WO2015073843A1 - Better tasting nutritional powders - Google Patents

Better tasting nutritional powders Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2015073843A1
WO2015073843A1 PCT/US2014/065732 US2014065732W WO2015073843A1 WO 2015073843 A1 WO2015073843 A1 WO 2015073843A1 US 2014065732 W US2014065732 W US 2014065732W WO 2015073843 A1 WO2015073843 A1 WO 2015073843A1
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WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
dry component
liquid mixture
blended liquid
nutritional
powder product
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/US2014/065732
Other languages
French (fr)
Inventor
Paul Johns
John Lasekan
Gaurav PATEL
Wilson George Zeitler
Suzette Pereira
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Abbott Laboratories
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Publication of WO2015073843A1 publication Critical patent/WO2015073843A1/en

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    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A23—FOODS OR FOODSTUFFS; TREATMENT THEREOF, NOT COVERED BY OTHER CLASSES
    • A23L—FOODS, FOODSTUFFS, OR NON-ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES, NOT COVERED BY SUBCLASSES A21D OR A23B-A23J; THEIR PREPARATION OR TREATMENT, e.g. COOKING, MODIFICATION OF NUTRITIVE QUALITIES, PHYSICAL TREATMENT; PRESERVATION OF FOODS OR FOODSTUFFS, IN GENERAL
    • A23L33/00—Modifying nutritive qualities of foods; Dietetic products; Preparation or treatment thereof
    • A23L33/40—Complete food formulations for specific consumer groups or specific purposes, e.g. infant formula
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A23—FOODS OR FOODSTUFFS; TREATMENT THEREOF, NOT COVERED BY OTHER CLASSES
    • A23L—FOODS, FOODSTUFFS, OR NON-ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES, NOT COVERED BY SUBCLASSES A21D OR A23B-A23J; THEIR PREPARATION OR TREATMENT, e.g. COOKING, MODIFICATION OF NUTRITIVE QUALITIES, PHYSICAL TREATMENT; PRESERVATION OF FOODS OR FOODSTUFFS, IN GENERAL
    • A23L2/00—Non-alcoholic beverages; Dry compositions or concentrates therefor; Their preparation
    • A23L2/02—Non-alcoholic beverages; Dry compositions or concentrates therefor; Their preparation containing fruit or vegetable juices
    • A23L2/08—Concentrating or drying of juices
    • A23L2/10—Concentrating or drying of juices by heating or contact with dry gases
    • A23L2/102—Spray-drying
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A23—FOODS OR FOODSTUFFS; TREATMENT THEREOF, NOT COVERED BY OTHER CLASSES
    • A23L—FOODS, FOODSTUFFS, OR NON-ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES, NOT COVERED BY SUBCLASSES A21D OR A23B-A23J; THEIR PREPARATION OR TREATMENT, e.g. COOKING, MODIFICATION OF NUTRITIVE QUALITIES, PHYSICAL TREATMENT; PRESERVATION OF FOODS OR FOODSTUFFS, IN GENERAL
    • A23L2/00—Non-alcoholic beverages; Dry compositions or concentrates therefor; Their preparation
    • A23L2/385—Concentrates of non-alcoholic beverages
    • A23L2/39—Dry compositions
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A23—FOODS OR FOODSTUFFS; TREATMENT THEREOF, NOT COVERED BY OTHER CLASSES
    • A23L—FOODS, FOODSTUFFS, OR NON-ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES, NOT COVERED BY SUBCLASSES A21D OR A23B-A23J; THEIR PREPARATION OR TREATMENT, e.g. COOKING, MODIFICATION OF NUTRITIVE QUALITIES, PHYSICAL TREATMENT; PRESERVATION OF FOODS OR FOODSTUFFS, IN GENERAL
    • A23L2/00—Non-alcoholic beverages; Dry compositions or concentrates therefor; Their preparation
    • A23L2/52—Adding ingredients
    • A23L2/56—Flavouring or bittering agents
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A23—FOODS OR FOODSTUFFS; TREATMENT THEREOF, NOT COVERED BY OTHER CLASSES
    • A23L—FOODS, FOODSTUFFS, OR NON-ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES, NOT COVERED BY SUBCLASSES A21D OR A23B-A23J; THEIR PREPARATION OR TREATMENT, e.g. COOKING, MODIFICATION OF NUTRITIVE QUALITIES, PHYSICAL TREATMENT; PRESERVATION OF FOODS OR FOODSTUFFS, IN GENERAL
    • A23L2/00—Non-alcoholic beverages; Dry compositions or concentrates therefor; Their preparation
    • A23L2/52—Adding ingredients
    • A23L2/66—Proteins
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A23—FOODS OR FOODSTUFFS; TREATMENT THEREOF, NOT COVERED BY OTHER CLASSES
    • A23L—FOODS, FOODSTUFFS, OR NON-ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES, NOT COVERED BY SUBCLASSES A21D OR A23B-A23J; THEIR PREPARATION OR TREATMENT, e.g. COOKING, MODIFICATION OF NUTRITIVE QUALITIES, PHYSICAL TREATMENT; PRESERVATION OF FOODS OR FOODSTUFFS, IN GENERAL
    • A23L33/00—Modifying nutritive qualities of foods; Dietetic products; Preparation or treatment thereof
    • A23L33/10—Modifying nutritive qualities of foods; Dietetic products; Preparation or treatment thereof using additives
    • A23L33/17—Amino acids, peptides or proteins
    • A23L33/185—Vegetable proteins
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A23—FOODS OR FOODSTUFFS; TREATMENT THEREOF, NOT COVERED BY OTHER CLASSES
    • A23P—SHAPING OR WORKING OF FOODSTUFFS, NOT FULLY COVERED BY A SINGLE OTHER SUBCLASS
    • A23P10/00—Shaping or working of foodstuffs characterised by the products
    • A23P10/40—Shaping or working of foodstuffs characterised by the products free-flowing powder or instant powder, i.e. powder which is reconstituted rapidly when liquid is added
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A23—FOODS OR FOODSTUFFS; TREATMENT THEREOF, NOT COVERED BY OTHER CLASSES
    • A23V—INDEXING SCHEME RELATING TO FOODS, FOODSTUFFS OR NON-ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES AND LACTIC OR PROPIONIC ACID BACTERIA USED IN FOODSTUFFS OR FOOD PREPARATION
    • A23V2002/00—Food compositions, function of food ingredients or processes for food or foodstuffs
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A23—FOODS OR FOODSTUFFS; TREATMENT THEREOF, NOT COVERED BY OTHER CLASSES
    • A23V—INDEXING SCHEME RELATING TO FOODS, FOODSTUFFS OR NON-ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES AND LACTIC OR PROPIONIC ACID BACTERIA USED IN FOODSTUFFS OR FOOD PREPARATION
    • A23V2200/00—Function of food ingredients

Definitions

  • man-made nutritional products are commercially available today. These man-made nutritional products typically contain a balance of proteins, carbohydrates, lipids, vitamins and minerals which are tailored to the nutritional needs of the intended user. They include product forms such as ready-to-drink liquids, reconstitutable powders, nutritional bars, and the like.
  • Infant nutritional powders are especially popular for providing nutrition to infants, and their use continues to increase around the world.
  • Adult nutritional powders are also becoming increasingly popular.
  • These nutritional powder products are typically prepared by making at least two separate slurries, one usually being aqueous, the other usually being organic, and then combing these slurries together to form a blended liquid mixture. The mixture so formed is then heat-treated, standardized, optionally heat-treated a second time, spray dried, agglomerated and packaged.
  • this invention provides a process for improving the taste and bioavailability of micronutrients in a nutritional liquid obtained from a reconstituted nutritional powder product, the nutritional powder product containing a lipid, a protein, a carbohydrate and at least one of the following combinations of ingredients:
  • the nutritional powder product being made by a manufacturing method in which at least some of the raw ingredients of the nutritional powder product are mixed together to form a blended liquid mixture and the blended liquid mixture so formed is then heated to elevated temperature and spray dried to produce a base powder which forms at least a portion of the nutritional powder product, the process comprising
  • a method of manufacturing a nutritional powder product contains a protein; a carbohydrate; a lipid; a first dry component comprising at least one of cocoa powder, plum extract, tea extract, grape extract, citrus fruit extract, and coffee extract; and a second dry component comprising at least one of an iron salt, a zinc salt, a magnesium salt, a calcium salt, a copper salt, vitamin I1 ⁇ 2, and L- methionine.
  • the method comprises: (a) mixing a plurality of raw ingredients of the nutritional powder product and a liquid (e.g., water) to form a blended liquid mixture; (b) heating the blended liquid mixture to an elevated temperature; (c) spray drying the blended liquid mixture to produce a base powder which forms at least a portion of the nutritional powder product; (d) excluding from the blended liquid mixture at least about 50 wt.% of at least one of the first dry component and the second dry component, wherein the weight percentage is based on the total amount of each of the first dry component and the second dry component in the nutritional powder product; and (e) dry blending the portion of each of the first dry component and the second dry component excluded from the blended liquid mixture with the base powder, thereby producing the nutritional powder product.
  • a nutritional liquid obtained from reconstituting the nutritional powder product e.g., with water or another aqueous liquid
  • a method of manufacturing a nutritional powder product contains a protein; a carbohydrate; a lipid; a first dry component comprising a reducing sugar; and a second dry component comprising at least one of an iron salt, a zinc salt, a magnesium salt, a calcium salt, a copper salt, and free L- methionine.
