Integrated Infusion, Extraction, and Acid Removal Process

Content Provider	The Lens
Abstract	A method of processing a fruit or vegetable is described. The method includes contacting a fruit or vegetable in an optimizer with a first deacidified juice, the first deacidified juice including at least one bulking agent and a sugar concentration that is at least about equal to the sugar concentration in the fruit or vegetable, under conditions sufficient to transfer acids from the fruit or vegetable to the first deacidified juice and bulking agent from the first deacidified juice to the fruit or vegetable, thereby producing an acidified juice and an infused fruit or vegetable product. The method also includes removing acids from the acidified juice to produce a second deacidified juice, mixing the second deacidified juice with at least one bulking agent, and, optionally, recycling the second deacidified juice comprising at least one bulking agent to the optimizer.
Related Links	https://www.lens.org/lens/patent/011-239-123-273-927/frontpage
Language	English
Publisher Date	2019-02-28
Access Restriction	Open
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Patent
Jurisdiction	United States of America
Date Applied	2018-08-31
Applicant	Ocean Spray Cranberries Inc
Application No.	201816120117
Claim	A method of processing a fruit or vegetable, comprising: contacting a fruit or vegetable in an optimizer with a first deacidified juice, the first deacidified juice comprising at least one bulking agent and a sugar concentration that is at least about equal to the sugar concentration in the fruit or vegetable, under conditions sufficient to transfer acids from the fruit or vegetable to the first deacidified juice and bulking agent from the first deacidified juice to the fruit or vegetable, thereby producing an acidified juice and an infused fruit or vegetable product; removing acids from the acidified juice to produce a second deacidified juice; mixing the second deacidified juice with at least one bulking agent; and, optionally, recycling the second deacidified juice comprising at least one bulking agent to the optimizer. The method of claim 1 , wherein the second deacidified juice comprising at least one bulking agent is recycled to the optimizer, and further comprising contacting a fruit or vegetable in the optimizer with the second deacidified juice. The method of claim 2 , wherein the fruit or vegetable in the optimizer is contacted with the second deacidified juice comprising at least one bulking agent under conditions sufficient to transfer acids from the fruit or vegetable to the second deacidified juice and bulking agent from the second deacidified juice to the fruit or vegetable. The method of claim 1 , wherein the optimizer is a countercurrent exchange device. The method of claim 1 , wherein the fruit or vegetable in the optimizer is a sliced, scarified, pitted, and/or pierced fruit or vegetable. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first deacidified juice comprises juice derived from the same type of fruit or vegetable as that in the optimizer. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first deacidified juice comprises juice derived from a fruit or vegetable that is of a type different from that in the optimizer. The method of claim 1 , wherein the fruit or vegetable in the optimizer is a fruit, and the fruit is a cranberry. The method of claim 8 , wherein the acidified juice comprises proanthocyanidins and phenolics removed from the fruit or vegetable in the optimizer. The method of claim 9 , further comprising removing proanthocyanidins and phenolics from the acidified juice via ultrafiltration before removing acids from the acidified juice. The method of claim 10 , further comprising mixing the proanthocyanidins and phenolics removed from the acidified juice with the second deacidified juice. The method of claim 1 , wherein removing acids from the acidified juice comprises removing malic acid or citric acid, or both. The method of claim 1 , wherein removing acids from the acidified juice comprises removing quinic acid. The method of claim 1 , wherein removing acids from the acidified juice comprises first removing malic and citric acids from the acidified juice by contacting the acidified juice with a first anion exchange resin and subsequently removing quinic acid from the acidified juice by contacting the acidified juice with a second anion exchange resin. The method of claim 14 , further comprising regenerating the first anion exchange resin and the second anion exchange resin with at least one of a phosphoric acid rinse or a deionized water rinse. The method of claim 1 , wherein removing acids from the acidified juice