EP0966203A1

EP0966203A1 - A process for the production of flavoured sweet products and the products obtained

Info

Publication number: EP0966203A1
Application number: EP97944825A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Tomaso Damonte
Original assignee: Ferrero OHG; Ferrero SpA; Soremartec SA
Current assignee: Ferrero OHG; Ferrero SpA; Soremartec SA
Priority date: 1996-09-11
Filing date: 1997-09-04
Publication date: 1999-12-29
Also published as: NO991171D0; AU4620497A; CA2264531A1; HUP9904506A3; PL332073A1; WO1998010662A1; NO991171L; CZ85199A3; AU713774B2; SK29899A3; CH690704A5; HUP9904506A2

Abstract

The process for the production of flavoured sweet products including, by way of sweetener, a crystalline sugar alcohol or mixture of sugar alcohols and possibly other sweeteners, is characterised in that the flavouring agent is previously incorporated in the sugar alcohol component used in the sweet product. The flavouring agent is incorporated in the sugar alcohol by a process which includes the steps of: a) heating the sugar alcohol to a temperature above its melting point until it has melted, b) cooling the melt to a temperature below its melting point until it reaches a metastable glassy state, c) adding to the melt in its glassy state under mixing conditions a quantity of the sugar alcohol in crystalline form of from 5 to 120 % by weight with respect to the weight of the molten mass and a quantity of flavouring agent sufficient to give flavour to the entire mass, and d) removing the heat under conditions in which the total mass is mixed in order to cause it to crystallise.

Description

A PROCESS FOR THE PRODUCTION OF FLAVOURED SWEET PRODUCTS AND THE PRODUCTS OBTAINED

The present invention relates to the production of

flavoured sweet products and, in particular, to sweet

products containing, as the sweetener, sugar alcohols

such as hexitols, pentitols and their derivatives and

possibly other sweeteners.

The use of sugar alcohols of the type indicated above is

very widespread today, particularly for the production of

sweet products with low calorie content and/or with low

cariogenic activity.

The problem at the root of the invention is particularly

that of improving the development of flavour in flavoured

sweet products of the type indicated above. The

improvement in the development of flavour is particularly

related to an organoleptic sensation of flavour

enhancement, perceptible by the consumer when the sweet

product is in contact with saliva at the moment of

consumption. For this purpose, it has been found that the desired

enhancement of the flavour of sweet products may be

achieved by the prior incorporation of the flavouring

agent in the sugar alcohol component, in the specified operative manner.

Thus a first subject of the invention is a process for

the production of flavoured sweet products including, by

way of sweeteners, one or more crystalline sugar alcohols

and possibly other sweeteners, characterised in that the

flavouring agent is previously incorporated in the sugar

alcohol component used in the sweet product, the

flavouring agent being incorporated in the sugar alcohol

by a process which includes the steps of:

a) heating the sugar alcohol to a temperature above its

melting point until it has melted,

b) cooling the melt to a temperature below its melting

point until it reaches a metastable glassy state,

c) adding to the melt in its glassy state under mixing

conditions, a quantity of the sugar alcohol in

crystalline form of from 5 to 120% by weight with respect

to the weight of the molten mass and a quantity of

flavouring agent sufficient to give flavour to the entire mass , and

d) removing heat under conditions in which the total mass

is mixed in order to cause it to crystallise.

A further subject of the invention is a process for the

preparation of a flavoured sugar alcohol, in solid

crystalline form, characterised in that it includes the

incorporation of the flavouring agent by means of the

operative steps a) , b) , c) and d) indicated above.

A further subject of the invention is constituted by

flavoured sweet products including, as the sweetener, a

sugar alcohol incorporating a flavouring agent, as

obtainable by the operative steps a) , b) , c) and d)

indicated above.

A further subject of the invention is a flavoured sugar

alcohol or mixture of flavoured sugar alcohols obtainable

by a process including the operative steps a) , b) , c) and

d) indicated above.

The sugar alcohols used in the invention are, in

particular, hexitols and pentitols and their derivatives, such as, in particular, xylitol, sorbitol, lactitol, mannitol,

maltitol, isomaltitol and -I-glucopyranoεyl-l,6-mannitol, c.-D-gl-

ucoj-yranosyl-l,6-sorbitol and their mixtures. In the process of

the invention, the sugar alcohols are used preferably in a

substantially dehydrated form, e.g. with a water content not

exceeding 5% wt. or preferably not exceeding 2% wt.

