BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Lard is a fat widely used for cooking and spreading on bread in many parts of the world especially in China and in Central European countries. It is a fat appreciated for its typical flavour and texture.

Originally lard is a home made product, but presently it is also produced industrially.

Home made lard is 100% natural lard and usually is obtained by dry-rendering the fatty parts of pork. Natural lard, when produced industrially, may be obtained also by wet rendering or by pressing.

Natural lard contains a high amount of saturated fatty acids (SAFA) and cholesterol. SAFA levels of lard are generally in the range 30-48 wt. %, usually 35-45 wt. %.

However, high SAFA and cholesterol levels in a diet are associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular diseases.

A lard containing fat product may be made healthier by incorporating less lard in the fat blend, but then the fat has a less pronounced lard flavour.

Artificial flavour compositions are used for imparting or improving the lard flavour: US 3,767,429 discloses a flavour cocktail which is a mixture of compounds comprising 2,4-nonadienal, 2,4- decadienal, 2,5-dimethyl-3-ethyl-pyrazine, tetramethyl- pyrazine, pyroligneous acid and an edible dispersant as carrier. For imparting to vegetable oil a lard like flavour 25-250 ppm of said cocktail is sufficient.

Hwang and Chen (Lipids in Food Flavours, Chapter 17, page 244-255,1994, ACS symposium series 558; Editor: Ho, C. T., Hartmann, T. G., American Chemical Society, Washington) have identified from different lards the volatile components comprising hydrocarbons, alcohols and aldehydes. Such compounds can be applied in the preparation of lard like flavour compositions.

Generally, with those imitation flavours no satisfactory sensory impression is obtained. None is able to substitute natural lard flavour in food products. A flavour which could impart a more satisfactory lard flavour would fulfill a real need.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION In lard minute amounts of alkylamines have been detected.

Lard contains e. g. trimethylamine up to 300 ppb (parts pro billion). Surprisingly it has been found that these amines, especially trimethylamine, play a decisive role in the sensory perception of natural lard flavour. It was furthermore found that such amines are able to boost the

lard flavour when added to fat compositions containing natural lard.

A triglyceride fat composition which contains an amount of trialkylamine which is excessive in proportion to the natural lard content, which is beyond 3 ppb for each wt. % of lard in the fat composition (beyond 300 ppb for 100% lard) and with a minimum amount of 25 ppb of amine, has been found to possess a surprisingly good lard flavour. The alkyl should be an alkylgroup containing 1-4 carbon atoms ((C1-C4) alkyl group).

Therefore a first embodiment of the invention is an edible triglyceride fat composition which comprises x wt. % of lard, where x is any value up to 100, characterized in that said food composition comprises at least x*3, preferably x*5, more preferably x*7, still more preferably x*10 parts pro billion of a trialkylamine with a minimum of 25 parts pro billion, wherein each of the alkyl groups is a (Cl- C4) alkyl group.

For proving the presence of lard after its admixture with other fats, use is made of an unsaturated fatty acid which is characteristic for lard: palmitoleic acid (C16 : 1). Lards from various sources contain different amounts of palmitoleic acid but at least 1.7 wt. % calculated as free fatty acid on total fat.

Alternatively cholesterol can be used as a reference substance. Lard contains at least 500 ppm of cholesterol.

When besides a trialkylamine either the presence of palmitoleic acid or cholesterol is demonstrated in a fat composition at least a part of the trialkylamine must be

ascribed to the lard content. Excessive amounts must have been added intentionally.

Therefore the invention can also be defined as an edible triglyceride fat composition which comprises y wt. % of palmitoleic acid (C16 : 1) calculated as free fatty acid on total fat, where y is any value up to 1.7, characterized in that said food composition comprises at least y*175, preferably y*300, more preferably y*450, still more preferably y*600 parts pro billion of a trialkylamine with a minimum of 25 parts pro billion, wherein each of the alkyl groups is a (Cl-C4) alkyl group.

Alternatively the invention can be defined as an edible triglyceride fat composition which comprises z ppm of cholesterol on total fat, where z is any value up to 500, characterized in that said food composition comprises at least z*0.6, preferably z*0.9, more preferably z*1.2, still more preferably z*2 parts pro billion of a trialkylamine with a minimum of 25 parts pro billion, wherein each of the alkyl groups is a (C1-C4) alkyl group.

In order to clearly distinguish the present invention from existing lard containing fat compositions the claimed compositions contain the trialkylamine in an amount which exceeds the 300 ppb limit or a lower limit proportionally to the lard content as indicated by the formulas above.

However, in case a prior art reference reports a trialkylamine content in lard being higher than 300 ppb, the patent is restricted to claims containing the lowest preferred value which is still distinguished from the prior art.