comprises treating the acidified juice in a bipolar electrodialysis unit. The method of claim 1 , wherein removing acids from the acidified juice comprises a combination of contacting the acidified juice with anion exchange resins and treating the acidified juice in a bipolar electrodialysis unit. The method of claim 4 , wherein the fruit or vegetable is provided at a bottom portion of the countercurrent exchange device and wherein the first or second deacidified juice, or both, is fed at the top of the countercurrent exchange device. The method of claim 1 , wherein the fruit or vegetable in the optimizer is a fruit, and the fruit is a cranberry, grape, blueberry, raspberry, elderberry, lingonberry, chokeberry, blackberry, blackcurrant, redcurrant, white currant, huckleberry, cloudberry, or strawberry. The method of claim 1 , wherein fruit or vegetable in the optimizer comprises at least two different types of fruit. The method of claim 20 , wherein the at least two different types of fruit are selected from the group consisting of cranberry, grape, blueberry, raspberry, elderberry, lingonberry, chokeberry, blackberry, blackcurrant, redcurrant, white currant, huckleberry, cloudberry, and strawberry. The method of claim 1 , wherein the bulking agent comprises at least one of glucose, fructose, maltodextrin, inulin, soluble fiber, or protein. The method of claim 1 , wherein the bulking agent is derived from the same type of fruit or vegetable as that present in the optimizer. The method of claim 1 , further comprising removing the infused fruit or vegetable product from the optimizer and drying the infused fruit or vegetable product. A dried fruit or vegetable product produced by the method of any one of claims 1 - 24 . A system comprising: an optimizer configured to cause an exchange of acids and/or sugars between a fruit or vegetable and an extraction/infusion liquid; an ultrafiltration device in fluid communication with the optimizer and configured to remove proanthocyanidins and phenolics from a liquid; a deacidification subsystem in fluid communication with the ultrafiltration device and configured to remove acids from a liquid; and a mixing subsystem in fluid communication with both the deacidification subsystem and the optimizer, and configured to mix a deacidified juice and a bulking agent. The system of claim 26 , wherein the optimizer is a countercurrent exchange device. The system of claim 26 , wherein the optimizer includes a device for scarifying, pricking, slicing, or pitting the fruit or vegetable. The system of claim 26 , wherein the optimizer is a module including two or more single- or multi-functional separate devices, each device being connected by lines. The system of claim 26 , wherein the optimizer includes a tank, a countercurrrent infusion device, a countercurrent extraction device, or any combination thereof. The system of claim 26 , wherein the optimizer comprises multiple modules. The system of claim 26 , wherein the deacidification subsystem comprises a bed of a first anion exchange resin configured to remove malic and citric acids from a liquid and a bed of a second anion-exchange resin configured to remove quinic acid from a liquid. The system of claim 26 , wherein the deacidification subsystem comprises a bipolar electrodialysis unit. The system of claim 26 , wherein the mixing subsystem comprises at least one blend tank and at least one hold tank. A method, comprising: contacting a fruit or vegetable with a first deacidified juice comprising a sugar concentration at least about equal to that in the fruit or vegetable, under conditions that allow concurrent removal of acids from the fruit or vegetable and of maintenance or increasing the sugar level in the fruit or vegetable, to thereby produce an acidified juice and a reduced-acid fruit or vegetable product. The method of claim 35 , further comprising removing acids from the acidified juice to produce a second deacidified juice. The method of claim 36 , wherein removing acids from the acidified juice comprises removing malic and citric acids in a first anion exchange process and removing quinic acid in a second anion exchange process. The method of claim 35 , wherein the fruit or vegetable is a fruit, and fruit is a cranberry. The method of claim 35 , wherein the acidified juice further comprises proanthocyanidins and phenolics removed from the fruit. The method of claim 39 , further comprising removing proanthocyanidins and phenolics from the acidified juice via ultrafiltration. The method of claim 35 , wherein the first deacidified juice comprises at least one bulking agent selected from the group consisting of glucose, fructose, maltodextrin, inulin, and soluble