NUTRITIONALLY BALANCED FOOD OR BEVERAGE PRODUCT
STATEMENT OF CORRESPONDING APPLICATIONS
This application is based on the Provisional specification filed in relation to New
Zealand Patent Application Number 598763, the entire contents of which are
incorporated herein by reference.
TECHNICAL FIELD
The Invention relates to a nutritionally balanced food or beverage product for
human consumption and processes for making same.
BACKGROUND ART
Today there are a multitude of manufactured food and beverage products in the
market place which have been developed by food technologists and dieticians. The
primary driver for most manufactured and commonly available food products
available today, are taste, followed closely by shelf life and texture. These drivers
in turn dictate the overall nutritional composition, and choice of ingredients of the
majority of so called healthy food products and beverages, available on
supermarket shelves.
In addition, there are also many food and beverage products which have been
designed to help or prevent a number of medical conditions or perform a particular
function that helps in an individual achieving a particular goal. For example, there
are healthy snacks such as nutrition bars with added calcium to address
osteoporosis. Another example is protein bars which are high in protein and low in
carbohydrate. So in general most tailored food products tend to solely focus on
one, or may be at best two, nutritional goals.
However, with increasingly busy lifestyles and most people being starved for time,
there is now, a greater need than ever, for food and beverage products, which if
consumed: provide a person with appropriate amounts of all essential
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macronutrients so as to maintain a healthy diet and a healthy body. Particularly, if
said food or beverage products are to be consumed over a prolonged period of
time. The documentary Supersize Me is a poignant example of how manufactured
food which is not balanced, can if consumed over an extended period of time, have
extremely damaging effects on our health.
In this regard the applicant has previously developed a nutritionally balanced food
product detailed in which has the same relative proportions of
calories, protein, carbohydrates, fat in every mouthful consumed. The food and
beverage product taught in represents what can be considered a
new class of food and beverage products, one which is designed to provide a
healthy person’s body with that, which it actually requires. That is WO
2006/098644 teaches a food product which has macronutrients of protein, fat and
carbohydrate all matched to the same percentage of the RDI – that is a food
product having totally nutritionally balanced macronutrients.
It is also now recognised that at different times in their life, people may have a
desire, or need, to increase or decrease their consumption of certain
macronutrients outside of the daily intake parameters, in order to achieve some
desirous or beneficial outcome. Accordingly, it would be useful, if there could be
provided a tailored food or beverage product, which has a particular nutritional
focus with respect to one macronutrient, yet strives to maintain a balance in
accordance with daily intake guidelines, with respect to the other macronutrients.
It would therefore be useful, if there could be provided a food and beverage
product which is tailored to suit an end user’s requirements. For example, a food
or beverage product which tailored in one aspect, yet is a product which also seeks
to look after the other nutritional needs of an individual. Such a product can go
along way to ensuring that despite a dietary focus on one or more nutrient(s): there
is retained a sufficient overall nutritional balance to ensure: healthy growth, repair
and maintenance of an individual’s body. Put another way, it would be useful if
there existed a food or beverage product, which whilst high or low (with respect to
the daily intake for a serving size) for one particular macronutrient - in order to
achieve a dietary aim with respect to the daily intake for that macronutrient – at the
same time, has all the other macronutrients, present in the same relative
proportions of the daily intake per serving.
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All references, including any patents or patent applications cited in this
specification are hereby incorporated by reference. No admission is made that any
reference constitutes prior art. The discussion of the references states what their
authors assert, and the applicants reserve the right to challenge the accuracy and
pertinency of the cited documents. It will be clearly understood that, although a
number of prior art publications are referred to herein, this reference does not
constitute an admission that any of these documents form part of the common
general knowledge in the art, in New Zealand or in any other country.
Throughout this specification, the word "comprise", or variations thereof such as
"comprises" or "comprising", will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated
element, integer or step, or group of elements integers or steps, but not the
exclusion of any other element, integer or step, or group of elements, integers or
steps.
It is an object of the present invention to address the foregoing problems or at least
to provide the public with a useful choice.
Further aspects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent
from the ensuing description which is given by way of example only.
DEFINITIONS
The term ‘carbohydrate’ as used herein includes both simple (mono and
disaccharides)and complex (polysaccharides) carbohydrates. One example of a
simple carbohydrate are sugars.