  • the method comprises: (a) mixing a plurality of raw ingredients of the nutritional powder product and a liquid (e.g., water) to form a blended liquid mixture; (b) heating the blended liquid mixture to an elevated temperature; (c) spray drying the blended liquid mixture to produce a base powder which forms at least a portion of the nutritional powder product; (d) excluding from the blended liquid mixture at least about 50 wt.% of at least one of the first dry component and the second dry component, wherein the weight percentage is based on the total amount of each of the first dry component and the second dry component in the nutritional powder product; and (e) dry blending the portion of each of the first dry component and the second dry component excluded from the blended liquid mixture with the base powder, thereby producing the nutritional powder product.
  • a nutritional liquid obtained from reconstituting the nutritional powder product e.g., with water or another aqueous liquid
  • this invention also provides new and improved nutritional powder products which exhibit improved taste, better bioavailability of beneficial micronutrients, or both, as a result of being made by this procedure.
  • Base nutritional powder or “base powder” refers to a powdered nutritional composition that is an intermediate product in the manufacture of a nutritional powder product, the base nutritional powder being made by heating a blended liquid mixture containing some but not all of the ingredients of the nutritional powder product to elevated temperature followed by spray drying.
  • Free amino acid refers to an amino acid which is added to a nutritional composition as a supplement in uncombined form. It is distinguished from an amino acid that might already be present in this nutritional composition, either as being a component of a protein in this composition or a decomposition product of such a protein.
  • “Infant” refers to a child 12 months or younger.
  • Nutritional formula or “nutritional product” or “nutritional composition” are used interchangeably and refer to nutritional liquids, nutritional semi-liquids, nutritional solids, nutritional semi-solids, nutritional powders, nutritional supplements, and any other nutritional food product as known in the art.
  • the nutritional solids and powders may be reconstituted to form a nutritional liquid, all of which comprise one or more of fat, protein and carbohydrate, and are suitable for oral consumption by a human.
  • Nutritional liquid refers to nutritional products in ready-to-drink liquid form, concentrated form, and nutritional liquids made by reconstituting the nutritional powders described herein prior to use.
  • Nutritional powder refers to nutritional products which are in the form of flowable or scoopable powders that can be reconstituted by adding water or another aqueous liquid prior to consumption and includes both spray dried and dry mixed/dry blended powders.
  • Nutritional powder product refers to an ultimate nutritional powder to be made by a particular manufacturing process in contrast to a base nutritional powder which is an intermediate product in this manufacturing process.
  • “Raw ingredient” refers to the ingredients used to make a nutritional product as received from the manufacturer.
  • the raw ingredients comprise at least one of a protein, a carbohydrate, a lipid, vitamins, and minerals.
  • Source slurries refers to the different slurries of raw ingredients (e.g., protein, carbohydrate, lipids) that are formed during a typical manufacturing process for making a nutritional product.
  • Typical source slurries include protein-in-fat (PIF) or protein-in-oil (PIO) slurries, carbohydrate-mineral (CHO-MIN) slurries, and protein-in- water (PIW) slurries.
  • Numerical ranges as used herein are intended to include every number and subset of numbers within that range, whether specifically disclosed or not. Further, these numerical ranges should be construed as providing support for a claim directed to any number or subset of numbers in that range. For example, a disclosure of from 1 to 10 should be construed as supporting a range of from 2 to 8, from 3 to 7, from 5 to 6, from 1 to 9, from 3.6 to 4.6, from 3.5 to 9.9, and so forth.
  • the various embodiments of the nutritional formulas of the present disclosure may also be substantially free of any optional or selected ingredient or feature described herein, provided that the nutritional formula still contains all of the required ingredients or features as described herein.
  • the term "substantially free” means that the selected nutritional formulas contain less than a functional amount of the optional ingredient, typically less than 1%, including less than 0.5%, including less than 0.1%, and also including zero percent, by weight of such optional or selected ingredient.
  • the nutritional powders, infant formulas, and corresponding manufacturing methods of the present disclosure can comprise, consist of, or consist essentially of the essential elements and limitations of the disclosure as described herein, as well as any additional or optional ingredients, components, or limitations described herein or otherwise useful in nutritional powdered formula applications.
  • the nutritional powder products of this invention are intended to be used for making nutritional liquids by adding a suitable amount of water or other aqueous liquid to the powder for immediate oral or enteral use.
  • immediate use generally means within about 48 hours, most typically within about 24 hours, preferably right after or within 20 minutes of reconstitution.
  • These nutritional liquids include both concentrated and ready-to-feed concentrations and are most typically formulated as suspensions, emulsions or clear or substantially clear liquids. They are generally flowable or drinkable liquids at from about 1°C to about 25°C and are typically in the form of oil-in-water, water-in-oil, or complex aqueous emulsions, although such emulsions are most typically in the form of oil-in-water emulsions having a continuous aqueous phase and a discontinuous oil phase. They typically have a pH ranging from about 3.5 to about 8, but are most advantageously in a range of from about 4.5 to about 7.5, including from about 5.5 to about 7.3, including from about 6.2 to about 7.2.
  • the nutritional powder products of this invention are made from spray dried and dry blended powders, as further discussed below, and can easily be scooped and measured with a spoon or other similar device.
  • the nutritional powder products of this invention can be formulated so that they can be reconstituted into any type of nutritional liquid including those especially formulated for feeding infants, those especially formulated to provide balanced nutritional supplements for normal adults, those especially formulated for promoting muscle growth in healthy adults, those especially formulated for diabetic adults and those formulated especially for children (e.g. , ages 1 to 6) both as supplements as well as sole source foodstuffs.
  • these nutritional liquids when in a ready to feed condition contain protein in an amount of from about 0.5% to about 20% by weight, carbohydrate in an amount of from about 0.5% to about 35% by weight, and fat in an amount of from about 0.1% to about 25% by weight, with the particular balance of these macronutrients depending on the specific purpose for which a particular nutritional liquid is formulated.
  • any carbohydrate or source thereof that is suitable for use in oral nutritional products and is compatible with the other ingredients of the inventive compositions can be used as the carbohydrate of the inventive nutritional powder products.
  • specific examples include maltodextrin (and specifically low DE Maltodextrin such as DE10 maltodextrin), corn maltodextrin, sucromalt, maltitol, maltitol powder, glycerine, glucose polymers, corn syrup, corn syrup solids, rice-derived carbohydrates (e.g., tapioca dextrin), isomaltulose, sucrose, extra fine white sugar, glucose, fructose, lactose, high fructose corn syrup, honey, sugar alcohols (e.g., maltitol, erythritol, sorbitol), artificial sweeteners (e.g., sucralose, acesulfame potassium), natural sweeteners (e.g., stevia, monk fruit), high potency potientiators, fruct
  • a fat source will provide at least one long chain polyunsaturated fatty acid (LC-PUFA) such as DHA, ARA, and/or EPA, although these LC-PUFAs may be optionally added to the nutritional compositions outside of, or in addition to, the fat source.
  • LC-PUFA long chain polyunsaturated fatty acid
  • Non-limiting examples of suitable fats or sources thereof for use in the nutritional powder products of this invention include coconut oil, fractionated coconut oil, soy oil, corn oil, olive oil, safflower oil, high oleic safflower oil, MCT oil (medium chain triglycerides), sunflower oil, high oleic sunflower oil, palm and palm kernel oils, palm olein, canola oil, marine oils, cottonseed oils, and combinations thereof.
  • Any protein or source thereof that is suitable for use in oral nutritional products and is compatible with the other ingredients of the inventive compositions can be used as the protein of the inventive nutritional powder products.
  • Non- limiting examples of animal proteins that can be used for this purpose include milk proteins obtained from the milk of many different mammals including cows, sheep, goats, horses, buffalos, camels, etc. Milk proteins derived from cow's milk are preferred due to availability and cost. Specific milk proteins that can be used include milk protein concentrate (MPC), milk protein isolate (MPI), casein, micellar casein, micellar casein isolate (MCI), whey, whey protein isolate (WPI), whey protein concentrate (WPC), milk, non-fat dry milk, and condensed skim milk. Other animal proteins such as egg proteins can also be used.
  • Vegetable proteins can also be used, examples of which include soy proteins such as soy protein concentrate (SPC), soy protein isolate (SPI), textured soy protein (TSP), and hydrated textured soy protein chunks; pea proteins such as pea protein concentrates (PPC) and pea protein isolates (PPI); brown rice proteins, etc.
  • soy proteins such as soy protein concentrate (SPC), soy protein isolate (SPI), textured soy protein (TSP), and hydrated textured soy protein chunks
  • pea proteins such as pea protein concentrates (PPC) and pea protein isolates (PPI); brown rice proteins, etc.
  • All of these proteins can be either intact (i.e., unhydrolyzed) or hydro lyzed. Mixtures of unhydrolyzed or hydrolyzed proteins are also useful.
  • the nutritional powder products of this invention can also optionally contain L-methionine as well as one or more other free amino acids such as L- arginine, L-cysteine, L-glutamine, L-leucine, L-proline, L-valine, L-isoleucine, L-cystine, L- histidine, L-threonine and L-tryptophan.
  • Particularly suitable free amino acids include L- arginine and L-glutamine.
  • Desirable branched chain amino acids include L-leucine, L- isoleucine, and L-valine.
  • supplemental amino acids may also be present in salt form (e.g., L-arginine hydrochloride), peptide -bound form (e.g., L-alanyl-L-glutamine), and protein-bound form (e.g., bovine beta-lactoglobulin, which includes 2.85 wt% L-arginine, 7.18 wt% L-glutamine and
  • the inventive nutritional powder products may further comprise vitamins or related nutrients, non-limiting examples of which include vitamin A, vitamin D, vitamin E, vitamin K, thiamine, riboflavin, pyridoxine, vitamin B 6 , vitamin !1 ⁇ 2, carotenoids, niacin, folic acid, pantothenic acid, biotin, vitamin C, choline, inositol, salts, and derivatives thereof, and combinations thereof.
