second micronisation step and consists of a sapphire orifice. The orifice diameter was 200 m and the applied pressure drop over the orifice was 256 bar at 47 C.

[0153] Then the methylene chloride was removed from the emulsion by using a thin film evaporator cascade. The applied evaporation conditions were 93 C. at 167 mbar for the first evaporator and 96 C. at 123 mbar for the second one. After that the solvent free emulsion was sprayed into a fluidized corn starch bed where the particles were dried.

[0154] The final emulsion has a bixin content of 2.2%, E1/1 corr. in H.sub.2O (max)=1774 and an average particle size of the inner phase of 123 nm measured by Photon Correlation Spectroscopy (Beckman Coulter N4 Plus Submicron Particle Sizer).

Example 3: Coating of Chocolate Lentil Cores with Bixin (Orange Red)

[0155] A bixin stock solution is prepared by mixing 10 g of the bixin form prepared according to example 1 and 40 g of demineralized water and, thus, dispersing the bixin in water resulting in the so-called bixin stock solution.

[0156] The sugar syrup is produced by adding 600 g of sugar, 400 g of water (demineralized) and 10 g of glucose syrup together and heating the mixture up to 105 C. which results in a sugar syrup of 72 Brix.

TABLE-US-00001 Ingredients of the sugar syrup Amount (g) Raw cane sugar 600 Water (demineralized) 400 Glucose Syrup 10

[0157] 4.7 g of this bixin stock solution are mixed with 500 g of the sugar solution (65-75 Brix, preferred 70-75 Brix) at a temperature of 65 C. under stirring resulting in a colored syrup.

[0158] Chocolate lentils are pre-coated with a pure sugar solution thus providing chocolate lentils with a white center. After this pre-coating a white pigment like titanium dioxide may be added to the sugar syrup and the chocolate lentils may be coated with 10-20 layers of this white sugar syrup before they are coated with the colored layers.

[0159] A small amount of colored sugar syrup is added to the chocolate lentils and evenly distributed in a panning drum at a moderate speed. Afterwards the thus colored lentils are dried with cold air (15-25 C., relative humidity in the range 30-50%) at moderate speed resulting in one layer. These steps are repeated (usually 20-50 times) until the desired color intensity is achieved. The color values of these colored chocolate lentils are then measured.

[0160] 10 individual lentils are measured and the average is calculated. The average value is as follows:

TABLE-US-00002 L* 54.51 a* 48.31 b* 40.57 C* 63.09 h 40.02

Example 4: Coating of Chocolate Lentil Cores with Bixin (Yellow Orange)

[0161] A bixin stock solution is prepared by mixing 12.5 g of the bixin form prepared according to example 2 and 12.5 g of demineralized water and, thus, dispersing the bixin in water resulting in the so-called bixin stock solution.

[0162] The sugar syrup is produced by adding 600 g of sugar, 400 g of water (demineralized) and 10 g of glucose syrup together and heating the mixture up to 105 C. which results in a sugar syrup of 72 Brix.

TABLE-US-00003 Ingredients of the sugar syrup Amount (g) Raw cane sugar 600 Water (demineralized) 400 Glucose Syrup 10

[0163] 7.6 g of this bixin stock solution are mixed with 500 g of the sugar solution (65-75 Brix, preferred 70-75 Brix) at a temperature of 65 C. under stirring resulting in a colored syrup.

[0164] Chocolate lentils are pre-coated with a pure sugar solution thus providing chocolate lentils with a white center. After this pre-coating a white pigment like titanium dioxide may be added to the sugar syrup and the chocolate lentils may be coated with 10-20 layers of this white sugar syrup before they are coated with the colored layers.

[0165] A small amount of colored sugar syrup is added to the chocolate lentils and evenly distributed in a panning drum at a moderate speed. Afterwards the thus colored lentils are dried with cold air (15-25 C., relative humidity in the range 30-50%) at moderate speed resulting in one layer. These steps are repeated (usually 20-50 times) until the desired color intensity is achieved. The color values of these colored chocolate lentils are then measured.

[0166] 10 individual lentils are measured and average is calculated. Average value is as follows:

TABLE-US-00004 L* 70.66 a* 34.34 b* 40.62 C* 53.19 h 49.79