fiber. The method of claim 35 , wherein the first deacidified juice is derived from the same type of fruit or vegetable as that being contacted with the first deacidified juice. The method of claim 35 , wherein the first deacidified juice is derived from cranberries. The method of claim 35 , wherein contacting comprises contacting using countercurrent exchange. The method of claim 44 , wherein the fruit or vegetable is provided at a bottom portion of a countercurrent exchange device and wherein the deacidified juice is fed at a top of the countercurrent exchange device. The method of claim 35 , wherein the fruit or vegetable is a fruit, and the fruit is a cranberry, grape, blueberry, raspberry, elderberry, lingonberry, chokeberry, blackberry, blackcurrant, redcurrant, white currant, huckleberry, cloudberry, or strawberry. The method of claim 35 , wherein fruit or vegetable comprises at least two different types of fruit. The method of claim 47 , wherein the at least two different types of fruit are selected from the group consisting of cranberry, grape, blueberry, raspberry, elderberry, lingonberry, chokeberry, blackberry, blackcurrant, redcurrant, white currant, huckleberry, cloudberry, and strawberry. The method of claim 35 , wherein the concentrations of fructose and glucose in the first deacidified juice is greater than or equal to the concentrations of fructose and glucose in the fruit or vegetable. The method of claim 35 , wherein the dissolved solids content of the acidified juice is approximately 1% to 65% wt. The method of claim 35 , wherein the first deacidified juice has a pH of approximately 3.5 to 6.0. A method of purifying an acid from a fruit juice, the method comprising: contacting the fruit juice with a first anion exchange resin, wherein the first anion exchange resin is configured to adsorb malic acid and citric acid from the fruit juice, thereby producing a partially deacidified fruit juice; contacting the partially deacidified fruit juice with a second anion exchange resin, wherein the second anion exchange resin is configured to adsorb quinic acid from the partially deacidified fruit juice, thereby producing a deacidified fruit juice and quinic acid adsorbed to the second anion exchange resin; eluting, from the second anion exchange resin, a quinic acid rich solution comprising quinic acid and salts; and contacting the quinic acid rich solution with a strong acid cation exchange resin, thereby separating the quinic acid rich solution into an acid solution and a salt solution. The method of claim 52 , further comprising crystallizing the quinic acid. The method of claim 52 , wherein crystallizing the quinic acid comprises concentrating the quinic acid solution under vacuum to a concentration of greater than 45% m/m, seeding the solution with 1% dry weight basis of purified quinic acid, and cooling the solution to 1° C. The method of claim 52 , wherein at least one of the first anion exchange resin, the second anion exchange resin, and the strong acid cation exchange resin, is disposed in a bed. The method of claim 52 , wherein the fruit juice is cranberry juice. The method of claim 52 , wherein the fruit juice has a dissolved solids content of about 1% to about 70% wt. The method of claim 57 , wherein the fruit juice has a dissolved solids content of about 1% to about 25% wt. The method of claim 58 , wherein the fruit juice has a dissolved solids content of about 16% to about 20% wt. The method of claim 52 , wherein the at least one of the first anion exchange resin and the second anion exchange resin is a macroporous polystyrene based resin comprising divinyl benzene co-polymers. The method of claim 52 , wherein eluting the quinic acid comprises rinsing the second anion exchange resin with a minimum 0.253 N basic solution. The method of claim 52 , further comprising regenerating the strong acid cation exchange resin with hydrochloric acid. A method of deacidifying a fruit juice, the method comprising: contacting the fruit juice with a first anion exchange resin configured to adsorb malic acid and citric acid from the fruit juice, thereby producing a partially deacidified fruit juice; and contacting the partially deacidified fruit juice with a second anion exchange resin configured to adsorb quinic acid from the partially deacidifed fruit juice to thereby produce a deacidified fruit juice, wherein the second anion exchange resin has a higher affinity for quinic acid than the first anion exchange resin. The method of claim 63 , wherein the fruit juice is cranberry juice. The method of claim 63 , further comprising measuring at least one of acid content and pH based on a color of cranberry pigment. The method of claim 63 , wherein