  • vitamins or related nutrients include vitamin A, vitamin D, vitamin E, vitamin K, thiamine, riboflavin, pyridoxine, vitamin B 6 , vitamin !1 ⁇ 2, carotenoids, niacin, folic acid, pantothenic acid, biotin, vitamin C, choline, inositol, salts, and derivatives thereof, and combinations thereof.
  • the nutritional powder products may further comprise minerals, non-limiting examples of which include phosphorus, magnesium, calcium, iron, zinc, manganese, copper, sodium, potassium, iodine, molybdenum, chromium, selenium, chloride, and combinations thereof.
  • micronutrients may be present in amounts recognized in industry to be conventional, as well as in non-conventional amounts.
  • Table 1 sets forth the industry-recognized concentrations for the micronutrients contained in an infant nutritional powder product especially formulated for achieving adequate growth and development of infants.
  • the inventive nutritional powder products may also include one or more flavoring or flavor masking agents.
  • suitable flavoring or masking agents include natural and artificial sweeteners, sodium sources such as sodium chloride, and hydrocolloids, and combinations thereof.
  • Specific flavoring agents that can be used include vanilla and strawberry flavoring agents, chocolate flavoring agents and especially cocoa extract (cocoa powder), plum extract, green tea extract and coffee extract.
  • Specific flavor masking agents that can be used include fish oil masking agents to mask
  • the inventive nutritional powder products may include a lipid- amylose complex.
  • the combination of monoglycerides and low DE glucose polymers, such as DE-1 maltodextrin form a lipid-amylose complex that can bind to oxidation products such as the fatty acid chain of aldehydes or ketones formed during oxidation of marine oils.
  • the nutritional powder products of this invention can also optionally contain various additional optional ingredients such as HMB (hydroxymethylbutyrate), preservatives, antioxidants, emulsifying agents, buffers, pharmaceutical actives, additional nutrients as described herein, colorants, flavors, thickeners (e.g., induced viscosity fibers, gums such as xanthan gum and the like), additional stabilizers, cereal beta-glucans (barley beta-glucan), probiotics (e.g., Lactobacillus rhamnosus FiNOOl (DR20)), prebiotics (galactooligosaccharides, inulin, oligofructose), Salacia extract, and so forth.
  • HMB hydroxymethylbutyrate
  • a flowing agent or anti-caking agent may be included in the nutritional powder products of this invention to retard clumping or caking of the powder over time and to make this product flow easily from its container.
  • Any flowing or anti-caking agents that is known or otherwise suitable for use in a nutritional powder is suitable for use herein, non limiting examples of which include tricalcium phosphate, silicates, and combinations thereof.
  • the concentration of the flowing agent or anti-caking agent in the nutritional product varies depending upon the product form, the other selected ingredients, the desired flow properties, and so forth, but most typically range from about 0.1% to about 4%, including from about 0.5% to about 2%, by weight of the nutritional product.
  • the typical way a nutritional powder product is made is by a batch process in which two or three different "source slurries" are separately formed and then blended together to form a blended liquid mixture. This mixture is then heat-treated, standardized, heat-treated a second time if desired, spray dried, agglomerated and packaged.
  • a protein-in-fat (PIF) slurry e.g., canola oil, corn oil, etc.
  • CHO-MIN carbohydrate-mineral
  • PIW protein-in- water
  • the PIF slurry is formed by heating and mixing the fat component (e.g., canola oil, corn oil, etc.) and then adding an emulsifier (e.g., lecithin), fat soluble vitamins, and a portion of the total protein (e.g., intact pea protein concentrate, milk protein concentrate, etc.) with continued heat and agitation.
  • an emulsifier e.g., lecithin
  • a portion of the total protein e.g., intact pea protein concentrate, milk protein concentrate, etc.
  • the CHO-MIN slurry is formed by adding with heated agitation to water: minerals (e.g., potassium citrate, dipotassium phosphate, sodium citrate, etc.), trace and ultra trace minerals (TM/UTM premix), and a thickening or suspending agent.
  • minerals e.g., potassium citrate, dipotassium phosphate, sodium citrate, etc.
  • trace and ultra trace minerals TM/UTM premix
  • TM/UTM premix trace and ultra trace minerals
  • a thickening or suspending agent e.g., potassium citrate, dipotassium phosphate, sodium citrate, etc.
  • TM/UTM premix trace and ultra trace minerals
  • a thickening or suspending agent e.g., a thickening or suspending agent.
  • additional minerals e.g., potassium chloride, magnesium carbonate, potassium iodide, etc.
  • carbohydrates e.g., HMOs, fructooligosaccharide, sucrose, corn
  • the resulting source slurries are then blended together with heated agitation and the pH of the blended liquid mixture so formed adjusted to 6.6-7.0, after which the blended liquid mixture is subjected to high-temperature short-time (HTST) processing during which the composition is heat treated, emulsified and homogenized, and then allowed to cool.
  • HTST high-temperature short-time
  • a protein-in-fat (PIF) slurry and a carbohydrate-mineral (CHO-MIN) slurry are prepared.
  • a separate protein-in-water (PIW) slurry is not prepared, since all of the protein is included in the PIF slurry.
  • this manufacturing process is essentially the same as the three-slurry batch manufacturing process described above.
  • the elevated temperatures to which these source slurries are subjected during their manufacture can be as high as 180° F (82° C) or more.
  • the blended liquid mixture that is produced for spray drying by combining these source slurries is typically heated to 265° F (130° C) or more for 5 seconds or more. Accordingly, in certain embodiments, the blended liquid mixture is heated to a temperature of about 70° C to about 130° C, including about 80° C to about 130° C, about 90° C to about 130° C, about 100° C to about 130° C, or about 115° C to about 130° C. In addition, during spray drying, this blended liquid mixture can be exposed to temperatures as high as 374° F (190° C) or more.
  • a modified manufacturing process is used in which care is taken to avoid certain combinations of ingredients in the blended liquid mixture which is subjected to spray drying. Preferably, these combinations are also avoided in the source slurries used to form this blended liquid mixture. In accordance with this invention, this is accomplished by formulating this blended liquid mixture, and preferably these source slurries as well, to contain less than all of the ingredients in the final nutritional powder product being produced. Then, after this blended liquid mixture is spray dried, the ingredients (or portions thereof) left out of the blended liquid mixture are combined with the base powder produced by spray drying by dry blending, thereby producing the final desired nutritional powder product being sought.
  • Cocoa extract (cocoa powder), plum extract, tea extract, grape extract, citrus fruit extract, and coffee extract each may contain oxalic acid and/or phytic acid and/or their corresponding oxalates and phytates. Under the influence of heat, these compounds may bind various solubilized divalent cations including iron, zinc, copper, magnesium, and calcium, thereby reducing the bioavailability of these minerals.
  • Cocoa extract (cocoa powder), plum extract, tea extract, grape extract, citrus fruit extract, and coffee extract may also contain tannins and/or other polyphenols. Under the influence of heat, these compounds may decompose to yield hydrogen peroxide ( ⁇ 2 0 2 ) as a by-product. This by-product hydrogen peroxide can degrade or destroy any vitamin Bi 2 that may be present. In addition, the by-product hydrogen peroxide can readily oxidize any L-methionine present to methionine sulfoxide, thereby potentially altering the bioavailability of the L-methionine.
  • reducing sugars such as glucose, fructose, lactose, maltodextrin, corn syrup, corn syrup solids, FOS (fructooligosaccharides), and isomaltulose undergo the Maillard reaction in the presence of proteins.
  • This reaction may generate one or more products (including furfurals and advanced glycation end products, or AGEs) which may impart adverse sensory attributes (color, odor, taste), and/or which may lower the tolerance of the nutritional composition.
  • AGEs advanced glycation end products
  • the inventive nutritional powder product is manufactured by a process in which these combinations of ingredients are restricted from, and more desirably eliminated essentially completely from, the blended liquid mixture which is subjected to spray drying. Desirably, these combinations are also eliminated from the source slurries used to form this blended liquid mixture. As a result, the above undesirable reactions are restricted or prevented from occurring, and hence the concentrations of the unwanted decomposition products mentioned above are reduced substantially or eliminated essentially completely.
  • a method of manufacturing a nutritional powder product contains a protein; a carbohydrate; a lipid; a first dry component comprising at least one of cocoa powder, plum extract, tea extract, grape extract, citrus fruit extract, and coffee extract; and a second dry component comprising at least one of an iron salt, a zinc salt, a magnesium salt, a calcium salt, a copper salt, vitamin I1 ⁇ 2, and L- methionine.
  • the method comprises: (a) mixing a plurality of raw ingredients of the nutritional powder product and a liquid (e.g., water) to form a blended liquid mixture; (b) heating the blended liquid mixture to an elevated temperature; (c) spray drying the blended liquid mixture to produce a base powder which forms at least a portion of the nutritional powder product; (d) excluding from the blended liquid mixture at least about 50 wt.% of at least one of the first dry component and the second dry component, wherein the weight percentage is based on the total amount of each of the first dry component and the second dry component in the nutritional powder product; and (e) dry blending the portion of each of the first dry component and the second dry component excluded from the blended liquid mixture with the base powder, thereby producing the nutritional powder product.
  • a nutritional liquid obtained from reconstituting the nutritional powder product e.g., with water or another aqueous liquid
  • a method of manufacturing a nutritional powder product contains a protein; a carbohydrate; a lipid; a first dry component comprising a reducing sugar; and a second dry component comprising at least one of an iron salt, a zinc salt, a magnesium salt, a calcium salt, a copper salt, and free L- methionine.
