Tropicana Products, Inc.

Other

The Quaker Oats Company

Stokely-van Camp, Inc.

Osvaldo A Chu

Yongsoo Chung

Mark A Pepper

Marcelo Perez Alvarez

D Scott Lineback

Keith Seaman

Rei-Young Amos Wu

Renee Irvine Mellican

Richard N McArdle

Thomas E Sanders

Therese Cetrulo

Ashok Dhruv

Richard Schutzenhofer

Theodore S Lioutas

Albert D Bolles

Rachel Bundang

Kellie Haynes

Christian Eichinger

Citrus juice beverage products and their method of production are formulated to reduce the sugar content of the beverage while the beverage products have sensory, taste, mouth feel and texture characteristics that mimic those of whole citrus juice. Orange juice beverage products are especially preferred. The beverage products have a relatively low Brix, on the order of between about 7 and about 8 Brix. Also included in the beverage products is a sweetener which does not add a significant caloric load to the beverage product. A sinking pulp added to the beverage product in an amount to achieve texture and other sensory characteristics of a whole juice.

Reduced sugar citrus juice beverage

A method and system for producing a flavored beverage wherein the flavor is added in a separate step to a combination of the base ingredients after the base liquid has been pasteurized by, for example, thermal heating. The flavor can be added to a continuous stream of the base liquid after a thermally processed hot-fill beverage base liquid is made up. A return loop conduit of the hot-fill beverage base liquid portion of the system is capable of diverting the heated hot-fill beverage base liquid in a stable state, that is, at the desired temperatures ready for continued beverage production, while the flavor may be switched over in a downstream flavor dosing portion of the system. The system may be used to produce a desired batch of flavored beverage by producing a first flavor, cleaning only that portion of the system to remove the first flavor and then changing over the flavor additive component to a desired second flavor.

Hot-fill beverage production with flavor injection

Byproduct from extracting citrus juice from whole fruit is made into a slurry and extracted to provide a rudimentary peel juice. This is processed into a raw peel juice and microfiltered to prepare a clarified raw peel juice. The peel juice is processed to remove naturally occurring components which detract from the quality of the fruit juice. Such components are removed by contacting the peel juice with an adsorptivereinresinin order to provide an enhanced peel citrus juice, which can be blended with other juices.

Citrus peel juice

Byproduct from extracting citrus juice from whole fruit is made into a slurry and extracted to provide a rudimentary peel juice. This is processed into a raw peel juice and microfiltered to prepare a clarified raw peel juice. The peel juice is processed to remove naturally occurring components which detract from the quality of the fruit juice. Such components are removed by contacting the peel juice with an adsorptive rein in order to provide an enhanced peel citrus juice, which can be blended with other juices.

An improved method and apparatus for cooling filled food containers having hot contents includes spraying a coolant onto the containers. As the hot contents cool, the flow rate of coolant is decreased. The coolant is at least about 40&#xb0; F. cooler than the initial average temperature of the hot contents. In one embodiment, the temperature of the spent coolant typically does not vary more than about 6&#xb0; F.

Bottle cooler and method

The deacidification of citrus juice with ion exchange resin is described. Maintaining a high acid condition of the juice is achieved by passing the juice through regenerated resin that is preconditioned with an aqueous food-grade acid, preferably citric acid. Additionally or optionally, an early bed volume or multiple early bed volumes of juice flow are at a rapid flow rate. The products obtained also are described, and they may be any deacidified citrus juice or juice blend where the pH of the juice does not rise above that of an acid food pH for the juice during deacidification. In preferred embodiments, the juice product is orange juice. In another preferred embodiment, the conditioning process is used to provide a deacidified citrus juice product while avoiding raising the pH of any portion of the juice to 4.6 or above so as to control microbial growth of the juice.

Resin deacidification of citrus juice and high acid maintenance

Juices are processed to remove naturally occurring components which detract from the quality of the fruit juice. Such components are removed by contacting the juice with an adsorptive rein in order to provide an enhanced fruit juice supply. Preferred juices are citrus juices.

Juice processing incorporating resin treatment

A system and process for making a low-acid, single strength juice such as a not from concentrate (NFC) citrus juice are provided in which an initial single strength juice flow can be cooled to a temperature of not greater than about 45&#xb0; F. and maintained at that temperature or below throughout the process (except during pasteurization). From the initial juice flow, a first portion of the juice is diverted from a second portion of the juice. Suspended solids are separated out from the first portion to provide a solids-reduced juice. The solids-reduced juice is subjected to ion-exchange deacidification. Preferably, a portion of the initial single strength juice flow is added to the deacidified juice immediately after deacidification in order to immediately lower the pH of the deacidified juice to a value that discourages microbial activity.

Juice deacidification

A process for deacidifying single strength juice, including not from concentrate (NFC) juice, uses an ion-exchange column. The process includes flowing water into the resin column and draining a fraction of the water from the column to create a head space in the column above the resin beads. Single strength juice is then introduced into the head space and into the resin column. Water is drained from the column until an SOI criterium is met. Single strength juice continues to be introduced into the resin column and treated liquid is directed to the production of deacidified single strength juice, typically until such time as the acidity of the treated liquid exceeds a pre-determined value. Treated single strength juice is removed from the resin column to create a head space in the column. Water then is introduced into the head space and liquid passes through the exit port.

Single strength juice deacidification incorporating juice dome

Citrus pulp products are provided which incorporate components from pulp material separated from a citrus juice source. Naringin, limonin or other bitterant levels are reduced substantially in the pulp components. In particular applications, the debittered citrus pulp is a grapefruit-originating bland clouding agent, a citrus pulp wash bland clouding agent, or a citrus peel juice bland clouding agent.

Debittered citrus pulp and processing

Citrus products are provided which incorporate components from pulp material separated from a citrus juice source. The invention is especially beneficial in connection with grapefruit sources. Naringin or other bitterant levels are reduced substantially in all phases of the citrus source, including pulp components. In a particular application, the citrus product is a grapefruit juice product which is organoleptically identified as grapefruit juice when it stands alone but is not organoleptically identified as grapefruit juice when blended with other fruit juice sources.

Growing community of inventors

Sarasota, FL, United States of America

Osvaldo A Chu