Methods for making shelf-stable cultured dairy products

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10952450-B2
Application number	US-201916502204-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 3, 2019
Priority date	Jun 4, 2015
Publication date	Mar 23, 2021
Grant date	Mar 23, 2021

Abstract

Disclosed are processes for producing cultured dairy products, such as yogurt, that are shelf-stable without refrigeration. Such processes can include contacting a milk base having from 0.5 to 1.9 wt. % milk sugar with a lactic acid bacteria culture and aseptically packaging in a container, followed by storage under conditions suitable to result in a pH of less than 4.7.

First claim

We claim:

1. A process to produce a yogurt product, the process comprising:
(a) subjecting a milk product comprising from about 1 to about 1.8 wt. % milk sugar to ultra-high temperature (UHT) sterilization to form a sterilized milk product;
(b) cooling the sterilized milk product to a temperature in a range from about 20° C. to about 45° C. to form a sterilized reduced sugar milk base;
(c) contacting the milk base with a lactic acid bacteria culture and aseptically packaging in a container, wherein the lactic acid bacteria culture comprises Lactobacillus bulgaricus, Streptococcus thermophilus, Lactobacillus casei, Lactococcus lactis, Lactococcus cremoris, Latobacillus plantarum, or any combination thereof; and
(d) storing under conditions sufficient to reduce the pH of the contents in the container to within a range from about 4 to about 4.6 to produce the yogurt product;
wherein the yogurt product contains from about 10,000,000 cfu/g to about 3,000,000,000 cfu/g of live bacteria or live active cultures.

2. The process of claim 1 , wherein the milk product comprises:
from about 1 to about 1.5 wt. % milk sugar;
from about 1 to about 15 wt. % protein; and
from about 0.1 to about 20 wt. % fat.

3. The process of claim 1 , wherein:
the amount of the lactic acid bacteria culture is from about 0.0001 to about 2 wt. %, based on the weight of the milk base; and
the lactic acid bacteria culture comprises Lactobacillus bulgaricus, Streptococcus thermophilus, or a combination thereof.

4. The process of claim 1 , wherein in step (c), the milk base is contacted with the lactic acid bacteria culture and an ingredient comprising a sweetener, a flavorant, a vitamin, a mineral, an omega 3 fatty acid, a phyto-sterol, an antioxidant, or any combination thereof.

5. The process of claim 1 , wherein in step (c), the milk base is contacted with the lactic acid bacteria culture and an ingredient comprising a prebiotic substance, a special probiotic bacteria, or a combination thereof.

6. The process of claim 1 , wherein:
the UHT sterilization is conducted at a temperature in a range from about 130° C. to about 150° C.;
the milk product in step (a) is produced by a membrane filtration process; and
step (c) comprises separately filling the container with the milk base and the lactic acid bacteria culture, and sealing the container.

7. The process of claim 1 , wherein storing under conditions sufficient comprises a temperature in a range from about 10° C. to about 40° C. for a time period in a range from about 1 hour to about 2 weeks.

8. The process of claim 1 , wherein:
the milk product comprises from about 1 to about 1.5 wt. % milk sugar;
the pH is reduced in step (d) to within a range from about 4.3 to about 4.6; and
the yogurt product contains from about 10,000,000 cfu/g to about 2,000,000,000 cfu/g of live bacteria or live active cultures.

9. The process of claim 1 , wherein the yogurt product is shelf-stable without refrigeration at a temperature in a range from about 15° C. to about 30° C. for a time period in a range from about 7 to about 180 days.

10. A process to produce a yogurt product, the process comprising:
contacting a sterilized reduced sugar milk base with a lactic acid bacteria culture and aseptically packaging in a container, wherein the sterilized reduced sugar milk base comprises from about 1 to about 1.8 wt. % milk sugar, and wherein the lactic acid bacteria culture comprises Lactobacillus bulgaricus, Streptococcus thermophilus, Lactobacillus casei, Lactococcus lactis, Lactococcus cremoris, Latobacillus plantarum, or any combination thereof; and
storing under conditions sufficient to reduce the pH of the contents in the container to within a range from about 4 to about 4.6 to produce the yogurt product;
wherein the yogurt product contains from about 10,000,000 cfu/g to about 3,000,000,000 cfu/g of live bacteria or live active cultures.

