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EP-4739125-A1 - VITAMIN C FORTIFIED BEVERAGE COMPOSITION

EP4739125A1EP 4739125 A1EP4739125 A1EP 4739125A1EP-4739125-A1

Abstract

The present invention provides a beverage composition comprising; a) vitamin C; b) a first polysaccharide comprising maltodextrin; c) a second polysaccharide comprising gum arabic and/or xanthan gum; and, d) a beverage product, wherein the mass ratio of first polysaccharide to second polysaccharide is between 2:1 to 1:2. The present invention also provides a process for preparing a beverage composition.

Inventors

  • GOVINDASWAMY, VADIVEL
  • MHASAVADE, DEEPAK RAMACHANDRA
  • PALAGIRI, SWATHY
  • VELUSAMY, Balamurugan

Assignees

  • Ekaterra Research and Development UK Limited

Dates

Publication Date
20260513
Application Date
20240702

Claims (15)

  1. 1 . A beverage composition comprising. a) vitamin C or a derivative thereof; b) a first polysaccharide comprising maltodextrin. c) a second polysaccharide comprising gum arabic and/or xanthan gum; and, d) a beverage product, wherein the mass ratio of first polysaccharide to second polysaccharide is between 2:1 to 1 :2.
  2. 2. A composition according to claim 1 wherein the vitamin C is L-ascorbic acid.
  3. 3. A composition according to claim 1 wherein the ratio of first polysaccharide to second polysaccharide is 1 :1.
  4. 4. The composition according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the first polysaccharide is maltodextrin.
  5. 5. The composition according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the second polysaccharide is gum arabic.
  6. 6. A composition according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the first polysaccharide and second polysaccharide are present in a combined amount of between 0.5 and 15% by weight of the composition, preferably between 1 and 8 % by weight of the composition.
  7. 7. The composition according to any preceding claim wherein the beverage product is a leaf tea product.
  8. 8. The composition according to claim 7 wherein the leaf tea product is selected from a black tea product, a green tea product, an oolong tea product, a white tea product or blends thereof.
  9. 9. The composition according to claim 8 wherein the leaf tea product is a black tea product.
  10. 10. The composition according to claim 7 wherein the leaf tea product is a herbal tea product.
  11. 11 . The composition according to claim 10, wherein the herbal tea product is selected from a rooibos tea product, a hibiscus tea product, a chamomile tea product or blends thereof.
  12. 12. The composition according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the amount of beverage product in the composition is in the range of 85 to 98.5% by weight of the composition.
  13. 13. The composition as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the composition comprises one or more additional agents, optionally selected from nutrients, flavourings, metals and minerals, bulking agents, anti-caking agents (e.g. silicon dioxide) and cocoa extract.
  14. 14. A process for preparing a tea composition comprising the steps of: a) preparing an aqueous solution of vitamin C, a first polysaccharide comprising maltodextrin and a second polysaccharide comprising gum arabic and/or xanthan gum to prepare a coating solution; b) adding the coating solution of step a) to a beverage product and mixing for a duration of between 1 and 30 minutes; c) drying the mixture of step b) at a temperature of between 90 °C and 160 °C for a duration of between 2 and 60 minutes.
  15. 15. A process according to claim 15, wherein the mass ratio of vitamin C to water used in step a) is 1 :3 or greater.

Description

VITAMIN C FORTIFIED BEVERAGE COMPOSITION Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a beverage composition. In particular, the present invention relates to a vitamin C fortified beverage composition. Background Staying hydrated is believed to bring about many health benefits to both the body and mind. Thus, it is often said that many non-alcoholic beverages are believed to refresh the mind. There are many non-alcoholic beverages available in the market for consumption. Tea and coffee are the most popular out of these. Polyphenols that are present in tea are also considered to be good for human health. There are varieties of tea available in the market, e.g. black tea, green tea, oolong tea, white tea, etc. Black tea is generally prepared by a process which includes the steps of withering, macerating, fermenting, and firing/drying. On the other hand, green tea manufacturing process does not include the step of fermentation. Therefore, the characteristic profile of green tea is different from that of black tea. Traditionally, tea referred to those products which were obtained from the tea plant Camellia Sinensis. However, recently, the definition of tea is now generally accepted to also include any form of herbal infusion. Thus, commonly, these herbal infusions are now referred to as herbal ‘teas’. Herbal teas or herbal infusions are also becoming increasingly popular because of the various health benefits provided by the different herbs. That is, herbal teas are generally rich in antioxidants, vitamins and essential nutrients, compounds which are strongly associated with health benefits, such as relieving stress, boosting immunity, reducing pain and aiding digesting. Thus, herbal teas are seen as a convenient way of delivering these essential nutrients and elements to an individual. Most of the people in Western and Asian countries drink at least one from of tea or coffee at least once a day, or even more. Therefore, tea and coffee could be one of the ways of delivering nutrients and essentials elements. Vitamin C is one of the essential nutrients required for growth, development, and repair of body tissue. Vitamin C is also an antioxidant as well as being an important nutrient for boosting immunity. Fortifying beverages, such as tea, with vitamin C is an affordable option for delivering vitamin C to consumers. However, to deliver vitamin C through tea, currently the beverages industry uses physical mixing of vitamin C granules (pure or encapsulated made from non-tea material) along with tea granules. There are numerous challenges associated with this current method of vitamin C fortification, such as poor tea leaf appearance, low shelf-life stability & inconsistent or poor delivery of vitamin C into the end cup. The present invention is concerned with addressing one or more of the above problems by providing a vitamin C fortified beverage composition wherein vitamin C is coated onto a beverage product (e.g. tea leaf product) using a certain amount and type of polysaccharide binder. Thus, the present inventors have discovered that by using a specific type and ratio of polysaccharide binder it is beneficially possible to fortify beverage products with vitamin C and achieve an excellent visual appearance (e.g. colour) of the beverage product, excellent delivery of vitamin C to the end cup and prolonged stability of the vitamin C coated beverage product; thus addressing the aforementioned problems in the art. This specific combination of a tea products, vitamin C and specific types and ratios of polysaccharide binders, together with their beneficial use in delivering vitamin C could not have been realised from the disclosures found in the art. Summary of the invention In a first aspect, the present invention provides a beverage composition comprising; a) vitamin C; b) a first polysaccharide comprising maltodextrin; c) a second polysaccharide comprising gum arabic and/or xanthan gum; and, d) a beverage product, wherein the mass ratio of first polysaccharide to second polysaccharide is between 2:1 to 1 :2. In another aspect, the present invention provides a process for preparing a beverage composition comprising the steps of: a) preparing a coating solution by adding, and optionally mixing, vitamin C, a first polysaccharide comprising maltodextrin and a second polysaccharide comprising gum arabic and/or xanthan gum with water; b) adding the coating solution of step a) to a beverage product and mixing for a duration of between 1 and 30 minutes; and c) drying the mixture of step b) at a temperature of between 90 °C and 160 °C for a duration of between 2 and 60 minutes. This and other aspects, features and advantages will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art from a reading of the following detailed description. For the avoidance of doubt, any feature of one aspect of the present invention may be utilized in any other aspect of the invention. The word “comprising” is intended to mean