The definition of sugar alcohol and "their derivates in accordance

with the invention includes comπercial products such as PALATINIT

(registered trade mark) and ISOMALT (registered trade mark). The preferred sugar alcohol used in the invention for the incorporation of the flavour is xylitol.

The flavouring agents used in the invention include, but

are not limited to, peppermint, spearmint, cinnamon,

lemon, orange, citron, grapefruit, strawberry, cherry and

pineapple in the form of essences and compounds, such as

wintergreen (methyl salicylate) . The chemical nature of

the flavouring agent is not critical in the

incorporation process of the invention.

The flavour enhancement achieved by the invention is

particularly evident when the flavour used has aromatic

components which give a fresh sensation; thus mint flavours are particularly preferred. The process of

incorporating the flavouring agent in the sugar alcohol

is preferably carried out in an autoclave under light

pressure with inert gas; excess pressures of from 0.5 to

2 bars in an inert gas atmosphere are preferred, the

gases in particular being nitrogen, argon and carbon

dioxide. The use of an excess pressure of inert gas is

advantageous in that it limits the loss of flavour.

However, the process could be carried out at atmospheric

pressure in an ambient environment .

The quantity of flavouring agent added to the melt in its

glassy state, in the operative step c) , may vary within

wide limits according to the flavouring capacity of the

flavours used. In general, quantities of from 0.5 to 10%

by weight of flavouring agent with respect to the weight

of the molten mass and, more preferably, from 1.5 to 2%

by weight are used.

The process of incorporating the flavour in the sugar

alcohol results in the production of a sugar alcohol in

flavoured crystalline form in which the flavouring agent

is presumably co-crystallised in the crystal lattice of the sugar alcohol.

The flavoured sugar alcohol thus obtained is used as a

sweetener and in sweet products . The sweet products

include, in particular, pastils and tablets (coated and

uncoated) , chewing gum and bubble gum, soft caramels,

toffees and chocolates. The quantity of flavoured sugar

alcohol used in the products is preferably between 0.5 and

20% by weight, preferably 1 to 5% by weight, of the

overall weight of the sweet product.

The sweet product may also include other conventional

sugars such as sucrose, glucose and possibly synthetic

sweeteners .

The flavours of the final sweet product may be introduced

wholly or only partially by means of the flavoured sugar

alcohol component as described above .

In the preparation of the sweet product, the flavoured

sugar alcohol component or mixture of sugar alcohols is

preferably introduced as the final ingredient in the

final stage in the production of the finished product, or of any intermediate products, in order to prevent the

component from coming into contact with moisture or from

being exposed to high temperatures which could alter the

physical structure of the component itself.

Example

50 kg of xylitol in powdered crystalline form were

introduced into a 200 1 autoclave provided with a heat-

exchange jacket and scraping stirrer. The autoclave was

pressurised with nitrogen to 1.5 bar.

Heating was carried out by means of the heating jacket up

to a temperature of 110°C until the xylitol had melted, the molten mass being stirred slowly. The melt was then

cooled to 80-82°C until it had reached its metastable

glassy state. 50 kg of crystalline xylitol containing peppermint flavouring in quantities of 1 to 5% by weight

of the weight of the molten mass (in this particular case

2% by weight) were then added under slow stirring.

Slow stirring was continued while the heat of fusion of

the xylitol which diffused through the molten mass was

removed in order to cause the mass to crystallise. The

product was discharged from the autoclave at the ambient temperature of 25°C.

The product obtained was used as sweetener component in coated

tablets having the following composition expressed in

percentage terms:

Ingredients % wt.

Sucrose 80-95

Maltodextrin 2-10

Polyalcohols (xylitol, mannitol,

lactitol, altitol) 2-6

Arabic Gum 1-5

Rice starch 0.5-5

organic acids (tartaric, citric,

malic) 0.2-4

Wax (carnauba, beeswax, candle) 0.001-0.1

Natural and artificial flavourings 0.05-3

In order to produce the tablets, a granular composition

was first formed by the mixing together of the sucrose,

maltodextrin, arabic gum and polyalcohols in which

flavourings as previously described had already been

incorporated . The granular composition was then pressed to a desired

shape in suitable tableting machines to obtain the

cores. These latter were then coated with a sugar and

starch solution in a bowl in which the cores were rotated

and sprayed with small quantities of sugar solution to

which further quantities of flavourings may have

been added in known manner. Thus the final tablets were

obtained.

