JP2008054664A - Masking agent - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a masking agent capable of masking with the addition of an extremely small amount, rough taste of food and drink and drug, and flavor too strong as flavor of food and drink and drug, without changing the basic flavor balance of food and drink and drug, and to provide a masking method. <P>SOLUTION: This masking agent contains as the active ingredient, milk serum mineral which is obtained through the processes (a), (b) and (c) as follows: (a) a process of separating demineral liquid from milk or whey by membrane separation and/or ion exchange to obtain high mineral liquid (I); (b) a process of heat treating the high mineral liquid (I) to separate/remove calcium-phosphate complex and obtain high mineral liquid (II); and (c) a process of concentrating and/or drying the high mineral liquid (II) until to bring solid content to ≥20 mass% so as to obtain milk serum mineral. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention can be used to add a very small amount of flavors such as bitterness, astringency and egg flavor of foods and beverages and pharmaceuticals, and flavors that are too strong as flavors of foods and beverages and oral pharmaceuticals, without changing the basic flavor balance. The present invention relates to a masking agent capable of masking.

The food and drink has a preferable basic flavor balance for each food and drink.
However, during food processing such as heat sterilization and preservative addition during the production of food and drink, and during the preservation period of the food and drink, flavors that disrupt the flavor balance, such as bitterness, astringency, or egg flavor, A miscellaneous taste may be generated.
In such a case, processing to remove those miscellaneous tastes, such as distillation or elution, may be performed, but such an operation is extremely complicated because it removes trace components, and even the basic flavor of food and drink There is a risk of reduction.

Moreover, in some foods and drinks, only a specific flavor is very strong, and the preferred basic flavor balance of the food and drinks may be lost.
In such a case, the food component having the specific flavor may not be blended or removed, but other flavors may be scraped off, further disrupting the flavor balance of the food and drink. Become.

  Therefore, foods and drinks having a miscellaneous taste can be made to feel the above-mentioned miscellaneous taste without greatly degrading the balance of the basic flavor of the food and drink, and there is only a specific flavor that is extremely strong. For this reason, various proposals have been made on so-called masking agents that can weaken a specific flavor that is too strong by adding a very small amount of components.

  For example, polyglycerin condensed ricinoleic acid ester (see, for example, Patent Document 1), stevia extract (see, for example, Patent Document 2), dried mysids, and / or krill extracts (see, for example, Patent Document 3), gluconic acid Non-toxic salts (see, for example, Patent Document 4) have been proposed, but the masking agent of Patent Document 1 is an emulsifier, so it often affects physical properties, and the flavor itself is poor. There is a problem, the masking agent of Patent Document 2 is effective only for foods and drinks having a bitter taste and astringency, and there is a problem that the amount of addition is limited due to its strong sweetness, and the masking agent of Patent Document 3 In addition to being effective only for bitterness, there is a problem of requiring a relatively large amount of addition, and the masking agent of Patent Document 4 requires a relatively large amount of addition. There has been a problem to say.

JP 2002-65177 A JP 2005-336078 A JP-A-10-179077 WO00 / 48475

  Therefore, the object of the present invention is to mask the miscellaneous taste of foods and beverages and pharmaceuticals and the flavors that are too strong as the flavors of foods and beverages and pharmaceuticals with the addition of a very small amount without changing the basic flavor balance. A masking agent and a masking method are provided.

As a result of various investigations to achieve the above object, the present inventors, as a result of adding a very small amount of whey mineral obtained by a specific production method, to the above-mentioned miscellaneous taste and foods and beverages having a too strong flavor. Even if it exists, it discovered that a very strong masking effect was shown.
This invention is made | formed based on the said knowledge, and provides the masking agent which contains the whey mineral obtained through the following (a) (b) (c) processes as an active ingredient.
(A) A step of separating milk or whey from a demineralized liquid by membrane separation and / or ion exchange to obtain a high mineral liquid (I) (b) By heating the high mineral liquid (I), calcium -Step of separating and removing the phosphate complex to obtain a high mineral liquid (II) (c) Concentrating and / or drying the high mineral liquid (II) until the solid content is 20% by mass or more, and whey The process of obtaining a mineral Moreover, this invention provides the masking method of the miscellaneous taste of food-drinks, or the too strong flavor characterized by adding this masking agent to food-drinks or a pharmaceutical.

