United States Patent Office Patented Nov
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3,284,212 United States Patent Office Patented Nov. 8, 1966 1. 2 factors are naturally present, it is extremely difficult to 3,284,212 FOOD PRESERVATIVE COMPRISINGENZYMES preserve and store foods without taking abnormal pre AND ANTOXADANTS cautions to avoid these factors. For example, the sur Talmadge B. Tribble and Eugene L. Rondenet, Glenview, face exposure of foods to air greatly accelerates ran III., assignors to Flavor Corporation of America, Chi cidification of fatty components, which action weakens cago, Ill., a corporation of Delaware the natural antioxidants present in foods and thereby No Drawing. Filed Mar. 6, 1963, Ser. No. 263,134 helps to bring about complex adverse effects on enzyme 10 Claims. (C. 99-9) splitting systems which are interlocked in the protein, carbohydrate and fatty food constituents. In this way, This invention relates to improved means for preserv 0. food becomes susceptible to destructive attack by bac ing food. teria, molds and yeasts. More particularly, this invention concerns improved One familiar instance, exemplifying the relationship ingredients to be added to raw foods for the purpose of of air, moisture and heat to the chemical and biological preserving the same against deterioration, principally by changes which may take place in raw food are the ac controlling and regulating factors such as oxidation, 15 tivities of oxygen, microorganisms, enzymes and related microorganism activity and/or other chemical and bio phenomena believed to occur in ensiled foods. It is logical changes. generally believed that within the first 24 hours of stor One of the most important factors producing food ing a raw sillage crop within a silo, the atmospheric deterioration is oxidation. For oxidation occurs when oxygen is extremely active, causing high plant metabolism the oxygen present unites with other chemical elements or 20 and a resulting release of high heat energy accompanied groups of elements in foods to form oxides which cause by increased plant enzyme and microorganism activity. the breakdown of fatty or other carbohydrate food com Within the next 24-hour period, the oxygen demand ap ponents resulting in the ultimate deterioration of protein pears usually to exceed the available oxygen supply so matter. The reactions arising out of and accompanying that plant metabolism is greatly reduced and/or halted oxidation are believed to cause various chemical and bio 25 altogether, while enzyme activity continues with the logical changes resulting in such undesired results as aerobe microorganism activity being negligible, but with rancidification of fats, molding of carbohydrates and anaerobe microorganism activity increasing. Atmos putrefaction of proteins. Basically, the undesirable ef phenic oxidation activity under these latter conditions ap fects of food oxidation appear to stem primarily from pears to be negligible or non-existent, while enzymatic microorganism activity and chemical changes and/or re 30 oxidation activity greatly increases. Within the next 24 actions. hour interval, it is believed that atmospheric oxygen ac All organic foods also contain microscopic forms of tivity ceases altogether, along with plant metabolism, parasitic plant and vegetable life called microorganisms while the enzyme and anaerobe microorganism and bac which live on larger forms of life. Among the most com teria activities sharply increase, accompanied by high mon microorganisms in food, useful to man and animal, 35 enzyme oxidation activity. are bacteria, molds and yeasts. Not all such micro While the foregoing is very generalized, it nevertheless organisms, however, are necessarily harmful or undesir Serves to illustrate the complex and ever-changing nature able. For example, lactic acid bacteria are usefully em of the biological and chemical reactions and resulting ployed in making sauerkraut from fresh cabbage and problems which attend storing food and amply points up silage from fresh grass. In most foods, however, the 40 the necessity of means for controlling and regulating such excessive growth of yeast, bacteria or molds indicates and activities if successful food storage and preservation is to accompanies spoilage. be achieved. Such control and regulation usually re In addition to microorganisms, raw organic foods con quires minimal atmospheric air and moisture concentra tain certain substances called enzymes which appear to tions which, in many circumstances, may be most dif act somewhat as organic catalysts. A common example 45 ficult, if not impossible, to achieve. of such activity is demonstrated in the fruit ripening Aside from the physical difficulties encountered in con process. Even after the fruit is picked, enzyme activity trolling air and moisture, the problem of storing food is continues and if not halted, eventually will cause the further compounded by the reactions which occur within fruit to spoil and rot. Generally speaking, enzymes act 50 the food itself, as the same is transformed into a pre upon foods in two ways, either to add to or reduce water served state. In the case of an ensiled crop, for ex content or take up oxygen. There are three generally ample, such reactions stem from plant respiration, the recognized types of food enzyme activities, lipolytic, presence of enzymes within the plant cells, as well as amylolytic and proteolytic, and each type produces marked the presence of bacteria, yeasts and molds in the raw en effects which can contribute either to the spoilage or the 55 siled plant material. preservation of foods. For instance, lipoxidase, which is In brief, the present invention alleviates many of the a member of the lipolytic enzyme family, acts on fats difficulties and shortcomings heretofore experienced in and may cause butter, for example, to turn rancid. Cel food preservation, as above discussed, by providing im lulase and diastase, contrastingly assist in the preserva proved combinations of selected ingredients which are tion of foods by converting cellulose and starches into 60 added to food as a preserving means. The choice of sugars, alcohol and esters, the latter giving the character such ingredients, according to this invention, is designed to istic flavor to foods. Cellulase is especially effective in regulate and control oxidation processes and accompany hydrolyzing cellulose, while diastase, being high in alpha ing chemical and biological changes which take place in amylase with some beta amylase, is particularly active such a manner as to preserve the food for prolonged on starches. The proteolytic enzyme family include, 65 periods, while maintaining desirable nutritional ingre by way of example, papin, ficin, bromelin and others dients, appearance, color and general palatability values which generally act to hydrolyze and Teduce proteins. of the food. Fundamentally, the improved food preserva It is generally acknowledged that the processes and evo tive of this invention comprises predetermined combina lutions involved in food spoilage and deterioration are tions of selected antioxidants and enzymes which, when Anot fully understood, but it is known that the same are 70 added to foods in predetermined quantities, bring about greatly accelerated by the presence of air, moisture and the desired regulated control of occurring oxidation and heat, particularly in excessive amounts. Since these related chemical and biological activities. Thus, the 3,284,212 3 4. present invention provides improved means for prevent utilizing antioxidant preservatives or enzyme preserva ing food spoilage due to such factors as rancidification of tives or others of the presently recommended and fatty components, the molding of carbohydrates and the recognized preservative additives, as aforementioned, has putrefaction of proteins. In addition, this invention not proven completely effective for preserving ensiled produces noticeably improved results by way of retaining 5 foods and preventing spoilage. For instance, when such natural food coloring, taste, odor and general palatability known additive materials, according to present knowledge over prolonged time periods. and practice, are applied to ensiled forage crops, even The main object of this invention is to provide new and under ideal conditions of harvesting and storage, the same improved means for preserving food. have not produced materially better results by way of Another important object of this invention is to pro preserving nutrients, color, flavor and general palatability vide new and improved food preserving means comprising 10 than is obtainable by following recommended air and combined antioxidant and enzyme materials used as a food moisture control procedures without the benefit of such additive for preventing spoilage thereof. additives. Further, even in those instances where such An additional object of this invention is to provide new additives or preservatives have resulted in apparently and improved food preserving means which are effective better preserving effects, such effects have not proven to to avoid food spoilage over extended periods of time. be long-lasting so that the ultimate problem of spoilage A still further object of this invention is to provide a and waste has not been successfully met and wholly new and improved food preserving means, as set forth in avoided thereby. the preceding object, which, in addition to its marked Our present invention, whereby antioxidants are com ability to preserve food for extended periods, is also dis 20 bined with enzymes, by way of contrast, is highly