  • the method comprises: (a) mixing a plurality of raw ingredients of the nutritional powder product and a liquid (e.g., water) to form a blended liquid mixture; (b) heating the blended liquid mixture to an elevated temperature; (c) spray drying the blended liquid mixture to produce a base powder which forms at least a portion of the nutritional powder product; (d) excluding from the blended liquid mixture at least about 50 wt.% of at least one of the first dry component and the second dry component, wherein the weight percentage is based on the total amount of each of the first dry component and the second dry component in the nutritional powder product; and (e) dry blending the portion of each of the first dry component and the second dry component excluded from the blended liquid mixture with the base powder, thereby producing the nutritional powder product.
  • a nutritional liquid obtained from reconstituting the nutritional powder product e.g., with water or another aqueous liquid
  • Restricting or eliminating these combinations of ingredients from the blended liquid mixture subjected to spray drying can be done by restricting or eliminating only one of the components of each combination from this blended mixture (or source slurries). Preferably, however, both components are restricted or eliminated from this liquid mixture or source slurries. In addition, when one or both of these components are restricted from this blended liquid mixture or source slurries (as opposed to being eliminated essentially completely), the amount by which the concentration of one or both of these components is reduced is at least 50 wt.% of the total amount of these component(s) in the nutritional powder product ultimately produced.
  • the ultimate nutritional powder product to be produced contains 7.6 grams reducing sugar and 1.9 g/kg free L-methionine per kilogram of this ultimate nutrition powder product, then for each kilogram of this ultimate nutritional powder product that is made at least 3.8 grams of reducing sugar, or at least 0.95 gram free L-methionine, or both, are kept out of the blended liquid mixture which is subjected to spray drying. Instead, these intentionally omitted ingredients are separately supplied as powders and dry blended with the base nutritional powder produced as a result of the spray drying operation.
  • the combined amounts of cocoa powder and grape extract in the ultimate nutritional powder product to be produced is 18 g/kg while the combined amounts of zinc and magnesium salts in this ultimate nutritional powder product is 3.6 g/kg, then for each kilogram of this ultimate nutritional powder product that is made at least 9 grams of cocoa powder plus grape extract, or at least 1.8 grams of zinc plus magnesium salts, or both, are kept out of the blended liquid mixture which is subjected to spray drying. Instead, these intentionally omitted ingredients are separately supplied as powders and dry blended with the base nutrition powder produced as a result of the spray drying operation.
  • the amount by which the concentration of one or both components in the blended liquid mixture is reduced is at least 75% of the total amount of these component(s) in the nutritional powder product ultimately produced.
  • essentially all of at least one component of each combination is eliminated from the blended liquid mixture.
  • essentially all of both components of each combination is eliminated from the blended liquid mixture.
  • the nutritional powder product contains free L-methionine plus one or more of the other free amino acids mentioned above (i.e., L-arginine, L-cysteine, L-glutamine, L-leucine, L-proline, L-valine, L-isoleucine, L-cystine, L- histidine, L-threonine and L-tryptophan), it may be desirable although not mandatory to reduce the total amount of free L-methionine plus these other free amino acids in the blended liquid mixture subjected to spray drying in the manner indicated above, i.e., by at least 50 wt.%, at least 75 wt.% or even 100 wt.% of the total amount of these free amino acids in the nutritional powder product ultimately produced.
  • the other free amino acids mentioned above i.e., L-arginine, L-cysteine, L-glutamine, L-leucine, L-proline, L-valine, L-isoleucine, L-cystine
  • the total amount of reducing sugar plus cocoa powder, plum extract, tea extract, grape extract, citrus fruit extract and coffee extract in the blended liquid mixture subjected to spray drying can be reduced in this manner, i.e., by at least 50 wt.%, at least 75 wt.% or even 100 wt.% of the total amount of these ingredients in the nutritional powder product ultimately produced.
  • the ingredients that have been eliminated from the blended liquid mixture to be spray dried are combined, in powder form and by dry blending, with the spray dried base powder obtained from this blended liquid mixture. So, for example, where the ultimate nutritional powder product to be produced contains 1.9 g/kg powder free L-methionine but the blended liquid mixture which is spray dried only contains 0.95 g/kg free L-methionine on a dry weight basis, an additional 0.95 gram of free L-methionine in powder form per kilogram of nutritional powder product to be ultimately produced is dry blended with the spray dried powder obtained from the blended liquid mixture, thereby producing the ultimate nutritional powder product.
  • An infant nutritional powder containing 210 g/kg soy protein isolate, 1.9 g/kg free L- methionine, 449 g/kg corn syrup solids (a reducing sugar), 140 g/kg sucrose, 470 mg/kg FeS0 4 -7H 2 0, 170 mg/kg ZnS0 4 -7H 2 0, and other ingredients is prepared in a manner by which 66%o of the corn syrup solids and 100%) of the FeS0 4 -7H 2 0 and ZnS0 4 -7H 2 0 are not included in the blended liquid mixture subjected to spray drying but are separately added by dry blending.
  • a blended liquid mixture is first prepared containing 210 g/kg soy protein isolate, 0 gm/kg free L-methionine, 191 g/kg corn syrup solids, 140 g/kg sucrose, 0 mg/kg FeS0 4 -7H 2 0, 0 mg/kg ZnS0 4 -7H 2 0, and other ingredients.
  • This blended liquid mixture is then heat treated for microbe control in a conventional way and then spray dried to produce a base powder.
  • Example 1 is repeated, except that it is carried out in a manner so that 75% of the corn syrup solids is not included in the blended liquid mixture subjected to spray drying but is separately added by dry blending.
  • Example 1 To accomplish this, the procedure of Example 1 is repeated, except that blended liquid mixture is formulated with 140 g/kg corn syrup solids, while 294 g/kg corn syrup solids in the form of a dry powder is added to and dry blended with the base powder produced by spray drying.
  • vanilla flavored nutritional powder intended as a general food supplement for normal healthy adults in which 100% of the maltodextrin, sucrose, iron and zinc in the composition are not included in the blended liquid mixture subjected to spray drying but are separately added by dry blending is produced by the following procedure.
  • a blended liquid mixture is first prepared containing 132 g/kg sodium caseinate, 110 g/kg calcium caseinate, 55 g/kg soy protein isolate, 385 g/kg corn syrup, 0 gm/kg maltodextrin, 0 gm/kg sucrose and other ingredients.
  • This blended liquid mixture is then heat treated for microbe control in a conventional way and then spray dried to produce a base powder.
  • To this base powder is added the following dry powders in the following amounts: 200 g/kg maltodextrin, 150 g/kg sucrose, 200 mg/kg FeS0 4 '7H 2 0, and 220 mg/kg ZnS0 4 '7H 2 0.
  • the dry mixture so obtained is then subjected to gentle mixing so that its individual powder ingredients are blended together, thereby producing the target nutritional powder product.
  • a chocolate flavored nutritional powder intended a general food supplement for normal healthy adults in which 100% of the maltodextrin, sucrose, iron, zinc and chocolate flavoring in the composition are not included in the blended liquid mixture subjected to spray drying but are separately added by dry blending is produced by the following procedure. The procedure of Example 3 is repeated, except that in addition to the dry powders mentioned above that are dry blended with the base powder produced by spray drying, 35 g/kg of dry cocoa powder is also dry blended with this mixture.
  • a plum flavored nutritional powder intended a general food supplement for normal healthy adults in which 100% of the maltodextrin, sucrose, iron, zinc and chocolate flavoring in the composition are not included in the blended liquid mixture subjected to spray drying but are separately added by dry blending is produced by the following procedure.
  • Example 3 The procedure of Example 3 is repeated, except that in addition to the dry powders mentioned above that are dry blended with the base powder produced by spray drying, 20 g/kg of dry plum extract PE-50 is also dry blended with this mixture.

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Abstract

Nutritional powder products exhibiting better taste and bioavailability of micronutrients are produced by avoiding certain ingredient combinations in the blended liquid mixture which is spray dried during manufacture. Particular ingredients which are omitted from this blended liquid mixture so as to avoid these combinations are added back by dry blending these omitted ingredients with the base powder produced by spray drying.

Description

BETTER TASTING NUTRITIONAL POWDERS
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims priority to and any benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/904,261, filed November 14, 2013, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
BACKGROUND
A variety of man-made nutritional products are commercially available today. These man-made nutritional products typically contain a balance of proteins, carbohydrates, lipids, vitamins and minerals which are tailored to the nutritional needs of the intended user. They include product forms such as ready-to-drink liquids, reconstitutable powders, nutritional bars, and the like.
Infant nutritional powders are especially popular for providing nutrition to infants, and their use continues to increase around the world. Adult nutritional powders are also becoming increasingly popular. These nutritional powder products are typically prepared by making at least two separate slurries, one usually being aqueous, the other usually being organic, and then combing these slurries together to form a blended liquid mixture. The mixture so formed is then heat-treated, standardized, optionally heat-treated a second time, spray dried, agglomerated and packaged.
SUMMARY
In accordance with this invention, it has been found that the taste of the nutritional liquids produced by reconstituting these nutritional powder products, as well as the bioavailability of at least some of the nutrients they contain, can be enhanced by avoiding certain combinations of ingredients in the blended liquid mixture that is heat treated and then spray dried during their process of manufacture.