The masking agent of the present invention can mask miscellaneous tastes and excessively strong flavors contained in foods and drinks by adding a very small amount without changing the basic flavor.
According to the masking method of the present invention, it is possible to mask miscellaneous taste and excessively strong flavor contained in foods and drinks without changing the basic flavor.

First, the whey mineral used in the present invention will be described in detail.
The whey mineral used in the present invention is obtained through the following steps.
(A) A step of separating milk or whey from a demineralized liquid by membrane separation and / or ion exchange to obtain a high mineral liquid (I) (b) By heating the high mineral liquid (I), calcium -Step of separating and removing the phosphate complex to obtain a high mineral liquid (II) (c) Concentrating and / or drying the high mineral liquid (II) until the solid content is 20% by mass or more, and whey The process of obtaining minerals

In the above-mentioned step of obtaining whey minerals, milk or whey is used as the starting material.
Examples of the milk include bovine milk, human milk, goat milk, horse milk, skim milk using the same, processed milk, cream, and the like, and any of them can be used. In addition, as the whey, whey obtained as a by-product when manufacturing cheese using the milk, whey obtained as a by-product during casein production, whey obtained by ultrafiltration of milk, etc. Either can be used.

Furthermore, the whey obtained as a by-product during cheese manufacture and the whey obtained as a by-product during casein production include acidic whey and sweet whey depending on the production method, and either can be used.
In the present invention, among the above milk or whey, since the masking effect is particularly high, whey obtained as a by-product when producing cheese using milk or whey obtained as a by-product when producing casein is used. More preferably, whey obtained as a by-product when producing cheese using milk is used, and particularly preferably, whey obtained as a by-product when producing cheese using milk Is used.

In the step (a), the milk or whey is separated into a demineralized liquid and a high mineral liquid (I) by membrane separation and / or ion exchange.
The membrane separation methods used here include various methods such as microfiltration membrane separation, ultrafiltration membrane separation, nanofiltration membrane separation, reverse osmosis membrane separation, and dialysis membrane separation. Also, the ion exchange used here Examples of the method include electrodialysis membrane separation using a cation exchange membrane method and an anion exchange membrane method, and a method using an ion exchange resin, and one or more of these membrane separation methods and ion exchanges are appropriately combined. Can be used.
In the step (a), since the separation efficiency is particularly high, it is preferable to use nanofiltration membrane separation and / or reverse osmosis membrane separation, and perform reverse osmosis membrane separation after nanofiltration membrane separation. Is more preferable.

Next, the high mineral liquid (I) obtained in the step (a) is separated and removed in the step (b) to obtain a high mineral liquid (II).
As said (b) process, heat processing is performed or ion exchange is performed.
Here, the heating method in the heat treatment is not particularly limited, and either direct heating or indirect heating is possible.
Moreover, as heating temperature in this heat processing, Preferably it is 50-99 degreeC, More preferably, it is 70-90 degreeC, The holding time in the temperature becomes like this. Preferably it is 2-60 minutes, More preferably, it is 15-25 minutes It is.

By performing the above heat treatment, an insoluble calcium-phosphate complex is produced, which is separated and removed to obtain a high mineral liquid (II).
As the separation method, general methods such as filtration and centrifugation can be employed.
Examples of the ion exchange method include electrodialysis membrane separation using a cation exchange membrane method and an anion exchange membrane method, and a method using an ion exchange resin. One or more of these membrane separation methods and ion exchanges are used. Can be used in appropriate combination.