A further embodiment of the invention is a food composition which possesses a lard flavour, characterized in that it contains a fat composition according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION A panel trained in assessing flavour compositions have reported that a food product in which a flavour composition according to the present invention has been incorporated possesses a flavour, that is much similar to the flavour of natural lard and that can not be attributed to the actual content of natural lard.

The used alkylamine may stem from a natural source or from synthesis and food grade purification. Obviously, lard as such with its natural content of trimethylamine can not be the sole flavouring composition because the invention only covers use of amine in amounts which are excessive of the lard derived amounts.

Therefore the invention includes fat compositions which only partially consist of lard or which lack lard at all but which contain added amine in order to create or boost the lard flavour.

According to a preferred embodiment the lard flavour imparting trialkylamine is trimethylamine, which has been found to be particularly potent in imparting and enhancing lard flavour.

The invention can be applied suitably in the form of a concentrated flavour composition in which the amine is present in a fat or in a fat soluble diluent in a concentration suitable for dosing.

The flavour composition usually contains at least one diluent, which acts as a solid or liquid carrier. Suitable liquid diluents comprise solvents like Trubol (a middle chain triglyceride oil), water, glycerol, propylene glycol and edible oils. Suitable solid diluents comprise modified starches, maltodextrin and whey proteins.

In principle the combination of amine and diluent suffices for obtaining a lard flavour composition. However, useful adiuvants may be added: emulsifiers, for example lecithin, monoglycerides, and diglycerides, antioxidants such as tocopherol or Butylated Hydroxy Toluene (2,6-di-tert. butyl- 4-methylphenol) and compounds known for contributing to lard flavour, such as 2,4-nonadienal, 2,4-decadienal, 2,5- dimethyl-3-ethyl-pyrazine, tetramethylpyrazine, pyroligneous acid and further the selection of specific alkanes, alkenes, cycloalkanes, cycloalkenes, aromatic hydrocarbons, ketones and aldehydes as teached by Hwang and Chen in"Lipids in Food Flavours", Chapter 17, page 244- 255, ACS symposium series 558; Editor: Ho, C. T., Hartmann, T. G., 1994, American Chemical Society, Washington.

The components are processed into a flavour composition according to common flavour technology processes. A simple but suitable process is stirring vigorously all chosen ingredients at 5-30°C. Generally, prepared flavour compositions are stored cool in well closed containers, suitably at-5 to 10°C.

Also methods of flavouring food products by incorporating the invented flavour composition into a food product in such concentration that a lard flavour can be perceived, as well as the flavoured food products form part of the invention.

Food products are understood to be compositions which are both edible and intended for human consumption.

Spreads, oils such as cooking oils and salad oils, fats such as frying fats, creams, bakery products, dressings, mayonnaise, soups, sauces, meat products, gravies and snacks are particularly suited for being flavoured with the invented lard flavour composition. Said food products may comprise, additionally, natural lard.

Preferred food compositions are frying oils, shortenings and lard like fat products, the fat part of which preferably consists of 0.0001-75 wt. % of lard and 25- 99,9999wt. % of a non-lard, preferably vegetable fat. The preferred food products contain 1-99 wt. % of fat, preferably 1-75 wt. %, more preferably 1-40 wt. %.

The fat in the food composition according to the invention may be 100% lard which has been enriched with added trialkylamine. The natural lard which may be present in the food product may be home made lard, industrially prepared lard or a lard concentrate. Preferably, a part of the fat is substituted by a non-lard fat.

Triglyceride fats suitable for use in the preparation of lard like food compositions preferably are chosen such that while contributing to a low SAFA content they have a lard like appearance. Preferably they are chosen from the group

comprising palm oil, palmkernel oil, coconut oil, shea, illipe and cocoa butter. Hard fractions of these or other fats and mixtures of said fats may be included. Palm oil, cocoa butter or fractions thereof are particularly preferred.

Alternatively the fat compositions with a lard flavour according to the invention can be used for boosting the lard flavour of products comprising natural lard or an artificial lard flavour composition.

Natural lard flavour compositions are selected from the group consisting of lard, dry rendered lard, wet rendered lard and compositions prepared according to the processes described in EP 450 672 and EP 377 239.

An artificial lard flavour is for example a flavour concentrate comprising flavour compounds known to be present in lard.

An example of such an imitation lard flavour composition is disclosed in US 3,767,429 mentioned above.

The terms fats and oils are used interchangeably, where oil commonly denotes fat which is liquid at ambient temperature. In the present context those terms denote not only triglyceride compositions, but also non-toxic triglyceride fat replacers of which many properties are similar to those of triglycerides. The fat replacers preferably are indigestible, such as for example jojoba oil or esters of fatty acids and sugars.