11. The process of claim 10 , wherein the sterilized reduced sugar milk base comprises:
from about 1 to about 1.5 wt. % milk sugar;
from about 1 to about 15 wt. % protein; and
from about 0.1 to about 20 wt. % fat.

12. The process of claim 10 , wherein:
the amount of the lactic acid bacteria culture is from about 0.0001 to about 2 wt. %, based on the weight of the sterilized reduced sugar milk base; and
the lactic acid bacteria culture comprises Lactobacillus bulgaricus, Streptococcus thermophilus, or a combination thereof.

13. The process of claim 10 , wherein the sterilized reduced sugar milk base is contacted with the lactic acid bacteria culture and an ingredient comprising a sweetener, a flavorant, a vitamin, a mineral, an omega 3 fatty acid, a phyto-sterol, an antioxidant, or any combination thereof.

14. The process of claim 10 , wherein the sterilized reduced sugar milk base is contacted with the lactic acid bacteria culture and an ingredient comprising a prebiotic substance, a special probiotic bacteria, or a combination thereof.

15. The process of claim 10 , wherein storing under conditions sufficient comprises a temperature in a range from about 10° C. to about 40° C. for a time period in a range from about 1 hour to about 2 weeks.

16. The process of claim 10 , wherein the yogurt product contains from about 10,000,000 cfu/g to about 2,000,000,000 cfu/g of live bacteria or live active cultures.

17. The process of claim 10 , wherein the yogurt product is shelf-stable without refrigeration at a temperature in a range from about 15° C. to about 30° C. for a time period in a range from about 7 to about 180 days.

18. The process of claim 10 , wherein:
the sterilized reduced sugar milk base comprises from about 1 to about 1.5 wt. % milk sugar; and
the pH of the contents in the container is reduced to within a range from about 4.3 to about 4.6.

19. The process of claim 18 , wherein the yogurt product contains from about 10,000,000 cfu/g to about 2,000,000,000 cfu/g of live bacteria or live active cultures.

20. The process of claim 1 , wherein:
the milk product comprises from about 1.3 to about 1.6 wt. % milk sugar;
the lactic acid bacteria culture comprises Lactobacillus bulgaricus, Streptococcus thermophilus, or a combination thereof;
the pH is reduced in step (d) to within a range from about 4.3 to about 4.6; and
the yogurt product contains from about 10,000,000 cfu/g to about 1,000,000,000 cfu/g of live bacteria or live active cultures.

21. The process of claim 10 , wherein:
the sterilized reduced sugar milk base comprises from about 1.3 to about 1.6 wt. % milk sugar;
the lactic acid bacteria culture comprises Lactobacillus bulgaricus, Streptococcus thermophilus, or a combination thereof;
the pH of the contents in the container is reduced to within a range from about 4.3 to about 4.6; and
the yogurt product contains from about 10,000,000 cfu/g to about 1,000,000,000 cfu/g of live bacteria or live active cultures.

Assignees

• Fairlife Llc

Inventors

• Ur-Rehman Shakeel
• Kopesky Brandon
• Doelman Tim

Classifications

• A23B11/102 Primary

  Storing or packaging in a vacuum or in inert or sterile gaseous atmosphere (impregnation with inert gases A23C9/1524) · CPC title

• A23B11/12

  by heating (by irradiation, e.g. by microwaves A23B11/16) · CPC title

• A23L33/20

  Reducing nutritive value; Dietetic products with reduced nutritive value · CPC title

• A23C2270/00

  Aspects relating to packaging · CPC title

• A23C9/1234 Primary

  characterised by using a Lactobacillus sp. other than Lactobacillus Bulgaricus, including Bificlobacterium sp. · CPC title