Further, in the step (c), the high mineral liquid (II) obtained in the step (b) has a solid content of 20% by mass or more, preferably 40% by mass or more, more preferably 60 to 100% by mass. Concentrate and / or dry to obtain whey minerals.
The concentration method is not particularly limited, but a vacuum concentration method using an evaporator is preferable because only moisture can be efficiently removed.
The drying method is not particularly limited, and a general drying method such as a spray drying method or a freeze drying method can be appropriately selected.

In the step (c), it is preferable that the drying step is performed after the concentration step is taken in that water can be efficiently removed.
In that case, in the concentration step, it is preferable to concentrate until the solid content is preferably 20 to 60% by mass, and then dry until the solid content is preferably 60 to 100% by mass.
The whey mineral that is an active ingredient of the masking agent of the present invention may be in any form such as fluid, paste, powder, etc. as long as the solid content is 20% by mass or more. It is preferably in the form of a powder because the mixing property is good and hygroscopicity during storage is prevented.
In addition, when it is a fluid form or a paste form, the solid content is preferably 20 to 80% by mass, more preferably 40 to 70% by mass, and when it is a powder form, the solid content is preferably 40 to 100% by mass. %, More preferably 70 to 100% by mass.

The masking agent of the present invention contains the whey mineral as an active ingredient.
In the masking agent of the present invention, the whey mineral may be used alone as it is, or it may be mixed with various additives and formulated into powders, granules, tablets, liquids and the like by conventional methods. May be used. The content of the whey mineral in these preparations is preferably 5 to 100%, more preferably 10 to 100% by mass, further preferably 20 to 100% by mass, most preferably as a solid content derived from whey mineral. It is 50-100 mass%.

Additives for formulating powders, granules, tablets, etc. include thickener polysaccharides such as alginic acids, pectin, seaweed polysaccharides, carboxymethylcellulose, and lactose, starch, silicon dioxide, etc. , Sweeteners such as glucose, fructose, sucrose, maltose, sorbitol, stevia, anti-caking agents such as fine silicon dioxide, magnesium carbonate, disodium phosphate, magnesium oxide, calcium carbonate, vitamins, fragrance, antioxidant Agents, brighteners, and the like, and one or more of these may be appropriately selected and used. The content of the various additives in the masking agent of the present invention varies depending on the additive, but is preferably 90% by mass or less, more preferably 50% by mass or less.
In the case of formulating into a liquid form, it is obtained by dissolving or dispersing in a liquid. Examples of such a liquid include water, ethanol, propylene glycol and the like. The content of the liquid in the masking agent of the present invention is preferably 90% by mass or less, more preferably 50% by mass or less.

  The masking agent of the present invention can be applied to masking various miscellaneous tastes and flavors that are too strong, and examples thereof include bitterness, astringency, astringent taste, pungent taste, and sour taste. It is also suitable for masking of so-called canned odors and retort odors in heat-sterilized foods such as canned and retort foods. Among them, the masking agent of the present invention is particularly suitable for bitterness masking.

Next, the food / beverage products of this invention are described.
The food / beverage products of this invention are food / beverage products containing the masking agent of this invention.
Content of the masking agent of this invention in the food / beverage products of this invention is not specifically limited, Although it determines suitably according to the food / beverage products to be used and the intensity | strength of the masking effect calculated | required, with respect to 100 mass parts of food / beverage products The solid content of the whey mineral contained in the masking agent is preferably 0.0001 to 0.5 parts by mass, more preferably 0.0005 to 0.2 parts by mass, and still more preferably 0.001 to 0.1 parts by mass. Part. If it is less than 0.0001 parts by mass or exceeds 0.5 parts by mass, the masking effect is hardly recognized, and if it exceeds 0.5 parts by mass, the bitter taste of whey minerals may be felt.