the fruit juice has a dissolved solids content of about 1% to about 70% wt. The method of claim 66 , wherein the fruit juice has a dissolved solids content of about 1% to about 25% wt. The method of claim 67 , wherein the fruit juice has a dissolved solids content of about 16% to about 20% wt. The method of claim 63 , further comprising eluting the malic acid and citric acid from the first anion exchange resin with a basic solution at a concentration of 0.1 to 1.0 N. The method of claim 63 , further comprising regenerating the first anion exchange resin with a maximum 1.04 N basic solution. A deacidified fruit juice produced by the method of any of claims 63 - 70 . A method of producing an alcoholic beverage, the method comprising: contacting a fruit juice with a first anion exchange resin configured to adsorb malic acid and citric acid from the fruit juice, thereby producing a partially deacidified fruit juice; contacting the partially deacidified fruit juice with a second anion exchange resin configured to remove quinic acid from the partially deacidified fruit juice to thereby produce a deacidified fruit juice, wherein the second anion exchange resin has a higher affinity for quinic acid than the first anion exchange resin; and fermenting the deacidified fruit juice. The method of claim 72 , further comprising mixing, prior to fermenting, a volume of non-deacidified fruit juice with the deacidified fruit juice. The method of claim 73 , wherein mixing produces a fruit juice having a pH between 3.5 and 6.0. The method of claim 72 , wherein the fruit juice is cranberry juice. The method of claim 72 , wherein the fruit juice has a dissolved solids content of about 1% to about 65% wt. The method of claim 76 , wherein the fruit juice has a dissolved solids content of about 1% to about 25% wt. The method of claim 78 , wherein the fruit juice has a dissolved solids content of about 16% to about 20% wt. An alcoholic beverage produced by the method of any of claims 72 - 78 . A method of producing an alcoholic beverage, the method comprising: contacting a fruit juice with a first anion exchange resin configured to adsorb malic acid and citric acid from the fruit juice to thereby produce a partially deacidified fruit juice; and fermenting the partially deacidified fruit juice. The method of claim 80 , wherein the partially deacidified fruit juice has a pH between 3.5 and 6.0. A method, comprising: forming a mixture of water and cellulosic biomass material derived from fruit, the cellulosic biomass material comprising insoluble solids; raising the temperature of the mixture to greater than or equal to 150° C. and the pressure of the mixture to greater than or equal to 50 psi, thereby converting insoluble solids in the cellulosic biomass material to soluble solids; and separating the soluble solids and water from remaining insoluble solids. The method of claim 82 , wherein separating soluble solids comprises separating the soluble solids from the remaining insoluble solids via centrifugation. The method of claim 82 , wherein separating the soluble solids comprises separating the soluble solids from the remaining insoluble solids via filtration. The method of claim 82 , wherein separating the soluble solids comprises separating the soluble solids from the remaining insoluble solids via a combination of centrifugation and filtration. The method of claim 82 , wherein the temperature is raised to approximately 150-200° C. and the pressure is raised to approximately 500-2500 psi. The method of claim 82 , wherein the temperature is raised to approximately 150-200° C. and the pressure is raised to approximately 50-500 psi. The method of claim 82 , further comprising pre-heating the mixture to approximately 50° C. to 99° C. The method of claim 82 , wherein soluble solids separated from the remaining insoluble solids comprise at least a 40% yield of soluble solids from the cellulosic biomass materia The method of claim 82 wherein the soluble solids separated from the remaining insoluble solids comprise at least a 60% yield of soluble solids from the cellulosic biomass materia The method of claim 82 , further comprising washing the remaining insoluble solids to capture soluble solids trapped among the remaining insoluble solids. The method of claim 82 , wherein the cellulosic biomass material is presscake, pomace, or whole fruit. The method of claim 92 , wherein the presscake, pomace, or whole fruit is derived from or comprises cranberries. The method of claim 82 , further comprising converting at least some of the soluble solids into at least one of sugars, alcohols, and small chain fatty acids, or any combination thereof. The method of claim 94 , wherein converting