In particular, it has been found in accordance with this invention that the slurry heating process that occurs during the typical way these nutritional powder products are made causes certain unwanted chemical reactions to occur, the result of which is that unwanted by-products are formed which either adversely affect taste, render certain beneficial mineral ingredients non- bioavailable, or both. In accordance with this invention, therefore, certain combinations of ingredients are avoided in the blended liquid mixture which is heated and spray dried for producing these nutritional powder products, with the ingredients which have been omitted from this blended liquid mixture being later combined with the spray dried powder obtained from this mixture by dry blending.
Accordingly, this invention provides a process for improving the taste and bioavailability of micronutrients in a nutritional liquid obtained from a reconstituted nutritional powder product, the nutritional powder product containing a lipid, a protein, a carbohydrate and at least one of the following combinations of ingredients:
Figure imgf000003_0001
the nutritional powder product being made by a manufacturing method in which at least some of the raw ingredients of the nutritional powder product are mixed together to form a blended liquid mixture and the blended liquid mixture so formed is then heated to elevated temperature and spray dried to produce a base powder which forms at least a portion of the nutritional powder product, the process comprising
(a) excluding from the blended liquid mixture which is spray dried to produce this base powder at least about 50% of at least one of Ingredient Component A and Ingredient Component B from each of the above ingredient combinations that are present in the nutritional powder product, these percents being based on the total amount (by weight) of each ingredient component in the nutritional powder product being made, and (b) dry blending each ingredient component so excluded in the form of a dry powder with the base powder produced by spray drying, thereby producing the nutritional powder product.
In one exemplary embodiment, a method of manufacturing a nutritional powder product is provided. The nutritional powder product contains a protein; a carbohydrate; a lipid; a first dry component comprising at least one of cocoa powder, plum extract, tea extract, grape extract, citrus fruit extract, and coffee extract; and a second dry component comprising at least one of an iron salt, a zinc salt, a magnesium salt, a calcium salt, a copper salt, vitamin I½, and L- methionine. The method comprises: (a) mixing a plurality of raw ingredients of the nutritional powder product and a liquid (e.g., water) to form a blended liquid mixture; (b) heating the blended liquid mixture to an elevated temperature; (c) spray drying the blended liquid mixture to produce a base powder which forms at least a portion of the nutritional powder product; (d) excluding from the blended liquid mixture at least about 50 wt.% of at least one of the first dry component and the second dry component, wherein the weight percentage is based on the total amount of each of the first dry component and the second dry component in the nutritional powder product; and (e) dry blending the portion of each of the first dry component and the second dry component excluded from the blended liquid mixture with the base powder, thereby producing the nutritional powder product. A nutritional liquid obtained from reconstituting the nutritional powder product (e.g., with water or another aqueous liquid) exhibits at least one of improved taste and improved bioavailability of micronutrients.
In one exemplary embodiment, a method of manufacturing a nutritional powder product is provided. The nutritional powder product contains a protein; a carbohydrate; a lipid; a first dry component comprising a reducing sugar; and a second dry component comprising at least one of an iron salt, a zinc salt, a magnesium salt, a calcium salt, a copper salt, and free L- methionine. The method comprises: (a) mixing a plurality of raw ingredients of the nutritional powder product and a liquid (e.g., water) to form a blended liquid mixture; (b) heating the blended liquid mixture to an elevated temperature; (c) spray drying the blended liquid mixture to produce a base powder which forms at least a portion of the nutritional powder product; (d) excluding from the blended liquid mixture at least about 50 wt.% of at least one of the first dry component and the second dry component, wherein the weight percentage is based on the total amount of each of the first dry component and the second dry component in the nutritional powder product; and (e) dry blending the portion of each of the first dry component and the second dry component excluded from the blended liquid mixture with the base powder, thereby producing the nutritional powder product. A nutritional liquid obtained from reconstituting the nutritional powder product (e.g., with water or another aqueous liquid) exhibits at least one of improved taste and improved bioavailability of micronutrients.
In addition, this invention also provides new and improved nutritional powder products which exhibit improved taste, better bioavailability of beneficial micronutrients, or both, as a result of being made by this procedure.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Definitions and Conventions
Unless otherwise indicated expressly or by context, the following terms will have the following meanings:
"Base nutritional powder" or "base powder" refers to a powdered nutritional composition that is an intermediate product in the manufacture of a nutritional powder product, the base nutritional powder being made by heating a blended liquid mixture containing some but not all of the ingredients of the nutritional powder product to elevated temperature followed by spray drying.
"Free amino acid" refers to an amino acid which is added to a nutritional composition as a supplement in uncombined form. It is distinguished from an amino acid that might already be present in this nutritional composition, either as being a component of a protein in this composition or a decomposition product of such a protein.
"Infant" refers to a child 12 months or younger.
"Nutritional formula" or "nutritional product" or "nutritional composition" are used interchangeably and refer to nutritional liquids, nutritional semi-liquids, nutritional solids, nutritional semi-solids, nutritional powders, nutritional supplements, and any other nutritional food product as known in the art. The nutritional solids and powders may be reconstituted to form a nutritional liquid, all of which comprise one or more of fat, protein and carbohydrate, and are suitable for oral consumption by a human.
"Nutritional liquid" refers to nutritional products in ready-to-drink liquid form, concentrated form, and nutritional liquids made by reconstituting the nutritional powders described herein prior to use. "Nutritional powder" refers to nutritional products which are in the form of flowable or scoopable powders that can be reconstituted by adding water or another aqueous liquid prior to consumption and includes both spray dried and dry mixed/dry blended powders.
"Nutritional powder product" refers to an ultimate nutritional powder to be made by a particular manufacturing process in contrast to a base nutritional powder which is an intermediate product in this manufacturing process.
"Raw ingredient" refers to the ingredients used to make a nutritional product as received from the manufacturer. In certain embodiments, the raw ingredients comprise at least one of a protein, a carbohydrate, a lipid, vitamins, and minerals.
"Source slurries" refers to the different slurries of raw ingredients (e.g., protein, carbohydrate, lipids) that are formed during a typical manufacturing process for making a nutritional product. Typical source slurries include protein-in-fat (PIF) or protein-in-oil (PIO) slurries, carbohydrate-mineral (CHO-MIN) slurries, and protein-in- water (PIW) slurries.
All percentages, parts and ratios as used herein, are by weight of the total composition, unless otherwise specified. All such weights, as they pertain to listed ingredients, are based on the active level and, therefore, do not include solvents or by-products that may be included in commercially available materials, unless otherwise specified.
Numerical ranges as used herein are intended to include every number and subset of numbers within that range, whether specifically disclosed or not. Further, these numerical ranges should be construed as providing support for a claim directed to any number or subset of numbers in that range. For example, a disclosure of from 1 to 10 should be construed as supporting a range of from 2 to 8, from 3 to 7, from 5 to 6, from 1 to 9, from 3.6 to 4.6, from 3.5 to 9.9, and so forth.
All references to singular characteristics or limitations of the present disclosure shall include the corresponding plural characteristic or limitation, and vice versa, unless otherwise specified or clearly implied to the contrary by the context in which the reference is made.
All combinations of method or process steps as used herein can be performed in any order, unless otherwise specified or clearly implied to the contrary by the context in which the referenced combination is made.
The various embodiments of the nutritional formulas of the present disclosure may also be substantially free of any optional or selected ingredient or feature described herein, provided that the nutritional formula still contains all of the required ingredients or features as described herein. In this context, and unless otherwise specified, the term "substantially free" means that the selected nutritional formulas contain less than a functional amount of the optional ingredient, typically less than 1%, including less than 0.5%, including less than 0.1%, and also including zero percent, by weight of such optional or selected ingredient.
The nutritional powders, infant formulas, and corresponding manufacturing methods of the present disclosure can comprise, consist of, or consist essentially of the essential elements and limitations of the disclosure as described herein, as well as any additional or optional ingredients, components, or limitations described herein or otherwise useful in nutritional powdered formula applications.
Nutritional Liquids Made from Reconstituted Powders
The nutritional powder products of this invention are intended to be used for making nutritional liquids by adding a suitable amount of water or other aqueous liquid to the powder for immediate oral or enteral use. In this context, "immediate" use generally means within about 48 hours, most typically within about 24 hours, preferably right after or within 20 minutes of reconstitution.
These nutritional liquids include both concentrated and ready-to-feed concentrations and are most typically formulated as suspensions, emulsions or clear or substantially clear liquids. They are generally flowable or drinkable liquids at from about 1°C to about 25°C and are typically in the form of oil-in-water, water-in-oil, or complex aqueous emulsions, although such emulsions are most typically in the form of oil-in-water emulsions having a continuous aqueous phase and a discontinuous oil phase. They typically have a pH ranging from about 3.5 to about 8, but are most advantageously in a range of from about 4.5 to about 7.5, including from about 5.5 to about 7.3, including from about 6.2 to about 7.2.
The nutritional powder products of this invention, from which these nutritional liquids are made, are made from spray dried and dry blended powders, as further discussed below, and can easily be scooped and measured with a spoon or other similar device.
Macronutrient Balance
The nutritional powder products of this invention can be formulated so that they can be reconstituted into any type of nutritional liquid including those especially formulated for feeding infants, those especially formulated to provide balanced nutritional supplements for normal adults, those especially formulated for promoting muscle growth in healthy adults, those especially formulated for diabetic adults and those formulated especially for children (e.g. , ages 1 to 6) both as supplements as well as sole source foodstuffs. Broadly speaking, these nutritional liquids when in a ready to feed condition contain protein in an amount of from about 0.5% to about 20% by weight, carbohydrate in an amount of from about 0.5% to about 35% by weight, and fat in an amount of from about 0.1% to about 25% by weight, with the particular balance of these macronutrients depending on the specific purpose for which a particular nutritional liquid is formulated.