  In addition, as food and drink according to the present invention, it is not particularly limited, for example, miso, soy sauce, noodle soup, sauce, dashi, pasta sauce, dressing, mayonnaise, tomato ketchup, Worcester sauce, tonkatsu sauce, sprinkle, etc. Improvised food such as seasonings, soup stock, curry roux, white sauce, tea sauce, soup stock, soups such as miso soup, soup, consommé soup, potage soup, livestock processing such as yakiniku, ham, sausage Products, kamaboko, dried fish, salted fish, boiled fish, processed fish products such as delicacies, processed vegetables such as pickles, snacks such as potato chips and rice crackers, bakery foods such as bread, confectionery bread, cookies, boiled food, fried food, grilled food, Curry, stew, gratin, rice, rice porridge, cooked foods such as rice balls, pasta, udon, ra Noodle foods such as rice, margarine, shortening, fat spread, flavored fat spread foods such as fat spread, flower paste, confectionery bread materials such as rice cake, bread mix powder, cake mix powder, fried food mix powder, etc. Mixed powder, chocolate, candy, jelly, ice cream, gum and other sweets, Japanese confectionery such as buns, castella, coffee, coffee milk, tea, milk tea, soy milk, energy drinks, vegetable drinks, vinegar drinks, juices, Examples include beverages such as cola, mineral water, and sports drinks, alcoholic beverages such as beer, wine, cocktail, and sour, and milk and dairy products such as milk, yogurt, and cheese.

Next, the pharmaceutical product of the present invention will be described.
The pharmaceutical product of the present invention is a pharmaceutical product containing the masking agent of the present invention.
The content of the masking agent of the present invention in the pharmaceutical product of the present invention is not particularly limited and is appropriately determined according to the pharmaceutical product to be used and the strength of the desired masking effect. The solid content of the whey mineral contained in is preferably 0.0001 to 0.5 parts by mass, more preferably 0.0005 to 0.2 parts by mass, and still more preferably 0.001 to 0.1 parts by mass. . If it is less than 0.0001 parts by mass or exceeds 0.5 parts by mass, the masking effect is hardly recognized, and if it exceeds 0.5 parts by mass, the bitter taste of whey minerals may be felt.
In addition, as long as it is an oral pharmaceutical, the pharmaceutical as used in the field of this invention will not be specifically limited, For example, a case medicine, a gastrointestinal medicine, a headache medicine, a dentifrice etc. are mention | raise | lifted.

Next, the method for masking food and drink of the present invention and the method for masking pharmaceuticals of the present invention will be described.
The masking method for food and drink according to the present invention is to add the masking agent of the present invention to the food and drink, and mask the miscellaneous taste and excessive flavor of the food and drink while maintaining the basic flavor of the food and drink. is there.

The method of adding the masking agent of the present invention to a food or drink is not particularly limited, and is mixed, sprayed, sprayed, dissolved, etc. on the food or drink or its material during processing, cooking, eating or drinking of the target food or drink This is done by any means.
The method for masking a pharmaceutical product of the present invention is a method for adding the masking agent of the present invention to a pharmaceutical product, and masking the miscellaneous taste or excessive flavor of the pharmaceutical product while maintaining the basic drug efficacy. .
The method of adding the masking agent of the present invention to a pharmaceutical product is not particularly limited, and any means such as mixing, spraying, spraying, dissolving, etc. on the pharmaceutical product or its material at the time of processing, dispensing, taking the target pharmaceutical product, etc. It is done by.
As described above, the amount of the masking agent of the present invention added to the food or drink is preferably 0.0001 to 0.5 mass as a solid content of whey mineral contained in the masking agent with respect to 100 parts by mass of the food or drink. Parts, more preferably 0.0005 to 0.2 parts by mass, still more preferably 0.001 to 0.1 parts by mass. If it is less than 0.0001 parts by mass or exceeds 0.5 parts by mass, the masking effect is hardly recognized, and if it exceeds 0.5 parts by mass, the bitter taste of whey minerals may be felt.

  The amount of the masking agent of the present invention added to the pharmaceutical product is preferably 0.0001 to 0.5 parts by mass as a solid content of whey mineral contained in the masking agent with respect to 100 parts by mass of the pharmaceutical product as described above. More preferably, it is 0.0005-0.2 mass part, More preferably, it is 0.001-0.1 mass part. If it is less than 0.0001 part by mass or exceeds 0.5 part by mass, the masking effect is hardly recognized, and if it exceeds 0.5 part by mass, the bitter taste of whey mineral may be felt.