The term ‘fat’ as used herein includes ‘saturated’ fat and other subgroups of fats.
The term ‘NRV’ or ‘Nutritional Reference Value’ as used herein refers to reference
amounts used to provide dietary nutritional guidance on the daily intake of nutrients
including carbohydrates, protein, and fat. The reference amounts are typically
published in food regulations or in accepted industry codes of practice or
guidelines for the purpose calculating and expressing nutrient amounts in terms of
a person’s Daily Intake or equivalent terms including: Daily Nutritional
Requirement, Daily Allowance, Daily Value, Recommended Daily Value,
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Recommended Daily Intake, Guideline Daily Amounts or other similar terms or
abbreviations thereof.
Representative examples of such published nutrient regulations and guidelines
include:
Daily Reference Values given in USFDA Code of Federal Regulations 21
CFR 101.9, 1996;
% Daily intake reference values given in the Australia New Zealand Food
Standards
GDA –Guideline Daily Amounts as published by the Food and Drink
Federation, UK
Reference Standards given in The Canadian Food and Drug Regulations
and amendments;
such as may be periodically updated from time to time. A summary of the above
published nutrient regulations and guidelines for Australia/New Zealand, UK, US
and Canada is shown in Table 1 and is for illustrative purposes only.
Table 1
AUS/NZ UK US Canada
DV/DAILY
GDA (UK) RDV RDV
INTAKE
Energy (kJ) 8700 8360 8360 8360
Cal 2081 2000 2000 2000
Protein 50g 50g 50g None set
Fat, Total 70g 70g 65g 65g
Fat Sat 24g 20g 20g 20g
Cholesterol None set None set 300mg 300mg
Total Carb 310g 270g 300g 300g
Sugars 90g 90g None set None set
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Fibre 30g 25g 25g 25g
Sodium 2300mg 2400mg 2400mg 2400mg
SUMMARY OF INVENTION
According to a first aspect there is provided a process for manufacturing a food or
beverage product which is based upon the nutritional reference values (NRV) as a
starting point and which has a focus on increasing or decreasing the relative
amounts of one macronutrient yet is balanced with respect to the other
macronutrients, the process comprising the steps of:
(i) selecting a first percentage of the (NRV) that will be used to determine
an amount of two macronutrients selected from protein, fat or
carbohydrate that will be in the product;
(ii) selecting a second percentage of the NRV that will be used to determine
an amount of the third macronutrient that will be in the product, wherein
said second percentage of the NRV for the third macronutrient, is not the
same as the first percentage for the other two macronutrients;
(iii) combining the protein, fat and carbohydrate macronutrients in amounts
as determined at steps (i) and (ii) above.
It will be understood that some or all of the individual macronutrients will generally
present in various quantities within individual ingredients selected for creating a
recipe such as would be understood by a person skilled in the art. For this reason
step (iii) in practice may a number of sub-steps: which may include but not be
limited to, blending, cutting, mixing one or more of the ingredients separately or
together; prior to incorporating with one or more other ingredients, before finally
combining/bringing together the macronutrients so as to create a complete serving.
According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provided a pre-
packaged food or beverage product in which each complete serving of the product
includes at least two macronutrients selected from protein, fat, or carbohydrates
wherein each selected macronutrient is in an amount which provides the same
relative proportion of the NRV as the selected other macronutrient but wherein the
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third macronutrient not present in the same relative proportion as the two selected
macronutrient, and wherein each complete serving of the product also includes
fibre in the same relative proportions of the NRV as the two selected
macronutrients.
According to a third aspect there is provided a pre-packaged food or beverage
substantially as described above wherein the same relative proportion of the NRV
is substantially selected from within the range of 5% to 50% of the daily intake for
each of selected macronutrients.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention there is provided a pre-
packaged food or beverage product in which each complete serving of the product
includes at least two macronutrients selected from protein, fat, or carbohydrates
wherein each selected macronutrient is in an amount which provides the same
relative proportion of the NRV as the selected other macronutrient but wherein the
third macronutrient is not present in the same relative proportion as the two
selected macronutrients.
In some embodiments the product supplies substantially the same relative
proportion of the NRV for energy as is provided the two selected macronutrients.
A pre-packaged food or beverage substantially as described above wherein the
NRV is calculated based on the average daily energy requirements of a child or an
adult.