Comparative example

By way of control, coated tablets were prepared with the

same formulation as that described in the above example

but in which the flavouring agent was added to the

composition in the conventional manner.

Tests carried out by a panel of 100 tasters showed that

the tasters had a general preference for the product

obtained by the invention with respect to the following

parameters :

- general preference,

- sensation of greater freshness,

- improved mint flavour, and

- enhancement of flavour. The results of these tests are given in the single figure

which shows a histogram, in which the overall evaluation vote of the tasters for the tablets of the invention and

for those made in the conventional manner respectively

are given on the abscissa and the numbers of tasters who expressed a particular vote are given on the ordinate .

Claims

1. A process for the production of flavoured sweet

products including, by way of sweetener, a crystalline

sugar alcohol or mixture of sugar alcohols and possibly

other sweeteners, characterised in that the flavouring

agent is previously incorporated in the sugar alcohol

component used in the sweet product, the flavouring agent being incorporated in the sugar alcohol by a process

which includes the steps of :

a) heating the sugar alcohol to a temperature above its

melting point until it has melted,

b) cooling the melt to a temperature below its melting

point until it reaches a metastable glassy state.

c) adding to the melt in its glassy state under mixing

conditions, a quantity of the sugar alcohol in

crystalline form of from 5 to 120% by weight with respect

to the weight of the molten mass and a quantity of

flavouring agent sufficient to give flavour to the entire mass, and

d) removing heat under conditions in which the total mass

is mixed in order to cause it to crystallise.

2. A process according to Claim 1, characterised in that the sugar alcohol is selected from the group

consisting of xylitol, sorbitol, lactitol, mannitol,

maltitol, isomaltitol and glucopyranosyl derivatives of

mannitol and sorbitol.

3. A process according to Claim 1 or Claim 2, in which

the flavouring is incorporated in the crystalline sugar

under a pressure of from 0.5 to 2 bar in an inert gas

atmosphere .

4. A process according to any one of Claims 1 to 3 ,

characterised in that the flavouring agent is an essence

or a compound selected from the group consisting of

spearmint, peppermint, cinnamon, lemon, orange, citron,

grapefruit, cherry, strawberry, pineapple and methyl

salicylate .

5. A process according to any one of Claims 1 to 4 , in

which the flavouring agent is added in stage c) in

quantities of from 0.5 to 10% by weight of the molten

mass .

6. A process for the preparation of a flavoured crystalline sugar alcohol, characterised in that it

includes the steps of:

a) heating the sugar alcohol to a temperature above its

melting point until it has melted,

b) cooling the melt to a temperature below its melting

point until it reaches a metastable glassy state,

c) adding to the melt in its glassy state under mixing

conditions a quantity of the sugar alcohol in crystalline

form of from 5 to 120% by weight with reference to the

weight of the molten mass and a quantity of flavouring

agent sufficient to give flavour to the entire mass, and

d) removing heat under conditions in which the total mass

is mixed to cause it to crystallise.

7. A process according to Claim 6, characterised in

that the sugar alcohol is selected from the group

consisting of xylitol, sorbitol, lactitol, mannitol,

maltitol, isomaltitol, glucopyranosyl mannitol,

glucopyranosyl sorbitol and their mixtures.

8. A process according to Claim 6 and Claim 7, in which

the flavouring agent is selected from the group

consisting of compounds or essences of spearmint, peppermint, cinnamon, lemon, orange, citron, grapefruit,

cherry, strawberry, pineapple.

9. A process according to any one of Claims 6 to 8 ,

characterised in that the flavouring agent is added in

stage c) in quantities of from 0.5 to 10% by weight with

reference to the weight of the molten mass.

10. A process according to any one of Claims 6 to 9,

characterised in that the flavouring agent is added under

pressure in inert gas .

11. A sugar alcohol composition including a flavouring

agent, obtainable by means of the process according to

any one of Claims 6 to 10.

12. A flavoured sweet product, including a sugar alcohol

component as obtainable by the process according to any

one of Claims 6 to 10.

13. A sweet product according to Claim 12, particularly

a coated tablet, including flavoured xylitol, as obtained

by a process according to any one of Claims 6 to 11.