<Manufacture of whey minerals>
[Production Example 1]
Step (a): Sweet whey obtained as a by-product when milk is used to produce cheese is used as a starting material, and after nanofiltration membrane separation, the demineralized liquid is further separated by reverse osmosis filtration membrane separation. A high mineral liquid (I) having a content of 2.5% by mass was obtained.
(B) Step: The calcium-phosphate complex produced by heat-treating the high mineral liquid (I) obtained in the step (a) at 80 ° C. for 20 minutes by a combination of indirect heating and direct steam heating. Was separated and removed by a centrifugal separator to obtain a high mineral liquid (II).
(C) Step: The high mineral liquid (II) obtained in the step (b) is concentrated using an evaporator until the solid content becomes 60% by mass or more, and this concentrated solution is further dried by a spray drying method. A whey mineral having a solid content of 97% by mass (hereinafter referred to as whey mineral A) was obtained.

[Production Example 2]
Whey mineral having a solid content of 97% by mass (hereinafter referred to as whey mineral) is the same as in Production Example 1 except that step (b) is not performed and the high mineral liquid (I) is directly applied to step (c). B)).

[Production Example 3]
A fluid whey mineral having a solid content of 40% by mass (hereinafter referred to as “concentration” by the evaporator in the step (c) of Production Example 1) Whey Mineral C).

[Example 1]
Grapefruit juice was obtained by squeezing the grapefruit with a juicer. The whey mineral A obtained in Production Example 1 is used as the masking agent A of the present invention as it is, and 0.005 parts by mass of the masking agent A is added to 100 parts by mass of the squeezed grapefruit juice and mixed thoroughly. Grapefruit juice 1 was obtained. The obtained grapefruit juice 1 of the present invention was extremely easy to drink, with only the bitter taste being reduced without changing the basic flavor balance of the grapefruit juice without addition.

[Comparative Example 1]
The whey mineral B obtained in Production Example 2 is used as the masking agent B of Comparative Example as it is, and Comparative Example is the same except that 0.005 part by mass of the masking agent B is added to 100 parts by mass of the squeezed grapefruit juice. Grapefruit juice 2 was obtained. The obtained grapefruit juice 2 of Comparative Example had almost the same bitter taste as the additive-free grapefruit juice, and the effects seen with the masking agent A were not obtained at all.

[Example 2]
0.02 parts by mass of the above-mentioned masking agent A was added per 100 parts by mass of Kengasan (Malpy / Dainippon Sumitomo Pharma Co., Ltd.) and mixed well to obtain Kengasan, a pharmaceutical product of the present invention. The obtained Kenkakusan of the present invention was extremely easy to take, with only the bitter taste being reduced without changing the basic flavor balance compared to the Kengasan without additives.

Example 3
0.005 parts by mass of the above-mentioned masking agent A was added per 100 parts by mass of black coffee of sugar-free regular coffee (mocha blend) and mixed well to obtain black coffee which is a food and drink according to the present invention. The obtained black coffee of the present invention was very easy to drink, with only the bitterness being reduced without changing the basic flavor balance of the black coffee without additives.

Example 4
With respect to 100 parts by mass of lager beer, 0.005 parts by mass of the above masking agent A was added and mixed sufficiently to obtain beer which is a food and drink according to the present invention. The obtained beer of the present invention was extremely easy to drink, with only the bitterness being reduced without changing the basic flavor balance as compared with the additive-free beer.

Example 5
The assembly (Japanese Pharmacopoeia Assembly / Yamamoto Kampo Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.) was used as a decoction assembly solution by a predetermined method. With respect to 100 parts by mass of the assembly liquid, 0.02 parts by mass of the masking agent A was added and mixed well to obtain a assembly liquid as the pharmaceutical product of the present invention. The obtained assembly solution of the present invention was extremely easy to take, with only the bitterness being reduced without changing the basic flavor balance as compared with the additive-free assembly solution.