The invention may also be said broadly to consist in the parts, elements and
features referred to or indicated in the specification of the application, individually
or collectively, in any or all combinations of two or more of said parts, elements or
features.
BEST MODES AND ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLES
The following examples are illustrative only and are not intended to limit the scope
of the invention and are based on % Daily intake reference values given in the
Australia New Zealand Food Standards.
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Example 1
A bar which has 50% of the NRV for protein, carbohydrate and fibre and less than
33.3% of the NRV for fat.
Protein 25g
Carbohydrate 155g
Fat 20g
Fibre 15g
Energy 966 Cal
This example provides a bar having a super high protein and carbohydrate content
with 46% of daily energy and less than a third of the daily NRV for fat – ideal for
a busy amateur athlete on the go in a Triathlon or Rogaine with limited time to eat.
A professional athlete may well have a higher daily energy requirement and thus
amounts of protein, carbohydrates and fat would be proportionally increased.
This bar will weigh around 250g. Given the size of this bar which will be one of the
biggest if not the biggest on the market it will be packaged as two individual bars
presented as a single unit similar to the ONE SQUARE MEAL bar marketed in
New Zealand and Australia as a single packet containing two individually wrapped
bars.
Formulation to achieve example 1:
Syrup
% of syrup (in-going
Ingredient ingredient weight)
Step 1 Manuka Honey 7.6%
Glycerine 2.6%
Brown Rice Syrup 29.5%
Step 2 M altodextrin 25.3%
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Cocoa Powder 4.2%
Water 2.53%
Salt 0.6%
Step 3 R ice Bran Oil 4.3%
Lecithin 0.8%
Coconut oil 1.7%
Milk Chocolate 21.0%
Totals 100%
Final Mass
% of Mass
S tep 5 C ooked Syrup 42.84%
Rolled Oats 37.62%
Acacia gum 1.56%
Soy nugget 4.41%
Cornflakes 7.61%
Raisins 4.57%
Vanilla flavour 0.24%
Chocolate flavour 0.45%
Water 0.39%
Vitamin & Mineral
premix 0.29%
Totals 100%
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Method:
Step 1 ingredients should be added to a cooking vessel and blended while heating
to 80°C. Step 2 ingredients may then be added and a shear device such as a
shear pump or Silverson shear head used to disperse and blend these, while
heating to 90°C. In a separate cooking vessel, the step 3 ingredients should be
prepared. The coconut oil should be pre-melted, then blended with the other step
3 ingredients at a temperature not exceeding 60°C in order to fully disperse the
lecithin. Once prepared, this oil phase is added to the hot syrup already prepared
and blended utilizing high shear. The final mass may be prepared mixing together
the step 5 ingredients including the cooked syrup (at a temperature of 85°C-95°C)
in a mixer such as a ‘Z Arm’ or Sigma mixer. The flavour and vitamin and mineral
premix should be added last to minimise exposure to higher temperatures.
Individual bars may then be formed via a sheet and cut process.
Example 2
A bite size snack bar which has 5% of the NRV for protein, carbohydrate and fibre
and 10% of the NRV for fat.
Protein 2.5g
Carbohydrate 15.5g
Fat 7g
Fibre 1.5g
Energy 138 Cal
This bar would be apprioximately 30g in size.
This example provides a quick snack for athletes which is high in energy. It may
also be formulated as a beverage or other good suitable for burns victims.
Formulation to achieve Example 2:
Syrup
Ingredient % of syurp (in-going
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ingredient weight)
Step 1 Honey 3.5%
Brown Rice Syrup 22.8%
Step 2 Maltodextrin 11.4%
Cocoa Powder 3.5%
Water 1.76%
Salt 0.2%
Step 3 Rice Bran Oil 21.1%
Lecithin 0.6%
RBD Coconut oil 17.6%
Milk Chocolate 17.6%
Totals 100%
Final Mass
% of Mass
Step 4 C ooked Syrup 47.75%
Rolled Oats 34.42%
Acacia gum 0.97%
Soy crisps 2.67%
Cornflakes 12.85%
S tep 5 Vanilla flavour 0.27%
Chocolate flavour 0.51%
Water 0.24%
Vitamin & Mineral
Premix 0.34%
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Totals 100%
M ethod:
This bar could be manufactured according to the method described in example 1.
Example 3
A bar which has 40% of the NRV for protein, fat and fibre and 10% of the NRV for
carbohydrate.