at least some of the soluble solids into sugars comprises digesting the soluble solids with enzymes. The method of claim 82 , wherein the method is performed as a batch process with a pressure cooker, an autoclave, or a subcritical water extraction unit, or any combination thereof. The method of claim 82 , wherein the mixture is heated under pressure for approximately 3 to 10 minutes. The method of claim 82 , further comprising cooling the mixture to a temperature of approximately 4° C. to 50° C. A method of converting insoluble solids to soluble solids, comprising: forming a mixture of water and cellulosic biomass material derived from fruit, the cellulosic biomass material comprising insoluble solids; passing the mixture of water and cellulosic biomass material through a direct steam injection system with a steam pressure of at least approximately 125 psig and that heats the mixture to at least 150° C. with a back pressure of at least 55 psig; and separating the soluble solids and water from remaining insoluble solids. The method of claim 99 , wherein separating soluble solids comprises separating the soluble solids from the remaining insoluble solids via centrifugation. The method of claim 99 , wherein separating the soluble solids comprises separating the soluble solids from the remaining insoluble solids via filtration. The method of claim 99 , wherein separating the soluble solids comprises separating the soluble solids from the remaining insoluble solids via a combination of centrifugation and filtration. The method of claim 99 , further comprising pre-heating the mixture to approximately 50° C. to 99° C. The method of claim 99 , wherein soluble solids separated from the remaining insoluble solids comprise at least a 40% yield of soluble solids from the cellulosic biomass materia The method of claim 99 , wherein the soluble solids separated from the remaining insoluble solids comprise at least a 60% yield of soluble solids from the cellulosic biomass materia The method of claim 99 , further comprising washing the remaining insoluble solids to capture soluble solids trapped among the remaining insoluble solids. The method of claim 99 , wherein the cellulosic biomass material is presscake, pomace, or whole fruit. The method of claim 107 , wherein the presscake, pomace, or whole fruit is derived from or comprises cranberries. The method of claim 99 , further comprising converting at least some of the soluble solids into at least one of sugars, alcohols, and small chain fatty acids, or any combination thereof. The method of claim 109 , wherein converting at least some of the soluble solids into sugars comprises digesting the soluble solids with enzymes. A method of treating a food body, the method comprising: introducing the food body to a tank, the food body being suspended in a liquid medium and having a first temperature; introducing additional liquid medium to the tank, the additional liquid medium having a second temperature; mixing the liquid medium and the additional liquid medium in the tank at a low shear rate; and removing the food body from the tank, wherein the food body has a third temperature upon removal, wherein the first temperature is lower than the third temperature and the third temperature is lower than the second temperature, and wherein the third temperature is in the range of about 35° F. to about 70° F. The method of claim 111 , wherein the first temperature is in the range of about 10° F. to about 32° F. The method of claim 111 , wherein the second temperature is in the range of about 60° F. to 120° F. The method of claim 111 , wherein the food body has a residence time in the tank of approximately 2 minutes to 30 minutes. The method of claim 111 , wherein the tank comprises an impeller disposed on a shaft. The method of claim 111 , wherein the tank has an approximately circular footprint and the shaft and the impeller are located off-center of the center of the approximately circular footprint. The method of claim 116 , wherein mixing the liquid medium and the additional liquid medium at a low shear rate comprises vertically circulating the liquid medium and the additional liquid medium in the tank. The method of claim 117 , wherein the impeller has two inner lobes, each inner lobe connected on an opposite side of the shaft, and two outer lobes, each outer lobe connected to an inner lobe, wherein the inner lobes circulate the liquid medium in a first vertical direction and the outer lobes circulate the liquid medium in a second vertical direction. The method of claim 111 , wherein the food body is in a frozen state when the food body is at the first temperature and wherein the food body is in an unfrozen state at the