In the lard like food products of the invention further useful ingredients e. g. herbs, salt, colouring agents, anti-spattering agents and vitamins may be incorporated.

The invented fat compositions may contain one (Cl- C4) trialkylamines or a mixture of them. Trimethylamine and triethylamine are preferred amines.

In the context present of the present specification the term flavour denotes both the odour and the taste impression of a fat or food composition.

The invention is illustrated by the following examples.

EXAMPLES FLAVOUR DOSING SOLUTION 2.22 g of a 45 wt. % aqueous solution of trimethylamine or triethylamine (both ex Aldrich) is mixed at room temperature with 97.78 g of propylene glycol.

1 g of this solution is further diluted with 99 g of propylene glycol. The level suitable for proper flavour dosing to fat blends is obtained by preparing an appropriate subsequent dilution with refined sunflower oil.

In the following examples some ingredients are denoted with an abbreviation. The meaning of the abbreviation and the origin of the ingredient are indicated below: DRL : dry rendered lard,

LF : lard flavour, prepared as described in US 3,767,429, NLF-1 : natural lard flavour concentrate (example 4 of EP-A-450672, Unilever) NLF-2 : natural lard flavour (example 7 of EP-A- 377239, Unilever) SF : sunflower oil.

PANEL TEST FOR FLAVOUR ASSESSMENT The panel comprised 11 persons. The samples were assessed on lard flavour perception. For score rating a scale ranging 1-5 (1: hardly lard like, 5: very lard like) was used.

Example 1 Three samples were prepared : 1A Empty refined sunflower oil 1B SF containing LF (200 ppm) 1C as 1B further containing trimethylamine (0.3 ppm) The samples were assessed on lard flavour perception in a panel test. Table I shows the average scores.

The prior art lard flavour LF in an maount of 200 ppm does not noticeably contribute to lard flavour. It appears that a much smaller amount of trimethylamine enhances lard flavour in products containing said imitation lard flavour.

TABLE I Sample Score (n=11) Remarks 1A 1. 1 neutral smell and taste 1B 1.0 not much lard like, no positive taste 1C 1. 8 more lard like

Example 2 Three samples were prepared : 2A Empty SF 2B SF containing trimethylamine (0.025 ppm) 2C SF containing NLF-2 (300 ppm) + trimethylamine (0.025 ppm) The samples were assessed on lard flavour perception in a panel test. Table II shows the average scores.

TABLE II Sample Score (n=11) Remarks 2A 1.1 neutral smell and taste 2B 2.4 rather sharp smell and lard like taste 2C 2.7 more balanced in lard like smell and taste It appears that trimethylamine as sole flavour ingredient imparts a lard flavour in a fat containing food product.

Trimethylamine in combination with the natural lard flavour NLF-2 (sample 2C) results in a more balanced lard impression.

Example 3 Two samples were prepared : 3A Product containing 35 wt. % dry rendered lard (DRL) and a lard flavour (NLF-1 (2 wt. %), NLF-2 (0.08 wt. %)).

3B Product containing 8 wt. % DRL and lard flavour (NLF-1 (1 wt. %), NLF-2 (0.08 wt. %)) and trimethylamine (2.8 ppm).

For each sample the balance to 100% fat product is made by adding refined sunflower oil.

The samples were assessed on lard flavour perception in a panel test. Table III shows the average (n=11) scores.

TABLE III sample score warm score cold remarks (smell) * (flavour) * 3A 3.6 3.4 mild lard smell and taste 3B 4.8 5.0 good strong lard impression *: warm score is established by smelling the flavoured food product which has been heated in a frying pan to approximately 120°C.

From the test follows that the lard flavour impression does not suffer from a significant reduction of dry rendered

lard provided trimethylamine has been added. Clearly the trimethylamine boosts the remaining natural lard flavour.

Example 4 Three samples 4A, 4B, 4C were prepared.

4A Reference sample: 35 wt. % dry rendered lard (DRL), containing lard flavours (NLF-1 (2 wt. %), NLF-2 (0.08 wt. %)) 4B 8 wt. % DRL, containing lard flavours (NLF-1 (1 wt. %), NLF-2 (0.08 wt. %)), trimethylamine (2.8 ppm) 4C same as 4B, but containing triethylamine (3.2 ppm) instead of trimethylamine The balance to 100% fat product is made by adding refined sunflower oil.

The samples were assessed on lard flavour perception in a panel test. Table IV shows the average (n=11) scores.

TABLE IV Sample score score Remarks warm cold (smell) (flavour) 4A 3.6 3.4 mild lard flavour 4B 4.7 4.3 strong/sharp lard smell, good lard flavour 4C 4. 5 4. 5 less intense lard smell than 4B, but good lard flavour From the panel assessment follows that triethylamine equally contributes to lard flavour impression as trimethylamine does.