Protein 20g
Carbohydrate 31g
Fat 28g
Fibre 12g
Energy 488 Cal
This bar will weigh around 105g total.
Formulation to achieve Example 3:
Syrup
% of syurp (in-going
ingredient weight)
Ingredient
Step 1 Manuka Honey 3.3%
Glycerine 5.2%
Brown Rice Syrup 18.7%
Step 2 Cocoa Powder 3.1%
Water 1.56%
Salt 0.2%
Step 3 Rice Bran Oil 33.1%
Lecithin 0.6%
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Coconut oil 18.7%
Milk Chocolate 15.6%
Totals 100%
Final Mass
% of Mass
Step 5 Syrup 43.77%
Rolled Oats 26.66%
Acacia gum 9.89%
Soy nuggets 18.66%
S tep 6 Vanilla flavour 0.24%
Chocolate
Flavour 0.46%
Vitamin & Mineral
Premix 0.30%
Totals 100%
M ethod:
This bar could be manufactured according to the method described in example 1.
Example 4
A frozen meal which includes 50% of the NRV for protein, carbohydrate and fibre
and less than 33.3% of the NRV for fat.
Protein 25g
Carbohydrate 155g
Fat 20g
Fibre 15g
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Energy 941 Cal
This is a chilli con carne designed to be healthy and satiate the consumer of the
meal. It has a serving size of 745g.
Formulation and method to achieve Example 4:
% of syurp (in-going
Ingredient ingredient weight)
Rice Bran Oil 1.7%
Chopped Onion 6.4%
Diced Capsicum red 4.9%
Finely chopped Garlic 0.4%
Chilli Powder 0.2%
Paprika 0.2%
Cumin 0.2%
Beef mince, 70% lean 11.6%
Maize starch 6.6%
Maltodextrin 3.3%
Water 16.5%
Acacia gum 2.3%
Beef stock dried 0.40%
Chopped Tomatoes 32.92%
Sugar 0.3%
Tomato puree 2.1%
Salt 0.2%
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Kidney beans, cooked and
drained 9.9%
Totals 100.0%
Method:
The rice bran oil should be heated in a cooking vessel before adding the chopped
onion and cooking until caramelised. The diced capsicum, chopped garlic and
spices should then be added to the mixture and cooked for a further 5 minutes.
The beef mince should then be added and cooked with agitation/stirring until fully
browned.
In a separate cooking vessel, a slurry should be prepared comprising the water (@
50-60°C), maize starch, maltodextrin, acacia gum and beef stock. Pre-blending of
these dry powders should aid the dispersion of the acacia gum. The slurry is then
added to the cooking mixture, which should be heated to boiling before reducing
the heat to a simmer. The chopped tomatoes, sugar, salt, tomato puree and
drained kidney beans should then be added and stirred in. The entire mixture
should be heated to approximately 100°C (without boiling) and cooked for a further
minutes. The cooked mixture may then be cooled, before portioning with
boiled/drained white rice, comprising a finished meal of 42% chilli con carne/58%
rice. This may be packaged in microwavable plastic trays and blast frozen.
Example 5
This example is for a beverage which has the same nutritional profile as for
example 4 except it is formulated as a beverage and the amount of protein,
carbohydrate and fat is halved to create a 600mL serving.
Formulation and method to achieve Example 5:
% in-going
Ingredient ingredient weight
Soy Protein
Part A Isolate 1.0%
Skim Milk Powder 3.9%
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Water 31.4%
P art B Water 49.0%
Oligofructose 1.3%
Maltodextrin 7.0%
Carrageenan 0.028%
Microcrystaline
cellulose 0.233%
Part C Brown Rice Syrup 3.5%
Honey 1.9%
P art D Rice Bran Oil 0.4%
Part E Vanilla flavour 0.40%
Totals 100.0%
% in-going ingredient
Ingredient weight
Soy Protein
Part A Isolate 1.0%
Skim Milk Powder 3.9%
Water 31.4%
P art B Water 49.0%
Oligofructose 1.3%
Maltodextrin 7.0%
Carrageenan 0.028%
Microcrystaline
cellulose 0.233%
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Part C Brown Rice Syrup 3.5%
Honey 1.9%
Part D Rice Bran Oil 0.4%
Part E Vanilla flavour 0.40%
Totals 100.0%
M ethod:
The soy protein isolate and skim milk should be dispersed using shear/agitation in
the part A water (@40-50°C) and left to hydrate (assisted by agitation) for 10-15
minutes. In a separate vessel, the carrageenan, microcrystalline cellulose,
maltodextrin and oligofructose should be dispersed in the part B water (@40-
50°C). Dispersion may be aided by pre-blending of the dry powders. These
should be left to hydrate (with agitation) for 15-20 minutes, prior to adding and
blending the brown rice syrup, honey and soy protein isolate/skim milk powder
(part A). The rice bran oil should then be added and blended using shear and
finally the flavor added and mixed. This mixture is then processed by ultra heat
treatment (approximately 140°C for 6-7 seconds) and homogenized, prior to
aseptic packaging.