third temperature. A system comprising: a tank, comprising: a shaft disposed in the tank and extending from the bottom of the tank to the top of the tank, the shaft being configured to rotate; and a first impeller positioned on the shaft and configured to rotate with the shaft, the impeller having a shape configured to vertically circulate liquid media in the tank; a first inlet configured to deliver a food body suspended in liquid media at a first temperature to a tank; a second inlet configured to deliver additional liquid media at a second temperature to the tank; and an outlet configured to deliver a food body suspended in liquid media at a third temperature from the tank, wherein the first temperature is lower than the third temperature and the third temperature is lower than the second temperature, wherein the third temperature is in a range of about 35° F. to about 70° F. The system of claim 120 , wherein the first temperature is approximately 10° F. to 32° F. The system of claim 120 , wherein the second temperature is approximately 60° F. to 120° F. The system of claim 120 , wherein the food body has a residence time in the tank of approximately 2 minutes to 30 minutes. The system of claim 120 , further comprising a separator connected to the outlet and configured to separate the food body from the liquid media at the third temperature. The system of claim 124 , further comprising a heating element configured to heat the liquid media from the third temperature to the second temperature and further comprising a return configured to return the liquid media heated to the second temperature to the second inlet. The system of claim 124 , wherein the tank has an approximately circular footprint and the shaft and the first impeller are located off-center of the center of the approximately circular footprint. The system of claim 124 , wherein the separator is a shaker. The system of claim 120 , wherein the wherein the first impeller has two inner lobes, each inner lobe connected on an opposite side of the shaft, and two outer lobes, each outer lobe connected to an inner lobe, wherein the inner lobes circulate the liquid medium in a first vertical direction and the outer lobes circulate the liquid medium in a second vertical direction. The system of claim 128 , wherein the inner lobes of the first impeller have greater surface area than the outer lobes of the impeller. The system of claim 128 , wherein the outer lobes of the first impeller are angularly offset from the inner lobes of the impeller. The system of claim 120 , wherein the food body is in a frozen state when the food body is at the first temperature and wherein the food body is in an unfrozen state at the third temperature. The system of claim 120 , further comprising a second impeller disposed on the shaft. The system of claim 132 , wherein the first impeller is positioned lower on the shaft than the second impeller. An infused fruit or vegetable having a ratio of total acids to phenolics of less than 4:1. The infused fruit or vegetable of claim 134 , further comprising an infused bulking agent comprising at least one of glucose, fructose, sucrose, a sugar alcohol, maltodextrin, a dextrin, a glucan, a fructan, soluble fibers, amino acids, peptides, and partially hydrolyzed proteins of less than 10,000 Daltons. The infused fruit or vegetable of claim 134 , wherein the infused fruit or vegetable is an infused cranberry. The infused cranberry of claim 136 , further comprising glucose at approximately 4% by weight and fructose at approximately 1% by weight. The infused cranberry of claim 136 , further comprising a ratio of quinic acid to citric acid to malic acid between 1.0:1.0:0.8 and 10.0:1.0:2.0. The infused cranberry of claim 136 , further comprising nonpolar molecules having a carbon to oxygen ratio ranging from 18:2 to 28:2. A composition comprising the infused fruit or vegetable of claim 134 .
CPC Classification	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 INDEXING SCHEME RELATING TO FOODS; FOODSTUFFS OR NON-ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES AND LACTIC OR PROPIONIC ACID BACTERIA USED IN FOODSTUFFS OR FOOD PREPARATION
Extended Family	073-861-644-775-50X 011-239-123-273-927 063-754-357-729-491
Patent ID	20190059418
Inventor/Author	Dimarzio Michael Fritz Erich Kandala Raghunandan Moriarty Ryan Nojeim Stephen Peabody Stephen Roy Soumya Willard Kirk
IPC	A23L2/08 A23L2/68
Status	Discontinued
Simple Family	073-861-644-775-50X 011-239-123-273-927 063-754-357-729-491
CPC (with Group)	A23L2/087 A23L2/04 A23L2/60 A23L2/68 A23L2/74 A23L2/84 A23V2300/10
Issuing Authority	United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)
Kind	Patent Application Publication