Any carbohydrate or source thereof that is suitable for use in oral nutritional products and is compatible with the other ingredients of the inventive compositions can be used as the carbohydrate of the inventive nutritional powder products. Specific examples include maltodextrin (and specifically low DE Maltodextrin such as DE10 maltodextrin), corn maltodextrin, sucromalt, maltitol, maltitol powder, glycerine, glucose polymers, corn syrup, corn syrup solids, rice-derived carbohydrates (e.g., tapioca dextrin), isomaltulose, sucrose, extra fine white sugar, glucose, fructose, lactose, high fructose corn syrup, honey, sugar alcohols (e.g., maltitol, erythritol, sorbitol), artificial sweeteners (e.g., sucralose, acesulfame potassium), natural sweeteners (e.g., stevia, monk fruit), high potency potientiators, fructooligosaccharides, soy fiber, corn fiber, guar gum, konjac flour, poly dextrose, Fibersol, and combinations thereof. Normally, the carbohydrate component of the inventive nutritional powder products will contain both starches and sugars.
Any fat or source thereof that is suitable for use in oral nutritional products and is compatible with the other ingredients of the inventive compositions can be used as the fat of the inventive nutritional powder products. Desirably, a fat source will provide at least one long chain polyunsaturated fatty acid (LC-PUFA) such as DHA, ARA, and/or EPA, although these LC-PUFAs may be optionally added to the nutritional compositions outside of, or in addition to, the fat source.
Non-limiting examples of suitable fats or sources thereof for use in the nutritional powder products of this invention include coconut oil, fractionated coconut oil, soy oil, corn oil, olive oil, safflower oil, high oleic safflower oil, MCT oil (medium chain triglycerides), sunflower oil, high oleic sunflower oil, palm and palm kernel oils, palm olein, canola oil, marine oils, cottonseed oils, and combinations thereof. Any protein or source thereof that is suitable for use in oral nutritional products and is compatible with the other ingredients of the inventive compositions can be used as the protein of the inventive nutritional powder products. Non- limiting examples of animal proteins that can be used for this purpose include milk proteins obtained from the milk of many different mammals including cows, sheep, goats, horses, buffalos, camels, etc. Milk proteins derived from cow's milk are preferred due to availability and cost. Specific milk proteins that can be used include milk protein concentrate (MPC), milk protein isolate (MPI), casein, micellar casein, micellar casein isolate (MCI), whey, whey protein isolate (WPI), whey protein concentrate (WPC), milk, non-fat dry milk, and condensed skim milk. Other animal proteins such as egg proteins can also be used.
Vegetable proteins can also be used, examples of which include soy proteins such as soy protein concentrate (SPC), soy protein isolate (SPI), textured soy protein (TSP), and hydrated textured soy protein chunks; pea proteins such as pea protein concentrates (PPC) and pea protein isolates (PPI); brown rice proteins, etc.
All of these proteins can be either intact (i.e., unhydrolyzed) or hydro lyzed. Mixtures of unhydrolyzed or hydrolyzed proteins are also useful.
In addition to these proteins, the nutritional powder products of this invention can also optionally contain L-methionine as well as one or more other free amino acids such as L- arginine, L-cysteine, L-glutamine, L-leucine, L-proline, L-valine, L-isoleucine, L-cystine, L- histidine, L-threonine and L-tryptophan. Particularly suitable free amino acids include L- arginine and L-glutamine. Desirable branched chain amino acids include L-leucine, L- isoleucine, and L-valine.
These supplemental amino acids may also be present in salt form (e.g., L-arginine hydrochloride), peptide -bound form (e.g., L-alanyl-L-glutamine), and protein-bound form (e.g., bovine beta-lactoglobulin, which includes 2.85 wt% L-arginine, 7.18 wt% L-glutamine and
15.76 wt% L-leucine).
Micronutrients
The inventive nutritional powder products may further comprise vitamins or related nutrients, non-limiting examples of which include vitamin A, vitamin D, vitamin E, vitamin K, thiamine, riboflavin, pyridoxine, vitamin B6, vitamin !½, carotenoids, niacin, folic acid, pantothenic acid, biotin, vitamin C, choline, inositol, salts, and derivatives thereof, and combinations thereof.
In addition, the nutritional powder products may further comprise minerals, non-limiting examples of which include phosphorus, magnesium, calcium, iron, zinc, manganese, copper, sodium, potassium, iodine, molybdenum, chromium, selenium, chloride, and combinations thereof.
These micronutrients may be present in amounts recognized in industry to be conventional, as well as in non-conventional amounts. In this regard, the following Table 1 sets forth the industry-recognized concentrations for the micronutrients contained in an infant nutritional powder product especially formulated for achieving adequate growth and development of infants.
Table 1
Conventional Micronutrient Concentrations in Infant Nutritional Powder Products
Figure imgf000010_0001
Similar industry-recognized concentrations are available for the micronutrients contained in various different types of adult nutritional powder products.
Flavor and Flavor Masking Agents
The inventive nutritional powder products may also include one or more flavoring or flavor masking agents. Suitable flavoring or masking agents include natural and artificial sweeteners, sodium sources such as sodium chloride, and hydrocolloids, and combinations thereof. Specific flavoring agents that can be used include vanilla and strawberry flavoring agents, chocolate flavoring agents and especially cocoa extract (cocoa powder), plum extract, green tea extract and coffee extract.
Specific flavor masking agents that can be used include fish oil masking agents to mask
"fishy" type flavors/aroma notes that commonly occur with the presence of fish/marine oil. For example, in some embodiments, the inventive nutritional powder products may include a lipid- amylose complex. Specifically, the combination of monoglycerides and low DE glucose polymers, such as DE-1 maltodextrin, form a lipid-amylose complex that can bind to oxidation products such as the fatty acid chain of aldehydes or ketones formed during oxidation of marine oils.
Optional Ingredients
Finally, the nutritional powder products of this invention can also optionally contain various additional optional ingredients such as HMB (hydroxymethylbutyrate), preservatives, antioxidants, emulsifying agents, buffers, pharmaceutical actives, additional nutrients as described herein, colorants, flavors, thickeners (e.g., induced viscosity fibers, gums such as xanthan gum and the like), additional stabilizers, cereal beta-glucans (barley beta-glucan), probiotics (e.g., Lactobacillus rhamnosus FiNOOl (DR20)), prebiotics (galactooligosaccharides, inulin, oligofructose), Salacia extract, and so forth.
A flowing agent or anti-caking agent may be included in the nutritional powder products of this invention to retard clumping or caking of the powder over time and to make this product flow easily from its container. Any flowing or anti-caking agents that is known or otherwise suitable for use in a nutritional powder is suitable for use herein, non limiting examples of which include tricalcium phosphate, silicates, and combinations thereof. The concentration of the flowing agent or anti-caking agent in the nutritional product varies depending upon the product form, the other selected ingredients, the desired flow properties, and so forth, but most typically range from about 0.1% to about 4%, including from about 0.5% to about 2%, by weight of the nutritional product.
Methods of Manufacture
The typical way a nutritional powder product is made is by a batch process in which two or three different "source slurries" are separately formed and then blended together to form a blended liquid mixture. This mixture is then heat-treated, standardized, heat-treated a second time if desired, spray dried, agglomerated and packaged.
For example, in one conventional batch manufacturing process of this type, three separate source slurries are prepared, a protein-in-fat (PIF) slurry, a carbohydrate-mineral (CHO-MIN) slurry, and a protein-in- water (PIW) slurry. The PIF slurry is formed by heating and mixing the fat component (e.g., canola oil, corn oil, etc.) and then adding an emulsifier (e.g., lecithin), fat soluble vitamins, and a portion of the total protein (e.g., intact pea protein concentrate, milk protein concentrate, etc.) with continued heat and agitation. The CHO-MIN slurry is formed by adding with heated agitation to water: minerals (e.g., potassium citrate, dipotassium phosphate, sodium citrate, etc.), trace and ultra trace minerals (TM/UTM premix), and a thickening or suspending agent. The resulting CHO-MIN slurry is held for 10 minutes with continued heat and agitation before adding additional minerals (e.g., potassium chloride, magnesium carbonate, potassium iodide, etc.), and/or carbohydrates (e.g., HMOs, fructooligosaccharide, sucrose, corn syrup, etc.). The PIW slurry is then formed by mixing with heat and agitation the remaining protein, if any.
The resulting source slurries are then blended together with heated agitation and the pH of the blended liquid mixture so formed adjusted to 6.6-7.0, after which the blended liquid mixture is subjected to high-temperature short-time (HTST) processing during which the composition is heat treated, emulsified and homogenized, and then allowed to cool.
Water soluble vitamins and ascorbic acid are added, the pH is adjusted to the desired range if necessary, flavors are added, and water is added to achieve the desired total solid level, after which the blended liquid mixture so formed is spray dried. Any ingredient not included in the base powder produced by spray drying can then be added by dry blending, thereby producing the ultimate nutritional powder product being sought.
In another conventional batch manufacturing process of this type, two separate source slurries, a protein-in-fat (PIF) slurry and a carbohydrate-mineral (CHO-MIN) slurry are prepared. In this process, a separate protein-in-water (PIW) slurry is not prepared, since all of the protein is included in the PIF slurry. Other than this, this manufacturing process is essentially the same as the three-slurry batch manufacturing process described above.
The elevated temperatures to which these source slurries are subjected during their manufacture can be as high as 180° F (82° C) or more. In addition, to prevent or at least retard microbial growth, the blended liquid mixture that is produced for spray drying by combining these source slurries is typically heated to 265° F (130° C) or more for 5 seconds or more. Accordingly, in certain embodiments, the blended liquid mixture is heated to a temperature of about 70° C to about 130° C, including about 80° C to about 130° C, about 90° C to about 130° C, about 100° C to about 130° C, or about 115° C to about 130° C. In addition, during spray drying, this blended liquid mixture can be exposed to temperatures as high as 374° F (190° C) or more.