Example 6
This example is for a beverage which has the same nutritional profile as for
example 5 except it does not have fibre matched to the same NRV as the matched
NRV for protein and carbohydrate.
Protein 12.5g
Carbohydrate 77.5g
Fat 3.3g
Fibre 0.1g
Energy 395 Cal
The serving size is 600ml.
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Formulation and method to achieve Example 6:
% in-going
ingredient
Ingredient weight
Soy Protein
Part A Isolate 1.0%
Skim Milk Powder 3.9%
Water 31.4%
Part B Water 50.3%
Maltodextrin 7.1%
Carrageeenan 0.028%
Microcrystalline
cellulose 0.233%
Brown Rice Syrup 3.5%
Honey 1.9%
P art C Rice Bran Oil 0.4%
Part D Vanilla flavour 0.40%
Totals 100.0%
Method:
The soy protein isolate and skim milk should be dispersed using shear/agitation in
water (@40-50°C) and left to hydrate (assisted by agitation) for 10-15 minutes. In
a separate vessel, the carrageenan, microcrystalline cellulose and maltodextrin
should be dispersed in water (@40-50°C). Dispersion may be aided by pre-
blending of the dry powders. These should be left to hydrate (with agitation) for
-20 minutes, prior to adding and blending the brown rice syrup, honey and soy
protein isolate/skim milk powder. The rice bran oil should then be added and
blended using shear and finally the flavor added and mixed. This mixture is then
processed by ultra heat treatment (approximately 140°C for 6-7 seconds) and
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homogenized, prior to aseptic packaging.
DETAILED DISCUSSION OF ALTERNATIVE WAYS TO IMPLEMENT THE
INVENTION
In some embodiments the actual age group of a child or adult may be further
classified into one or more further categories. For example:
A food or beverage substantially as described above wherein the average
daily energy requirements are also calculated based on whether the child or
adult is a female or male.
A food or beverage substantially as described above wherein the age group
of the adult or child is taken into consideration when calculating the energy
requirements.
In some embodiments the average daily energy requirements may be based on
those of an average. For example the daily energy requirements can be based on
an adult female such as is used for the GDA, or an average of the figures for
males and females which is used in the Australia New Zealand Food Standards.
In some embodiments the NRV for energy may be around 8000-9000 kJ or around
2000-2100 Cal.
The advantage of selecting an NRV calculated on the average daily energy
requirements of an adult is that for it helps achieve a lower cost of manufacture, as
the product can be produced from a single production line.
In many instances the invention may be designed as a snack or partial meal
replacement
In other embodiments the invention may be employed for meeting the needs of a
particular market segment with nutritional requirements which are quite different to
those of the average adult. For example, endurance athletes may require a super
high energy bar or beverage. Alternatively, post operational humans, or extreme
body builders, may require a super high protein food or beverage to enable rapid
muscle growth following muscle atrophy. Another group which may have particular
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nutritional needs that differ from the NRV of the average adult is infants who may
be moving from milk onto solids.
In some embodiments the food or beverage according to the invention may be
formulated to have a long shelf life.
In some embodiments the food or beverage product according to the invention
includes one or more essential minerals and vitamins in the same relative
proportion of the NRV as the selected macronutrients. In some embodiments the
minerals and vitamins may include one or more of vitamins A, B1,B2,B6, B12, C,D
and E; niacin; follate; calcium; iodine; iron; magnesium; phosphorous; and zinc.
In some embodiments the food product of the present invention has a shelf life of
at least three months.
Aspects of the present invention as detailed herein have been described by way of
example only and it should be appreciated that modifications and additions may be
made thereto without departing from the scope of the appended claims.
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