Example 6
The vinegar was diluted 5 times with water to obtain a vinegar beverage. The whey mineral C obtained in the above Production Example 3 was diluted with water so as to have a solid content of 10% by mass, subjected to UHT sterilization treatment (sterilization temperature 140 ° C., holding time 6 seconds), and further, with a pore diameter of 0.2 μm. What passed through the filtration membrane was used as the masking agent C of the present invention.
The whey mineral C obtained in Production Example 3 was slightly turbid with the naked eye. Absorbance was measured with a spectrophotometer at a wavelength of 660 nm, which was Abs. 0.0020. The masking agent C of the present invention was visually transparent, and its absorbance was measured at a wavelength of 660 nm with a spectrophotometer. Moreover, when the bacteria test was conducted, the number of general viable bacteria was negative, and it could be stored at room temperature.
0.05 parts by mass of the masking agent C was added to 100 parts by mass of the vinegar drink and mixed well to obtain a vinegar drink 1 which is a food or drink according to the present invention. The obtained vinegar beverage 1 of the present invention was very easy to drink, with only the acidity being reduced without changing the basic flavor balance as compared with the additive-free vinegar beverage.

Example 7
Open the canned syrup pickled mandarin (solid content 55% by weight), add 0.002 parts by weight of the above-mentioned masking agent A per 100 parts by weight of syrup pickled mandarin, mix thoroughly, and pickle the syrup that is the food and drink of the present invention I got a mandarin orange. The obtained syrup-picked tangerine of the present invention was extremely easy to eat, as compared to the additive-free syrup-picked canned mandarin, only the processing odor unique to canned food was reduced without changing the basic flavor balance.

Example 8
0.2 parts by mass of the above-mentioned masking agent C was added per 100 parts by mass of soy milk (delicious unprepared soy milk / Kibun Co., Ltd.) and mixed well to obtain soy milk that is a food and drink according to the present invention. The obtained soy milk of the present invention was extremely easy to drink, with only the bean odor reduced, without changing the basic flavor balance, compared to the additive-free soy milk.

Example 9
To 100 ml of water, 4 mg of magnesium chloride, 105 mg of sodium chloride and 30 mg of potassium chloride were added, and 5.0 g of liquid sugar and 1 mg of grapefruit flavor were added and mixed well to obtain a sports drink. The said masking agent C was added 0.02 mass part per 100 mass parts of this sports drink, and it mixed sufficiently, and obtained the sports drink which is the food / beverage products of this invention. The obtained sports drink of the present invention was extremely easy to drink, with only the astringent taste being reduced without changing the basic flavor balance as compared with the additive-free sports drink.

Example 10
0.02 parts by mass of the masking agent A was added per 100 parts by mass of plain yogurt and mixed well to obtain plain yogurt which is a food and drink according to the present invention. The obtained plain yogurt of the present invention had a reduced acidity as compared with the additive-free plain yogurt and was extremely easy to eat.

Claims (6)

The masking agent which contains the whey mineral obtained through the following (a) (b) (c) processes as an active ingredient.
(A) A step of separating milk or whey from a demineralized liquid by membrane separation and / or ion exchange to obtain a high mineral liquid (I) (b) From the high mineral liquid (I), a calcium-phosphate complex is obtained. Step of separating and removing to obtain high mineral liquid (II) (c) Step of concentrating and / or drying the high mineral liquid (II) until the solid content is 20% by mass or more to obtain whey mineral   The masking agent according to claim 1, which is a bitter taste masking agent.   Food / beverage products containing the masking agent of Claim 1 or 2.   An oral pharmaceutical comprising the masking agent according to claim 1 or 2.   The masking method of the food / beverage products characterized by adding the masking agent of Claim 1 or 2 to food / beverage products.   A method for masking an oral drug, wherein the masking agent according to claim 1 or 2 is added to the drug.