In accordance with this invention, it has been determined that certain undesirable chemical reactions can occur as a result of this heat processing, the result of which is that unwanted byproducts are produced which either contribute a disagreeable flavor to the ultimate nutritional product produced, render certain beneficial minerals non-bioavailable, or both.
In accordance with this invention, therefore, a modified manufacturing process is used in which care is taken to avoid certain combinations of ingredients in the blended liquid mixture which is subjected to spray drying. Preferably, these combinations are also avoided in the source slurries used to form this blended liquid mixture. In accordance with this invention, this is accomplished by formulating this blended liquid mixture, and preferably these source slurries as well, to contain less than all of the ingredients in the final nutritional powder product being produced. Then, after this blended liquid mixture is spray dried, the ingredients (or portions thereof) left out of the blended liquid mixture are combined with the base powder produced by spray drying by dry blending, thereby producing the final desired nutritional powder product being sought.
The particular combinations of ingredients which have been found to cause undesirable chemical reactions to occur are set forth in the following Table 2: Table 2
Combinations of Ingredients Causing Undesirable Chemical Reactions
Figure imgf000014_0001
Combination 1
Cocoa extract (cocoa powder), plum extract, tea extract, grape extract, citrus fruit extract, and coffee extract each may contain oxalic acid and/or phytic acid and/or their corresponding oxalates and phytates. Under the influence of heat, these compounds may bind various solubilized divalent cations including iron, zinc, copper, magnesium, and calcium, thereby reducing the bioavailability of these minerals.
Combination 2
Cocoa extract (cocoa powder), plum extract, tea extract, grape extract, citrus fruit extract, and coffee extract may also contain tannins and/or other polyphenols. Under the influence of heat, these compounds may decompose to yield hydrogen peroxide (Η202) as a by-product. This by-product hydrogen peroxide can degrade or destroy any vitamin Bi2 that may be present. In addition, the by-product hydrogen peroxide can readily oxidize any L-methionine present to methionine sulfoxide, thereby potentially altering the bioavailability of the L-methionine.
Note that this unwanted oxidation reaction can occur both to free L-methionine as well as bound L-methionine. Hence, for the purpose of this combination, it is the total amount of L- methionine which must be considered, whether bound or unbound. Combination 3
Under the influence of heat, reducing sugars such as glucose, fructose, lactose, maltodextrin, corn syrup, corn syrup solids, FOS (fructooligosaccharides), and isomaltulose undergo the Maillard reaction in the presence of proteins. This reaction may generate one or more products (including furfurals and advanced glycation end products, or AGEs) which may impart adverse sensory attributes (color, odor, taste), and/or which may lower the tolerance of the nutritional composition. (Maillard reactions may be accelerated by transition metals, most notably iron.)
Combination 4
Under the influence of heat, reducing sugars undergo the Maillard reaction in the presence of proteins. When free L-methionine is present during this reaction, a small quantity of it may be converted to methional as a decomposition product, which has a strong disagreeable flavor. In this regard, note that this unwanted reaction of L-methionine to methional occurs only if the L-methionine is unbound. Accordingly, for the purpose of this combination, it is only the free L-methionine that should be considered.
So, in accordance with this invention, the inventive nutritional powder product is manufactured by a process in which these combinations of ingredients are restricted from, and more desirably eliminated essentially completely from, the blended liquid mixture which is subjected to spray drying. Desirably, these combinations are also eliminated from the source slurries used to form this blended liquid mixture. As a result, the above undesirable reactions are restricted or prevented from occurring, and hence the concentrations of the unwanted decomposition products mentioned above are reduced substantially or eliminated essentially completely.
In one exemplary embodiment, a method of manufacturing a nutritional powder product is provided. The nutritional powder product contains a protein; a carbohydrate; a lipid; a first dry component comprising at least one of cocoa powder, plum extract, tea extract, grape extract, citrus fruit extract, and coffee extract; and a second dry component comprising at least one of an iron salt, a zinc salt, a magnesium salt, a calcium salt, a copper salt, vitamin I½, and L- methionine. The method comprises: (a) mixing a plurality of raw ingredients of the nutritional powder product and a liquid (e.g., water) to form a blended liquid mixture; (b) heating the blended liquid mixture to an elevated temperature; (c) spray drying the blended liquid mixture to produce a base powder which forms at least a portion of the nutritional powder product; (d) excluding from the blended liquid mixture at least about 50 wt.% of at least one of the first dry component and the second dry component, wherein the weight percentage is based on the total amount of each of the first dry component and the second dry component in the nutritional powder product; and (e) dry blending the portion of each of the first dry component and the second dry component excluded from the blended liquid mixture with the base powder, thereby producing the nutritional powder product. A nutritional liquid obtained from reconstituting the nutritional powder product (e.g., with water or another aqueous liquid) exhibits at least one of improved taste and improved bioavailability of micronutrients.
In one exemplary embodiment, a method of manufacturing a nutritional powder product is provided. The nutritional powder product contains a protein; a carbohydrate; a lipid; a first dry component comprising a reducing sugar; and a second dry component comprising at least one of an iron salt, a zinc salt, a magnesium salt, a calcium salt, a copper salt, and free L- methionine. The method comprises: (a) mixing a plurality of raw ingredients of the nutritional powder product and a liquid (e.g., water) to form a blended liquid mixture; (b) heating the blended liquid mixture to an elevated temperature; (c) spray drying the blended liquid mixture to produce a base powder which forms at least a portion of the nutritional powder product; (d) excluding from the blended liquid mixture at least about 50 wt.% of at least one of the first dry component and the second dry component, wherein the weight percentage is based on the total amount of each of the first dry component and the second dry component in the nutritional powder product; and (e) dry blending the portion of each of the first dry component and the second dry component excluded from the blended liquid mixture with the base powder, thereby producing the nutritional powder product. A nutritional liquid obtained from reconstituting the nutritional powder product (e.g., with water or another aqueous liquid) exhibits at least one of improved taste and improved bioavailability of micronutrients.
Restricting or eliminating these combinations of ingredients from the blended liquid mixture subjected to spray drying can be done by restricting or eliminating only one of the components of each combination from this blended mixture (or source slurries). Preferably, however, both components are restricted or eliminated from this liquid mixture or source slurries. In addition, when one or both of these components are restricted from this blended liquid mixture or source slurries (as opposed to being eliminated essentially completely), the amount by which the concentration of one or both of these components is reduced is at least 50 wt.% of the total amount of these component(s) in the nutritional powder product ultimately produced. So, for example, if the ultimate nutritional powder product to be produced contains 7.6 grams reducing sugar and 1.9 g/kg free L-methionine per kilogram of this ultimate nutrition powder product, then for each kilogram of this ultimate nutritional powder product that is made at least 3.8 grams of reducing sugar, or at least 0.95 gram free L-methionine, or both, are kept out of the blended liquid mixture which is subjected to spray drying. Instead, these intentionally omitted ingredients are separately supplied as powders and dry blended with the base nutritional powder produced as a result of the spray drying operation. As another example, if the combined amounts of cocoa powder and grape extract in the ultimate nutritional powder product to be produced is 18 g/kg while the combined amounts of zinc and magnesium salts in this ultimate nutritional powder product is 3.6 g/kg, then for each kilogram of this ultimate nutritional powder product that is made at least 9 grams of cocoa powder plus grape extract, or at least 1.8 grams of zinc plus magnesium salts, or both, are kept out of the blended liquid mixture which is subjected to spray drying. Instead, these intentionally omitted ingredients are separately supplied as powders and dry blended with the base nutrition powder produced as a result of the spray drying operation.
Preferably, for each ingredient combination mentioned above, the amount by which the concentration of one or both components in the blended liquid mixture is reduced is at least 75% of the total amount of these component(s) in the nutritional powder product ultimately produced. In some embodiments, essentially all of at least one component of each combination is eliminated from the blended liquid mixture. And, in especially interesting embodiments, essentially all of both components of each combination is eliminated from the blended liquid mixture.
Also, in those embodiments of this invention in which the nutritional powder product contains free L-methionine plus one or more of the other free amino acids mentioned above (i.e., L-arginine, L-cysteine, L-glutamine, L-leucine, L-proline, L-valine, L-isoleucine, L-cystine, L- histidine, L-threonine and L-tryptophan), it may be desirable although not mandatory to reduce the total amount of free L-methionine plus these other free amino acids in the blended liquid mixture subjected to spray drying in the manner indicated above, i.e., by at least 50 wt.%, at least 75 wt.% or even 100 wt.% of the total amount of these free amino acids in the nutritional powder product ultimately produced. Alternately or additionally, the total amount of reducing sugar plus cocoa powder, plum extract, tea extract, grape extract, citrus fruit extract and coffee extract in the blended liquid mixture subjected to spray drying can be reduced in this manner, i.e., by at least 50 wt.%, at least 75 wt.% or even 100 wt.% of the total amount of these ingredients in the nutritional powder product ultimately produced.
In order to produce the ultimate nutritional powder product sought to be made, the ingredients that have been eliminated from the blended liquid mixture to be spray dried are combined, in powder form and by dry blending, with the spray dried base powder obtained from this blended liquid mixture. So, for example, where the ultimate nutritional powder product to be produced contains 1.9 g/kg powder free L-methionine but the blended liquid mixture which is spray dried only contains 0.95 g/kg free L-methionine on a dry weight basis, an additional 0.95 gram of free L-methionine in powder form per kilogram of nutritional powder product to be ultimately produced is dry blended with the spray dried powder obtained from the blended liquid mixture, thereby producing the ultimate nutritional powder product.
EXAMPLES
In order to more thoroughly describe this invention, the following examples are provided. Although these examples are hypothetical, they are very similar to actual examples, especially in the case of Example 1.
Example 1: Infant Nutritional Powder
An infant nutritional powder containing 210 g/kg soy protein isolate, 1.9 g/kg free L- methionine, 449 g/kg corn syrup solids (a reducing sugar), 140 g/kg sucrose, 470 mg/kg FeS04-7H20, 170 mg/kg ZnS04-7H20, and other ingredients is prepared in a manner by which 66%o of the corn syrup solids and 100%) of the FeS04-7H20 and ZnS04-7H20 are not included in the blended liquid mixture subjected to spray drying but are separately added by dry blending.
To accomplish this, a blended liquid mixture is first prepared containing 210 g/kg soy protein isolate, 0 gm/kg free L-methionine, 191 g/kg corn syrup solids, 140 g/kg sucrose, 0 mg/kg FeS04-7H20, 0 mg/kg ZnS04-7H20, and other ingredients. This blended liquid mixture is then heat treated for microbe control in a conventional way and then spray dried to produce a base powder. To this base powder is added the following dry powders in the following amounts: 1.9 gm/kg free L-methionine, 258 g/kg corn syrup solids, 0 g/kg sucrose, 470 mg/kg FeS04'7H20, and 170 mg/kg ZnS04'7H20. The dry mixture so obtained is then subjected to gentle mixing so that its individual powder ingredients are blended together, thereby producing the target nutritional powder product.
Example 2: Infant Nutritional Powder
Example 1 is repeated, except that it is carried out in a manner so that 75% of the corn syrup solids is not included in the blended liquid mixture subjected to spray drying but is separately added by dry blending.
To accomplish this, the procedure of Example 1 is repeated, except that blended liquid mixture is formulated with 140 g/kg corn syrup solids, while 294 g/kg corn syrup solids in the form of a dry powder is added to and dry blended with the base powder produced by spray drying.
Example 3: Vanilla Flavored Adult Nutritional Powder
A vanilla flavored nutritional powder intended as a general food supplement for normal healthy adults in which 100% of the maltodextrin, sucrose, iron and zinc in the composition are not included in the blended liquid mixture subjected to spray drying but are separately added by dry blending is produced by the following procedure.
A blended liquid mixture is first prepared containing 132 g/kg sodium caseinate, 110 g/kg calcium caseinate, 55 g/kg soy protein isolate, 385 g/kg corn syrup, 0 gm/kg maltodextrin, 0 gm/kg sucrose and other ingredients. This blended liquid mixture is then heat treated for microbe control in a conventional way and then spray dried to produce a base powder. To this base powder is added the following dry powders in the following amounts: 200 g/kg maltodextrin, 150 g/kg sucrose, 200 mg/kg FeS04'7H20, and 220 mg/kg ZnS04'7H20. The dry mixture so obtained is then subjected to gentle mixing so that its individual powder ingredients are blended together, thereby producing the target nutritional powder product.
Example 4: Chocolate Flavored Adult Nutritional Powder
A chocolate flavored nutritional powder intended a general food supplement for normal healthy adults in which 100% of the maltodextrin, sucrose, iron, zinc and chocolate flavoring in the composition are not included in the blended liquid mixture subjected to spray drying but are separately added by dry blending is produced by the following procedure. The procedure of Example 3 is repeated, except that in addition to the dry powders mentioned above that are dry blended with the base powder produced by spray drying, 35 g/kg of dry cocoa powder is also dry blended with this mixture.
Example 5: Plum Flavored Adult Nutritional Powder
A plum flavored nutritional powder intended a general food supplement for normal healthy adults in which 100% of the maltodextrin, sucrose, iron, zinc and chocolate flavoring in the composition are not included in the blended liquid mixture subjected to spray drying but are separately added by dry blending is produced by the following procedure.
The procedure of Example 3 is repeated, except that in addition to the dry powders mentioned above that are dry blended with the base powder produced by spray drying, 20 g/kg of dry plum extract PE-50 is also dry blended with this mixture.
Although only a few embodiments of this invention have been described above, many modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of this invention. All such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of this invention, which is to be limited only by the following claims.

Claims

Claims:
1. A method of manufacturing a nutritional powder product containing a protein; a carbohydrate; a lipid; a first dry component comprising at least one of cocoa powder, plum extract, tea extract, grape extract, citrus fruit extract, and coffee extract; and a second dry component comprising at least one of an iron salt, a zinc salt, a magnesium salt, a calcium salt, a copper salt, vitamin !½, and L-methionine; the method comprising:
(a) mixing a plurality of raw ingredients of the nutritional powder product and a liquid to form a blended liquid mixture;
(b) heating the blended liquid mixture to an elevated temperature;
(c) spray drying the blended liquid mixture to produce a base powder which forms at least a portion of the nutritional powder product;
(d) excluding from the blended liquid mixture at least about 50 wt.% of at least one of the first dry component and the second dry component, wherein the weight percentage is based on the total amount of each of the first dry component and the second dry component in the nutritional powder product; and
(e) dry blending the portion of each of the first dry component and the second dry component excluded from the blended liquid mixture with the base powder, thereby producing the nutritional powder product;
whereby a nutritional liquid obtained from reconstituting the nutritional powder product exhibits at least one of improved taste and improved bioavailability of micronutrients.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein at least about 50 wt.% of both of the first dry component and the second dry component are excluded from the blended liquid mixture.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein at least about 75 wt.% of at least one of the first dry component and the second dry component are excluded from the blended liquid mixture.
4. The method of claim 3, wherein at least about 75 wt.% of both of the first dry component and the second dry component are excluded from the blended liquid mixture.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein essentially all of at least one of the first dry component and the second dry component are excluded from the blended liquid mixture.
6. The method of claim 5, wherein essentially all of both of the first dry component and the second dry component are excluded from the blended liquid mixture.
7. The method of claim 1, wherein the second dry component is at least one of an iron salt, a zinc salt, a magnesium salt, a calcium salt, and a copper salt.
8. The method of claim 1, wherein the second dry component is at least one of vitamin !½ and L-methionine.
9. The method of claim 1, wherein the nutritional powder product contains
(a) L-methionine as well as at least one additional free amino acid other than L- methionine selected from the group consisting of L-arginine, L-cysteine, L-glutamine, L-leucine, L-proline, L-valine, L-isoleucine, L-cystine, L-histidine, L-threonine and L-tryptophan, and
(b) one or more of cocoa powder, plum extract, tea extract, grape extract, citrus fruit extract, coffee extract, and a reducing sugar; and further
wherein at least 50 wt.% of (a) or (b) or both is excluded from the blended liquid mixture.
10. A method of manufacturing a nutritional powder product containing a protein; a carbohydrate; a lipid; a first dry component comprising a reducing sugar; and a second dry component comprising at least one of an iron salt, a zinc salt, a magnesium salt, a calcium salt, a copper salt, and free L-methionine; the method comprising:
(a) mixing a plurality of raw ingredients of the nutritional powder product and a liquid to form a blended liquid mixture;
(b) heating the blended liquid mixture to an elevated temperature;
(c) spray drying the blended liquid mixture to produce a base powder which forms at least a portion of the nutritional powder product;
(d) excluding from the blended liquid mixture at least about 50 wt.% of at least one of the first dry component and the second dry component, wherein the weight percentage is based on the total amount of each of the first dry component and the second dry component in the nutritional powder product; and
(e) dry blending the portion of each of the first dry component and the second dry component excluded from the blended liquid mixture with the base powder, thereby producing the nutritional powder product;
whereby a nutritional liquid obtained from reconstituting the nutritional powder product exhibits at least one of improved taste and improved bioavailability of micronutrients.
11. The method of claim 10, wherein at least about 50 wt.% of both of the first dry component and the second dry component are excluded from the blended liquid mixture.
12. The method of claim 10, wherein at least about 75 wt.% of at least one of the first dry component and the second dry component are excluded from the blended liquid mixture.
13. The method of claim 12, wherein at least about 75 wt.% of both of the first dry component and the second dry component are excluded from the blended liquid mixture.
14. The method of claim 10, wherein essentially all of at least one of the first dry component and the second dry component are excluded from the blended liquid mixture.
15. The method of claim 14, wherein essentially all of both of the first dry component and the second dry component are excluded from the blended liquid mixture.
16. The method of claim 10, wherein the nutritional powder product contains a reducing sugar and at least one of an iron salt, a zinc salt, a magnesium salt, a calcium salt, and a copper salt.
17. The method of claim 16, wherein at least 75 wt.% of the iron salt, zinc salt, magnesium salt, calcium salt, and copper salt are excluded from the blended liquid mixture.
18. The method of claim 10, wherein the nutritional powder product contains a reducing sugar and free L-methionine.
19. The method of claim 18, wherein at least 75% of the free L-methionine is excluded from the blended liquid mixture.
20. The method of claim 10, wherein the nutritional powder product contains
(a) free L-methionine as well as at least one additional free amino acid other than L- methionine selected from the group consisting of L-arginine, L-cysteine, L-glutamine, L-leucine, L-proline, L-valine, L-isoleucine, L-cystine, L-histidine, L-threonine and L-tryptophan; and
(b) a reducing sugar and one or more of cocoa powder, plum extract, tea extract, grape extract, citrus fruit extract, and coffee extract; and further
wherein at least 50 wt.% of (a) or (b) or both is excluded from the blended liquid mixture.
21. A nutritional powder product manufactured according to any one of claims 1-20.
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